VOICE OVER RADIO

AND THE FIRST

TELEVISION
TRANSMISSIONS
 *1914 — FIRST VOICE OVER RADIO
TRANSMISSION

Reginald Aubrey Fessenden - who was

recognized as the "father" of radio and as
the first to actually transmit the sound of
the human voice without wires.
1920S — MOBILE RECEIVERS INSTALLED IN
POLICE CARS IN DETROIT

In the 1920s gangster era, bank robbers

and bootleggers made clean getaways
time after time, to the great
consternation of police. For this was
before reliable mobile-radio
communications existed, communications
that could have quickly dispatched patrol
cars to the scene of the crime.
1925- US PATENT NO. 1,544,156 GRANTED TO
CHARLES FRANCIS JENKINS FOR
"TRANSMITTING PICTURES OVER WIRELESS"
(TV).

He was granted the U.S. Patent no. 1,544,156

(transmitting pictures over wireless) on June
30, 1925 (filed March 13, 1922).
 1927- FIRST LONG-DISTANCE TV
TRANSMISSION IN THE UNITED STATES,
CONDUCTED BY AT&T BELL LABS.

AT&T presents the first demonstration of

television in the united states. Secretary of
commerce Herbert Hoover's live moving
image was transmitted over cable to New
York, where it was seen by AT&T president
Walter Gifford, and a large audience.
 1928- FIRST TRANSATLANTIC TV
TRANSMISSION, FROM LONDON TO NEW
YORK.

The vision sound was sent

across the ocean by short
wave radio station 2KZ, of
only two kilowatts power.
Partial extract from leader in
new york times, february
11th 1928.
 1928- FIRST TV STATION, W2XB
(LATER WRGB), BROADCAST
FROM GENERAL ELECTRIC
FACILITY IN SCHENECTADY, NY

It later became one of a handful

of television stations licensed
for commercial broadcasting
operation before the end of
world war II.
 1930- MOBILE TRANSMITTERS
DEVELOPED; RADIO EQUIPMENT
OCCUPIED MOST OF POLICE CAR
TRUNK
 1935- FREQUENCY
MODULATION (FM)
DEMONSTRATED BY
ARMSTRONG

Edwin Armstrong tested frequency modulation in 1933 and

demonstrated it in 1935 to the institute of radio engineers. Frequency
modulation can be used at any radio frequency, but it is not practical at
low radio frequencies. It was first demonstrated to the FCC in 1937. The
first construction permit for an FM station was issued by the FCC in 1937
and regular broadcasts started in 1939.,
1940s- MAJORITY OF POLICE
SYSTEMS CONVERTED TO FM
 COMMERCIAL
TELEVISION AND
THE BIRTH OF
MOBILE
TELEPHONY
 1946- FIRST INTERCONNECTION
OF MOBILE USERS TO PUBLIC
SWITCHED TELEPHONE
NETWORK (PSTN)

Mobile telephony is the provision of telephone services to phones which

may move around freely rather than stay fixed in one location. Mobile
phones connect to a terrestrial cellular network of base stations (cell
sites), whereas satellite phones connect to orbiting satellites. Both
networks are interconnected to the public switched telephone network
(PSTN) to allow any phone in the world to be dialed.
1949- FCC RECOGNIZES MOBILE
RADIO AS NEW CLASS OF
SERVICE

In the united states, amateur

radio licensing is governed by
the federal communications
commission (FCC) under strict
federal regulations.
 1940s— NUMBER OF MOBILE
USERS > 50K
1950s — NUMBER OF MOBILE
USERS > 500K

AT&T launches its new improved mobile telephone service (IMTS)

there were many reports of customers waiting 30 minutes or more to place
a call. It got to a point where state governments were forced to restrict
service to just 50,000-500,000 customers across the entire system. Still, in
larger cities like new york city, 20,000 subscribers were forced to share 22
radio channels – which is what led to the long wait times.
 1960S — NUMBER OF MOBILE
USERS > 1.4M

Bell labs engineers were already looking for ways to implement cell service
in vehicles. These researchers theorized that hexagonal cells would work
best for vehicles. However, it wasn’t until the 1960s that researchers
created the technology systems – like frequency reuse and handoff – that
would lead to modern cellular networks.
 1960S — NUMBER OF MOBILE USERS > 1.4M

1960S — IMPROVED MOBILE TELEPHONE SERVICE

(IMTS) INTRODUCED; SUPPORTS FULL-DUPLEX,
AUTO DIAL, AUTO TRUNKING

The First Cellular Network. Bell labs engineers were already looking for
ways to implement cell service in vehicles. These researchers theorized that
hexagonal cells would work best for vehicles. However, it wasn’t until the
1960s that researchers created the technology systems – like frequency
reuse and handoff – that would lead to modern cellular networks.
 1976 — BELL MOBILE PHONE
HAS 543 PAY CUSTOMERS
USING 12 CHANNELS IN THE
NEW YORK CITY AREA; WAITING
LIST IS 3700 PEOPLE; SERVICE IS
POOR DUE TO BLOCKING
Thank You
and

God Bless!