Subject: [NEXTEL-1] Cell Phone Designer Reflects on 30th Anniversary

From: Marcel <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 03 Apr 2003 13:04:54 -0500

Cell Phone Designer Reflects on 30th Anniversary

By Todd Wallack
April 03, 2003
http://www.wirelessnewsfactor.com/perl/story/21177.html

Standing on a sidewalk across from the Hilton hotel in mid-town Manhattan 30 years ago
today,
Martin Cooper did something never done before.

To the bewilderment of passers-by, the Motorola project manager held a 2-pound box of
wires and
circuits to his ear and started talking into it -- becoming the first person to place a
public call on a
handheld cellular telephone.

Today, mobile phones are in the pockets of 144 million Americans. And it's hard to find an
urban
sidewalk where pedestrians don't have them glued to their heads.

As for Cooper, the 74 year-old engineer -- widely considered the father of the cell phone
-- is now
chairman and chief executive officer of a San Jose wireless technology firm, ArrayComm.
The
company makes software to help mobile-phone carriers squeeze more calls on a network. And
it's
now testing technology, called iBurst, to use mobile-phone networks for high-speed
Internet access.

The Chronicle caught up with Cooper earlier this week to talk about his invention, the
industry and
which mobile phone he prefers:

Q: The Chronicle: What was the first phone like?

A: Cooper: The thing weighed 30 ounces. It was shaped like a brick. The thing was huge. I
built up muscles just holding the thing.

Q: Many people consider you the father of the cell phone. How'd you and Motorola get
started on it?

A: Bell Labs had invented this thing called cellular technology and told the government
they would like to take over the entire
personal communications business. They were telling the world they were the only one
technically capable of executing it and the
only ones with the money to do it. Their objective was to build car phones. But we thought
the world was ready for portable phones.

We had been working on portable communications for years -- antennas and things of that
nature -- and had this dream of building a
personal, portable cell phone. But when this situation came up with the Bell system, we
felt we had to demonstrate this. So in
November 1972, I conceived of this portable phone, and my team and I built it over several
months.

Q: Who did you make the first call on the phone to?

A: The guy who was promoting the car telephone at Bell Laboratories, Joel Engel. I called
Joel and told him I was calling from a real
cellular phone, a handheld cellular phone. I don't remember what he said, but I thought I
heard gnashing of teeth.

Q: How clear was it?

A: We had one base station and one portable phone, so the call was perfect. The reason you
have trouble now is that the carriers
are trying to squeeze too many people on every channel, and they keep bumping into one
another.

Q: Did you receive a bonus for building the phone?

A: No. It was just part of the job.

Q: So you didn't get rich off the invention?

A: No. Only intellectually and with satisfaction.

Q: What mobile phone do you use now?

A: I still have a lot of loyalty to Motorola. I use a Motorola v60i. It's a
top-of-the-line model. But I have yet to get one with a color
screen. I haven't figured out what the benefit is.

Q: What carrier do you use?

A: I use Verizon. My wife uses Cingular. I also have an AT&T phone for the car.

Q: Which works best?

A: It really depends on where you are. Where I am at the moment (in Vail, Colo.), Cingular
will not work.

Q: Do you still have a landline?

A: Of course. I am talking now on a landline. I get as frustrated as you do with wireless
service. I get infuriated ... because I know
what the technology is capable of.

Q: Critics complain that wireless carriers generally won't say what percentage of their
phone calls are dropped or where their dead
zones are. What's your feeling about that?

A: That is a form of arrogance. If you are really interested in servicing your customers,
there are a bunch of things that you could do
to make the service better.

And certainly, you would make sure people knew how your product compared to others. Number
portability (which would let people
change carriers and keep their old phone number) is absolutely essential if you are going
to have real competition. That is coming,
but the cell phone companies are resisting that.

Q: Do you use wireless text messaging?

A: To a very minor degree. I don't use it the way kids in Europe use it.

Q: Have you downloaded any distinctive ring tones?

A: I never use a ring. I have it on vibrate. I never have to worry about upsetting people
in the theater or public places.

Q: What do you think of all the complaints about poor cell-phone etiquette?

A: It doesn't take a cell phone to make a person rude. There are rude people all over the
place. But people are learning. I have never
heard a cell phone ring in the movies. We are going to learn how to live with the
advantages of new technology.

Q: What about laws banning people from using the phones while driving?

A: I'm trying to think of a better word than nutty. It's been going on awhile. I was on a
car telephone in 1950. The reality is that it's
not the act of dialing or having a phone that is dangerous. The danger is the mental
distraction, and you can get that smoking a
cigarette. The biggest distraction is getting into an argument with someone next to you.
The only solution is to get them to pay
attention while they're driving.

Q: It took awhile for portable cell phones to catch on.

A: We had to fool people into buying the first phones 20 years ago. The public doesn't
adopt radical concepts very quickly. The
concept was freedom.

Q: How many companies have you started?

A: Four or five.

Q: You're 74. Are you considering retiring or slowing down?

A: The only thing that would slow me down is physical or mental impairment, and that
hasn't happened.

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