Home · On This Day · Feb. 19, 1947
Introduction of the mobile phone
Broadcast Date: Feb. 19, 1947
"Why mobile service?" Bell Telephone's John Hayes asks rhetorically. "Well, I gotta be where you are!" he answers. In this CBC Radio report, two reporters take the new mobile phone, which is about to be introduced to the market, out for a spin. Driving along the streets of Toronto, Bill Beatty's car is outfitted with the required antenna and receiver boxes. Calling from a telephone booth, Byng Whitteker places the call.Introduction of the mobile phone
• These mobile phones required an operator to complete the call and were not readily available for mass market consumption.• The mobile phone hit the Canadian market on June 28, 1947. The Globe & Mail was the first subscriber of the service.
• Cellphones entered a wider, less specialized market in 1985. In 1987, there were 100,000 users in Canada. By 2001, that total had jumped to 9.5 million users.
• A Carnegie Mellon University study found that North Americans throw away 40 to 60 million cellphones each year.
Introduction of the mobile phone
Medium: Radio
Program: CBC News Roundup
Broadcast Date: Feb. 19, 1947
Guest(s): John Hayes
Reporter: Bill Beatty, Byng Whitteker
Duration: 4:18
Photo: Bell Canada Archives
Last updated:
Feb. 11, 2009
Television
2:12
July 10, 1962
On July 10, 1877, home telephones went on sale for public use in Canada. Today, on July 10, 1962, CBC cameras mark the home phone's 85th anniversary at Toronto's Bell Telephone office.
Radio
2:25
March 3, 1947
Bell's daughter Marian discusses her father, "the great encourager," on what would have been his 100th birthday.
Introduction of the mobile phone.
The CBC Digital Archives Website.
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.
Last updated: Feb. 11, 2009.
[Page consulted on Feb. 12, 2012.]