Cell Phone is 25-years old today: first handset was $3,995

It is hard to think that the cell phone is actually 25-years old today; the very first cell phone call was made back on October 13, 1983. Bob Barnett, the president of Ameritech Mobile communications made a phone call to Alexander Graham Bell’s nephew from Chicago’s Soldier Field.

The phone that was used was a Motorola DynaTAC handset, which we now know as The Brick. The handset weighed in at 2.5 pounds, so was not what I would call a portable phone. The phone also had a hefty price tag of $3,995.

The network service was not up too much either; it would cost $50 a month just for the service, then 40 cents per minute peak time and 24 cents off peak. 25-years ago the cell phone was a gadget just for the rich, now today the cell phone is a way of life for all of us.

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