Since the eighties, the mobile phone has transformed from an expensive item used by business types to a really popular personal communications device that is used by most of the population. in actual fact, nowadays, mobile phones outnumber land line phones in many countries.

Mobile phones began life as the two way radio, which was also known as mobile rigs. these were put in vehicles such as taxis, police cars and ambulances, although were not strictly mobile phones as they weren't usually connected to the phone network. while the earliest mobile phones were permanently installed in vehicles, later versions such as the transportables, also known as bag phones, could be carried, and could be used as either mobile or as portable two-way radios.

The very first mobile phones were named first generation phones, also called 1g. The 1g era lasted from the late 1970s through to the eighties. these items were the first real mobile phones, although they were then named cellular mobile radio telephones, & were based on analogue signals. the use of an analogue signal was the difference between these first generation mobile phones & their second generation cousins, which came out a few years later.

The very first second generation mobile telephones were commercially launched in finland in 1991. While 2g networks were completely digital, the previous 1-g networks were analog. one of the benefits that 2g networks had over their 1g predecessors was that telephone conversations were digitally encrypted. This was major as it was possible for third parties to overhear phone calls on analog networks. in addition to this, 2g systems were much more efficient, which allowed far more mobile telephones to be used. Finally, 2g introduced data services for mobile, which include sms messages.

After the launch of 2-g mobile phones, the earlier mobile phone systems were named 1g. whilst radio signals on 1g networks are analog, and on 2g networks they are digital, both networks use digital signals to link the radio towers and the rest of the phone system.

Following 2g mobile phones, 3g mobile telephone technology arrived. 3g is the name given to the third generation of mobile telephone standards and technology.

3g technologies allow network operators such as 02 and orange to offer their customers a wider range of advanced services, including video calls, and broadband wireless internet.

The earliest 3g network was launched by NTT DoCoMo in japan in may 2001. it was commercially launched in japan on October, 1 2001. the earliest European pre commercial 3g network was launched at the isle of man by Manx Telecom, who're owned by bt, in December 2001.

We hope our article has given you more information about the mobile phone's history. As you've probably guessed, the mobile telephone has come an awful long way & will continue to progress even further still.

4-g technology will give mobile phones a new lease of life, promising live streaming of tv & radio shows and much more besides. For the mobile phone, it is clear that the sky really is the limit.