AT&T Archives: Testing the First Cell Phone Network (Bonus Edition)

For more from the AT&T Archives, visit Introduction by George Kupczak of the AT&T Archives and History Center Made one year into the first true cell phone trials, “AMPS: Coming of Age“ profiles customer reactions and the technology that made mobile phones possible. The Chicago test cellular network was built in 1977 by the Bell System and had tests during 1978; this film was made in 1979 after a year with 1,300 customers using the system.