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In anticipation of the 25th Anniversary of the first commercial cellular call on October 13, 2008, join CTIA-The Wireless Association® in recognizing the major achievements in U.S. wireless history. Vote for your top ten wireless moments today!

Below is a list of significant events in U.S. wireless history. Select a total of ten moments, ranking them in order…with #1 being the most significant moment, #2 the second most significant, etc, through #10.

CTIA will post the results of the survey on www.ctia.org on the first of each month in 2008, starting with the #10 moment in January, and concluding with #1 in October.
 
1940  – Actress Hedy Lamarr helps conceive of a "spread spectrum" approach to communications, which becomes the basis for CDMA and WiFi. rank:
1946  – First mobile radio system deployed in St. Louis, followed by AT&T Bell labs proposal of a "cellular" system to increase the capacity of mobile telephone service. rank:
1973  – Marty Cooper and colleagues develop the first "portable" wireless phone – the "DynaTAC." rank:
1981  – The FCC licenses cellular service as a competitive duopoly instead of a monopoly. rank:
1983  – On October 13th, 1983, the first commercial cellular phone call in the U.S. is placed from Soldier Field in Chicago. rank:
1988  – The FCC allows digital "advanced cellular" technologies to be deployed. rank:
1993  – Congress preempts state rate and entry regulation, allowing a uniform national framework to apply to wireless, and authorizes the FCC to issue spectrum via auctions. rank:
1995  – The first U.S. "Personal Communications Services" auctions conclude, increasing competition. rank:
1996  – The Telecommunications Act of 1996 is signed into law by President Clinton. rank:
1998  – AT&T introduces its Digital One Rate plan, offering flat rate buckets of minutes. rank:
2000  – Subscribership in the US reaches 100 million. rank:
2002  – SMS/text messaging interoperability is established for U.S. consumers. rank:
2004  – Wireless industry breaks the $100 billion service revenue threshold, by earning $102 billion. rank:
2005  – The Wireless Amber AlertsTM program is established. rank:
2005  – Sprint Nextel launches the first over-the-air music downloads. rank:
2007  – Verizon Wireless launches MediaFLO-based V CAST Mobile TV service. rank:
2007  – The iPhone goes on sale in June. rank:
2007  – Estimated number of US subscribers expected to surpass 250 million. rank: