The lives and times of MRT

May 1, 1998 12:00 PM, Contributing Editor, Ernest Worthman

In celebration of Mobile Radio Technology's 15 years as land mobile radio's premier technical publication, come take a stroll back through the history of the magazine and the industry it serves.

For a decade and a half, MRT has been at the technological forefront of two-way radio communications. It has been your "channel" to the FCC. It has presented cutting-edge design. It has kept you up-to-date on the political scene. In addition, it has been the harbinger of change and progress.

Back now, to the Beginning of Time (or at least of MRT) as we fondly remember significant people, issues and technology in our industry.

1983 * Premiere issue, January/February. Phil Cook [Phil is now sales manager for our sister publication RF Design] is our first publisher at Weisner Publishing. * In one of several changes for E.F. Johnson over the next 15 years, it merges with Western Union. * Kenwood announces that it is entering the land mobile market. * Mass marketing of a fully programmable, off-the-shelf mobile radio is forecast, based on the new E^2PROM technology. * Novatel comes into existence through a joint venture by Nova of Calgary, and Alberta Government Telephone, of Edmonton. James L. Green is appointed as the first president. * Shirley Bonifasi is elected president of NMRA. * Radio Club of America celebrates its 75th birthday. * Jack Daniel heads the newly created Decibel western regional office. * Hertz is the first rental car company to install cellular phones in rental cars. * Motorola supplies two-way communications equipment for the 1984 Olympic winter games in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia. * Mal Gurion is named president of OKI Advanced Communications.

1984 * Regency Communications, a subsidiary of Regency Electronics, and Wilson Electronics merge to form Regency Land Mobile. * SIRSA turns 30 and elects Rocco A. Eramo as chairman. * Phil Cook, MRT's publisher, leaves to move to sunny, southern California. * Mercy Contreras soon takes over as publisher of MRT. * Robert Foosaner is chief of the FCC's Private Radio Bureau. * Motorola puts the first Dynatac non-wireline, cellular radio-telephone system in operation in the Washington/Baltimore area. * Vestra acquires 2-Tel Interconnect Systems. * Antenna Specialists acquires Sheatron and moves operations to Cleveland. * Ten duplex channel pairs in the 46MHz-49MHz frequency band are allocated for cordless telephones as an amendment to Part 15 of the FCC rules (and 15 years later, the technology still sucks). * Robert E. "Bob" Tall leaves Industrial Communications and becomes executive director of APCO. * King Radio, a traditional aircraft communications manufacturer, enters the two-way radio market. * NABER initiates a technician certification program. * California puts its first cellular telephone system on-line, in Los Angeles. * Nynex introduces "Priority-one" cellular mobile service in Buffalo, NY. Phones cost about $2,500 and rates run from 20 cents to 35 cents per minute, with access fee ranging to $49 per month. * Astronet is formed by Mitsubishi and Stromberg-Carlson to manufacture cellular telephone systems. * Philadelphia/Delaware cellular service comes on line. * Tandy makes its debut in the cellular product market. * The rules that govern FCC technician licenses expire. They are replaced by industry association and private educational institution certificates. * The Cellular Communications Industry Association (CCIA) forms. * General Signal acquires Sideband Technology. * NABER conducts its first series of technician certification exams. * Industry veteran Fred Link celebrates his 80th birthday.

1985 * King Radio is acquired by Allied's Bendix Aerospace Sector. * Communications Specialists of California installs its first fax machine (Hey-it was big news then!) * The FCC rules that you can't use cellular telephones while airborne. * "Technical Tips," a monthly column designed to address wireless product technical problems, debuts in the February issue of MRT. * E.F. Johnson is for sale-again. * Two cellular trade associations, CCIA and the Cellular Radio Communications Association (CRCA) merge. CCIA is the surviving designation. * Kustom Electronics is 20 years old. * The Salt Lake City area comes on line with its cellular service. * Modifications are made to the FCC rules Parts 22, 73, 81 and 90 to reflect uniform HAAT guidelines. * The FCC authorizes narrowband modes in the VHF band from 150MHz to 170MHz. * Cellular radio is promoted as the "greatest investment opportunity of the 20th century" according to Robert Ringer, author of Looking Out for #1 and Winning Through Intimidation.(Was he on target, or what?) * Cellular telephone prices drop dramatically-to about $1,500. * A battle over frequency coordination brews among ASMR, NABER and NMRA over specialized mobile radio (SMR). * The spring Land Mobile Expo is now too big for Denver. It moves to Las Vegas. * NABER celebrates its 20th anniversary. * CCIA now becomes CTIA. * McCaw Communications purchases Mobilephone Services (MSI). * OKI Advanced Communications changes its name to OKI Telecom. * The battle to be the controlling frequency advisory committee (FAC) authority continues to gain more visibility. In the fray are ASMR, NABER, NMRA, IAFC, APCO, IMSA, AASHTO, FCCA and ASNA. (Whew!) * Mobile Data International, the leading mobile data terminal manufacturer, whose equipment is widely deployed in law enforcement, is seeing its terminals move into public services (taxis) and the utility companies. (Could we safely say that the age of ubiquitous mobile data is here?) * Celwave buys Antenna, Inc. * Cellular pay phones show up on Seattle metro buses, and San Diego taxis offer their riders cellular telephone services. * Glenayre Electronics acquires WR Communications.

1986 * MRT grapples with the coming of the cellular age. A survey asks readers if they would like more, or less, coverage of the cellular industry. Result: a 50/50 split.(The times, they are a changin'.) * Motorola is named the "best managed company in America" by New Management Magazine. (My, times have changed!) * Motorola's anti-dumping suit against Japanese manufacturers ends. The Japanese firms are found guilty of dumping, and must have cash deposits, of a weighted average of 58%, collected by U.S. Customs. * The battle over wireline and non-wireline cellular systems, "who can do what," heats up. The PacTel-CI merger brings to light issues, both legal and regulatory, that will be discussed for many years to come. * PacTel and Tandy form a pact to activate all cellular phones sold in Radio Shack stores on PacTel's cellular system. Radio Shack also enters into an agreement with A Beeper to bring pagers sold in their stores up on A Beeper's service. * Cellular service comes to Las Vegas. (So now we can call home for cash from Expo!) * "Technical Tips" prints a TRS-80 BASIC program to calculate ERP. (If only we knew how important computers will become.) * More and more MRT articles contain the words "digital" and "mobile data" in their titles. * A new cellular trade association, the North American Mobile Association, is formed by Bell Atlantic Mobile Systems, Bell Cellular, Nynex Mobile Communications, and Sonecor Cellular. * Certification exams offered by NARTE as alternatives to the defunct FCC exams. * Legislation is approved by Pres. Ronald Reagan that allows the FCC to charge processing fees. (Riots occur.) * Gary Stanford succeeds the late Eugene Bowler as the FCC's acting chief of the PRB's Land Mobile and Microwave division. * Frequency coordination rules are just around the corner. The FCC issues a code of conduct for squabbling coordinators and to insure non-discriminatory treatment of all applicants. * Somewhere along the line, E.F. Johnson becomes a subsidiary of Diversified Energies. * Cincinnati Bell acquires Cellular Business Systems. * Cellular service shows up on the New York-to-Washington Metroliner. The first three minutes costs $5 with $1 for each additional minute-the system accepts major credit cards. * Voice mail shows up on radio paging and mobile telephone services from McCaw Telepage. * Robert Galvin resigns as CEO of Motorola. * Telocator finally votes to admit wireline memberships. * Nynex acquires Page Boy. * Robert Foosaner, FCC Private Radio Bureau chief, leaves for private law practice. Deputy Chief * Mike Fitch assumes the helm. * The FCC allocates 27MHz of L-band spectrum to MSS (mobile satellite service). * Intertec Publishing buys MRT, and folds Land Mobile Product News into it. * Don Bishop becomes editorial director of MRT.

1987 * Encryption is the hot topic of the day. * The PacTel purchase of CI finally goes through. * The Telecommunications Privacy Act goes into effect. * The first data radio network, based on Motorola's commercial data networking service, opens in Chicago. * The Fred M. Link award is established by the RCA, and the first award is presented to-who else-Fred M. Link! * Retail cellular phone centers start popping up. * FCC auctions elicit emotional and heated debates. Nevertheless, ever any doubt that they would not be implemented? Riots occur- again.) * Telocator secures its first wireline carrier, Bell Atlantic Network Services. * Mark Fowler resigns as the FCC's top dog, leaving a "deregulation" legacy. * Rumblings arise that Telocator and CTIA are discussing a possible merger. * A cellular system coming on line is no longer national news. * Dennis Patrick becomes the FCC's interim Chairman. * Vehicle tracking technology starts to pique the interests of major wireless players. * Paging subscribers hit the 6.5 million mark. * Hertz car rental starts to offer cellular phone rentals to go with their cars. * Nokia-Mobira purchases Cue Paging and changes its name to DiversiCom.

1988 * We start to hear the rumblings of the "demise" of two-way as cellular becomes more ubiquitous. (An argument that will continue for years.) * Maxon Electronics spins of Maxon Paging Products. * Alliance Telecom of Dallas merges with Decibel Products. * Bradley Holmes is still waiting to become the permanent FCC chairman after Fowler's resignation last year. * Willam Hotes is elected to the post of president for Telocator and Jai Bhaget is elected chairman. * Technology marches on-fax units for mobile radios are being developed by Midland and Medbar Industries. * U.S. West Paging buys A Beeper. * Novatel wins the Canada Award for Business Excellence. * More and more noise is being made for trunking below 800MHz. * The FCC adopts a national plan for public safety that, finally, decides what to do with the 6MHz of spectrum in the 800MHz band. * Susan Wing is nominated as an FCC commissioner. She replaces Mimi Weyforth. * Russell K. Fox becomes ASMR's CEO. * Temporary licensing for new specialized industrial radio band customers is proposed by SIRSA. This is to eliminate the 30-day plus waiting period, currently the norm. NABER jumps on the bandwagon too. * N.V Phillips becomes yet another player in the paging industry. * The FCC considers loosening technical and service restrictions for cellular service. Private radio rushes to protect its interests-going so far as to imply that the FCC is attempting to rewrite the Communications Act. (A harbinger of things to come.) * Digital Cellular is being tested and demonstrated. AT&T and International Mobile Machines (IMM) both show their stuff. Astute players see this as the ultimate cellular solution. * BellSouth buys MCCA, making BellSouth the second largest U.S. paging company behind Southwestern Bell. * A Frost & Sullivan report indicates that 900MHz will show the greatest growth in the mobile two-way market. They predict almost 8.5 million users by the end of 1992. * Selectone acquires Airwave. * It finally happens-Motorola makes a bid for MDI. (Is there any doubt, anymore, that mobile data is here to stay?) * A respondent's comment from the 1988 salary survey may speak for much of the two-way industry. Quote: "The two governing bodies, NABER and the FCC, do not know which way is up. The FCC doesn't do much anymore, and NABER does whatever it wants, right or wrong. I believe coordination is a thing of the past." * Spectrum licensing fees rear their ugly heads. * Glenayre Electronics acquires a majority stock position in Kustom Electronics. * Motorola's Radius line explodes. The age of low-cost off-of-the-shelf mobile radios is upon us. * Centel acquires United TeleSpectrum. * Public safety still can't get together on a trunking standard. * TIA is formed. * The FCC votes to permit cellular licensees to offer advanced services-including paging on cellular frequencies. Is the end of paging in sight? * GE and E.F. Johnson join ASMR.

1989 * Mobile data is everywhere, and AVL is gathering steam as the year opens. * Telocator opens membership to private mobile communications carriers, later, its members vote it down. * Celwave RF acquires Bogner Broadcast Equipment. * The battle over trunking standards continues. * Fiber-optic technology arrives on the scene in earnest. * Ronald Reagan presents the first Malcolm Baldridge award to Motorola * Digital cellular is accepted for the next generation of phones. * 800MHz trunking is killed by the FCC. (Round two is next.) * ACT struggles with a membership drive. Its goal is 500; over four months it gets 53. * Regency Electronics changes its name to Relm Communications and purchases Land Mobile Communications Group from MA/COM. * Politicians play their immature, silly games with the FCC. Congress and the FCC are at odds, only three commissioners are seated-and there are threats them leaving. Foot dragging by Congress cause nail-biting in the wireless community. * Sony enters the mobile communications market with two-way, satellite-based, mobile communications units. Satellites play an ever-expanding role in terrestrial-based mobile communications. * The FCC proposes allowing third party service providers to supply public safety communications services. Everyone thinks it's a bad idea. * The American Private Radio Association (APRA) is formed. * The battle over sharing UHF spectrum with land mobile users really heats up. * The FCC finally moves to break the frequency coordination monopoly with Docket 88-548. It will allow applicants to submit Form 574 directly to the commission. (There is dancing in the streets!) * Congress buckles under pressure and seats three new commissioners by the end of the year. They are: Sherri Patrice Marshall, Andrew Camp Barrett and Alfred C. Sikes. The Commission is whole again.

1990 * The battle over direct access for license application continues-and debate heats up. * Nationwide and international paging are the next hot paging technologies. The industry worries about a shortage of frequencies, according to Telocator. * Cellular puts pressure on frequencies. SMR worries about losing spectrum. * Mercy Contreras, MRT publisher under Weisner, becomes publisher for Intertec. * Cellular subscribers are nearly 2 million strong! * Unlicensed users become a major issue for the FCC. * An unorthodox FCC frequency allocation grant to the Southern California presents the worst scenario for uncoordinated frequency assignments, further muddying the waters over direct access and assigned frequency coordination requirements. Everyone's filing comments. * IBM and Motorola partner to create the Advanced Radio Data information Service (ARDIS). (The big boys throw their weight behind mobile data. Skeptics are silenced forever.) * E.F. Johnson acquires a majority interest in Americom. * McCaw Cellular acquires Lin Broadcasting's cellular holdings. * Ericsson Mobile Data is established to support the Mobitex public mobile data network operated by RAM Mobile Data. * UHF/Two-way sharing loses priority to new HDTV technology. * Cellular phones drop to less than $500 and carrier "incentives" to resellers are used to lower prices even more. * Conditional licensing gets the go-ahead. * Thomas A. Stroup takes over the reigns of Telocator. * Ervin S. Duggan is confirmed as the latest FCC commissioner. * FleetCall gives a wake-up call to the industry when it asks the FCC to allow it to use digital modulation, TDMA, and frequency reuse on its SMR systems-all against current FCC rules. The future of SMR is here-now! * The "Dingell Bill," which would relocate up to 200MHz of spectrum from the federal government to the private sector, has the private wireless industry drooling. * AVL pops up everywhere. * Millidyne acquires Sequel Data Communications. * Sears enters the cellular telephone market with phones and accessories-charge it! * Experimental PCN systems are popping up all over.

1991 * The FCC's Inspector General undertakes a survey audit of frequency coordinators for PLMR. Controversy still haunts this issue. * Motorola's NAMPS comes on the scene to address the issue of potentially crowded cellular frequencies. * Computer technology starts showing up in all phases of wireless technology: billing; diagnostics; service shop operations; and paging, as well as component hardware. * The UHF-land mobile frequency sharing debate goes on. AMST asks the FCC to review the licensing procedure after another case of rules violations in Indiana. * Edgar F. Johnson, E.F. Johnson's founder, dies at age 96. * "Wristwatch pagers" are touted as the next generation of pagers. * Most of FleetCall's waiver is denied by the FCC. It claims that what FleetCall wants to do can be done under the present rules. The SMR industry celebrates; the cellular industry cries foul. * LM Ericsson buys SCE. * Comcast moves to establish an experimental PCS system that links cellular, cable TV and PCS. * SprintNet links up with ARDIS. * Alan Shark takes over the reins of ASNA as its president. * PCS prognosticators expect it to be a $55 billion business by the year 2000, with phones costing less than $250 and service costing about $40 per month. (We'll see.) * Ian Wright, chairman of ACT's volunteer leadership council, steps down. He has had the reins since its inception in 1986. * The FCC denies ASNA's request to reallocate 2MHz of 900MHz spectrum to PLMR. * The paging industry is now over 10 million subscribers strong. * ASMR changes its name to AMTA. * Guess what? Telocator now proposes to call itself the Personal Communications Industry Association (PCIA). * ACT membership drops by nearly 300, as it struggles to remain the representaive organization for communications technicians. * APCO reveals Project 25, for the next generation of digital radio.

1992 * FleetCall's ambitious project to roll out ESMR starts to unravel. (Long-time SMR operators find it a bit too ambitious.) * In-building communications systems, an offshoot of the PCS technology, are expected to be $2.1 billion market by 1997. * 200MHz reallocation rears its ugly head again as bills are again reintroduced in both the House and the Senate. * FleetCall is still threatening to build ESMR. * Technology is taking its toll on equipment. Serviceability is the number-one issue for technicians on new equipment. They cite surface-mount technology; large-scale integrated devices and embedded components as the culprits. * For the first time, the SMR industry growth rate is slowing, adding fuel to the argument that SMR has a limited future. * The UHF channels 14 and 69 and LMR interference issue is addressed by FCC MM Docket No. 87-465. No one is happy, and Motorola immediately files a petition for reconsideration. * Allen Group buys Alliance Telecommunications, parent organization of three major industry players: Decibel products, Comsearch, and db Mobile. * Relm and Adage merge. * GPS-based AVL, married to digital mobile data terminals, forms the footprint for accurate, affordable AVL. (Finally!) * The number of paging users hits 12 million. * Cellular data rates achieve 19,200bps, and "packet" radio comes on line. * ERMES is considered as a next-generation paging code. * There are now more than 8.5 million cellular subscribers in the United States. * First rumblings about digital cellular phones are heard. * ACT finally offers multiple testing sites, continuous testing and immediate results. * SIRSA changes its name to Industrial Telecommunications Association (ITA). (One needs a scorecard just to keep up with the players.) * SMR operators breathe a sigh of relief because they no longer have to license end-users.(Whew!)

1993 * 220MHz lies silent, waiting for private radio users. (Hmmm.) * ESMR (now digital SMR) is still controversial, especially the effect short-spacing will have on signal overlap. ESMR is touted as offering a challenge to cellular. * FleetCall and DisCom merge SMR operations. * Projected growth in analog SMR is predicted to stay level, while digital SMR is predicted to increase significantly. By 1995, the industry will be adding more digital units per year than analog units according to EMCI, a Washington DC-based consulting firm. * Telocator predicts 23 million PCS subscribers by 1997. (Hmmm again.) * Emergency Medical Radio Service (EMRS) is approved by the FCC. * Consumers worry that the 900MHz frequencies that cellular phones radiate a few inches from our heads will cook our brains. (Yeah, right, like 60Hz power lines have, for years, been blamed for everything from hemorrhoids to schizophrenia.) * Pagers are ubiquitous in retail and discount stores. Mobile Comm and McCaw see a gold mine and join forces to cover major metropolitan areas. * The first high-accuracy GPS is deployed in Los Angeles. Pinpoint, a joint venture Magnavox and CUE Network, provides accuracy to within a few feet using both satellite navigation and local FM stations. * E.F. Johnson celebrates 70 years in the industry. * FleetCall changes its name to Nextel Communications. * Robert H. Schwaninger Jr. joins MRT as its regulatory consultant and columnist (Riots occur-at the FCC.) * Mtel receives the first final Pioneers Preference for a PCS system in the U.S. * The first commercial 220MHz trunking system is activated in Houston. * If you don't use the word "wireless" at cocktail receptions, in business jargon and in everyday conversation, you're not hip. (It's a wireless radio-as opposed to the previous kind.) * Congress finally passes legislation to eliminate lotteries and let the FCC auction spectrum instead. (It's hoped that this will take the dentists, accountants and Harvard MBAs cartels out of the two-way radio business-but will it?) * SCL purchases Midland International.

1994 * The FCC collects user and filing fees. * ITA asks the FCC to institute a program to certify technicians. (Why?) * CenCall starts buying Motorola 800MHz SMR properties. * U.S. West sells its paging operation. * During the next 10 years, intelligent vehicle highway systems (IVHS) will become one of the fastest-growing and most lucrative areas of the telecommunications industry (writes Robert H. Schwaninger Jr.). * Telocator is now officially PCIA. * MCI buys a 20% stake in Nextel. * Industry pundits predict 4.4 million SMR subscribers by 1998. * CDMA (code-division multiple-access technology) is being taken seriously. * 220MHz narrowband SMR is finally a reality. * The first FCC PCS license auction nets $6.17 billion (on paper). * PCIA and NABER merge; new life is breathed into PCIA. * Frequency coordination is again under scrutiny. * Dial Page and Nextel marry; Nextel, Comcast and MCI divorce. * 800MHz generates more excitement as the FCC freezes new licenses and rumors of dismissal of pending licenses abound. * SMR WON is formed. * The U.S. Court of Appeals strikes down the FCC fines and assessments policy. (There is dancing in the streets, again.)

1995 It's a year of partnerships, alliances, mergers and agreements. Watch closely. * The FCC has more than its share of problems: lawsuits; influence peddling; claims of favoritism and "donation" acceptance all seem to tarnish the Commission's image. * The FCC lifts the ban that prevents traditional telephone companies from holding SMR system licenses. Hardly anyone notices. * PCS still isn't here. * ESMR still isn't here. * Reed Hundt is in charge of the FCC. * MCI, PageNet, and SkyTel enter into agreements to provide nationwide, wireless messaging to MCI customers. * Glenayre and Western Multiplex merge. * Racotek and Ericsson enter into an agreement to implement wireless data and voice on the Ericsson EDACS network. * Glenayre and MobileComm form a partnership to develop a two-way wireless messaging service * Geotek and Hughes Network Systems ally to develop products for frequency-hopping multiple-access (FHMA) systems. * Ericsson and Uniden forge a cross-licensing agreement. * 800MHz is still waiting for the rulemaking.

1996 * Pressure mounts to reduce the 20-odd radio services to four-or three-or two. (Wonder why.) * MTA-EMCI projects over 60 million U.S. cellular subscribers and 20 million PCS subscribers by the year 2000. (And guess what? Most of them will be consumers!) * Digital cellular. (Where? How? What happened?) * Intertec Publishing buys Argus Inc.'s assets, picking up 36 magazines, including RFDesign and Satellite Communications, and trade shows including the International Wireless Communications Exposition (IWCE). Communications magazine, included in the purchase, is terminated, and its coverage is incorporated into MRT. * Paging sees new technologies take on the status quo. ERMES and Motorola's Flex step up to the plate. * Small Business in Telecommunications (SBT) is formed, with Lonnie Danchik as first chairman. * David Packard, co-founder of Hewlett-Packard, dies at age 83. * IWCE celebrates is 20th anniversary. * The FCC "downsizes." (This should be interesting.) * Paging sees a new technology emerge. PACT (personal Air Communications Technology) promises two-way messaging and a messaging protocol. (We'll see.) * MTA-EMCI is at it again. It prognosticates that there will be more than 60 million pagers in service by the year 2000. * Midland is sold again-this time to Intek Diversified.

1997 * Telematics(?) hit the market to offer combined cellular, GPS, status messaging and voice communications for the automobile industry. (See "2005," below.) * The first totally IS-136 digital cellular system that uses SMR frequencies is on line. * Securicor controls Intek. * New licensing rules for the remainder of the 220MHz-222MHz spectrum are released by the FCC. * Voice messages come to pagers. * Nextel has lost almost $900 million over the last two years. * Trident Micro Systems forms "technology alliances" with multiple manufacturers for trunking technology. * Reed Hundt leaves the FCC-eventually. * Here we go again: ACT changes its name to AWCET. AWSI and SMRA merge to form MWCCA. (Whew! Good thing I cn spel.) * The FCC threatens to auction 800MHz again-maybe.

1998 * 220MHz auctions are here again (to the tune of "Happy days are...."). * William Kennard becomes FCC Chairman. Four other commissioners join him: Harold Furchgott-Roth, Susan Ness, Michael Powell and Gloria Tristani. * Nextel bids over $88 million in the 800MHz auction, winning 90% of the licenses. (Boy, sure hope they know what they're doing-see "2005.") * Transcrypt International buys E.F. Johnson. (This is probably the end of Johnson, as we know it. Oh well. But things look good for Transcrypt.) * PCS is finally a reality. (Funny, it looks just like a cellular telephone.) * PCS still hasn't replaced paging. * Cellular telephones are free.

2005? * PCS is everywhere and the cellular industry is defunct. Paging? What's paging? * "It's digital" doesn't mean "it works." * Nextel is the only SMR provider left on the planet-but they're being bailed out by the government. (Remember Chrysler?) * The FCC disbands, and PCIA is in charge of licensing, auctions and frequency coordination. Jay Kitchen signs autographs. * PCIA, ITA, AMTA, SBT, APCO, ASMR, et al, all get together to form MESS. * Schwaninger is still writing for MRT? -Ernest Worthman, circa 1998