1G

First-generation mobile telecommunications standard October 2025 GPRS, a 2G mobile data indicator sometimes shown as "G" on mobile devices In mobile telecommunications, 1G (first generation) refers to the analog cellular network systems introduced in the late 1970s. The term was later applied retroactively to distinguish these early cellular network systems from later digital generations. History The first commercial cellular network was launched by Nippon Telegraph and Telephone (NTT) in Japan in 1979, initially covering Tokyo. Within five years it expanded nationwide and became the world’s first full-scale cellular system. Earlier, Bell Laboratories tested a network around Chicago in 1978.Shi Mingtao 2007 Technology base of mobile cellular operators in Germany and China: a comparative study from the perspective of the resource-based view Technische Universität Berlin Berlin de 9783798320574 https://books.google.com/books?id=8ZRo-lxUDwkC 60 The Nordic countries jointly developed the Nordic Mobile Telephone (NMT) standard, first deployed in Sweden in 1981. NMT introduced international roaming, a feature later adopted by other systems. In 1983, Ameritech launched the first 1G network in the United States using the Advanced Mobile Phone System (AMPS) and the Motorola DynaTAC handset. By the mid-1980s, 1G networks operated across most of Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. Adoption varied: Western Europe and North America expanded rapidly, while Eastern Europe and parts of Africa adopted the technology later due to economic and political limits.Shi Mingtao 2007 Technology base of mobile cellular operators in Germany and China: a comparative study from the perspective of the resource-based view Technische Universität Berlin Berlin de 9783798320574 https://books.google.com/books?id=8ZRo-lxUDwkC 63 Although Japan was the first country with a nationwide cellular network, the number of users was significantly lower than other developed economies with a penetration rate of only 0.15 percent in 1989.Shi 2007 61 As of January 1991, the highest penetration rates for cell phones worldwide were in Sweden and Finland with both countries above 50 percent closely followed by Norway and Iceland. The United States had a rate of 21.2 percent. In most other European countries it was below 10 percent.1995 Mobile and PSTN Communication Services https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/docserver/237485605680.pdf OECD Digital Economy Papers 13 10.1787/237485605680 Technology 1G introduced the cellular network concept which divided service areas into cells, each served by a low-power transmitter, enabled frequency reuse and higher capacity.Shi Mingtao 2007 Technology base of mobile cellular operators in Germany and China: a comparative study from the perspective of the resource-based view Technische Universität Berlin Berlin de 9783798320574 https://books.google.com/books?id=8ZRo-lxUDwkC 56 Although some parts of the network backbone used digital signaling, voice transmission between handset and base station remained analog, typically using frequency modulation similar to land mobile radio systems. Standards Analog cellular standards of the 1G era included:To open or not to open a technological system: insights from the history of mobile phones and their application to 5G https://media.crai.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/05145230/Insights-The-Economics-of-5G-article-6-Open-or-Closed-System-May2021.pdf Charles River Associates May 2021 en https://web.archive.org/web/20230715000000/https://media.crai.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/05145230/Insights-The-Economics-of-5G-article-6-Open-or-Closed-System-May2021.pdf 15 July 2023 13 October 2025 Advanced Mobile Phone System (AMPS) – United States and other regionshttp://www.amta.org.au/default.asp?Page=142 Advanced Mobile Phone System Australian Mobile Telecommunications Association en https://web.archive.org/web/20080417135000/http://www.amta.org.au/default.asp?Page=142 17 April 2008 13 October 2025 Nordic Mobile Telephone (NMT) – Nordic countries and parts of Eastern Europe Total Access Communication System (TACS) – United Kingdom and other regions C-450 – West Germany, Portugal, and South Africa Radiocom 2000 – France, operated by France Télécom RTMI – Italy MCS-L1 and MCS-L2 – Japan, developed by NTT JTACS – Japan, a variant of TACS operated by DDI Transition to 2G By the early 1990s, analog 1G systems were replaced by digital GSM and cdmaOne networks, which offered higher capacity, encryption, and text messaging. Most 1G networks were decommissioned by the early 2000s, though some persisted longer in remote or developing regions. The last known operational 1G service, in Russia, closed in 2017.Сети стандарта NMT-450 прекращают свою работу http://mtsforum.mybb.ru/viewtopic.php?id=183 2025-11-11Сети стандарта NMT-450 прекращают свою работу, стр. 2 http://mtsforum.mybb.ru/viewtopic.php?id=183&p=2 2025-11-112017-05-30 Сегодня был отключён Котлас. Всё, стандарта NMT-450 больше не существует https://cells.ru/forum/read.php?12,1744410,1754308#msg-1754308 2025-11-11 See also List of mobile phone generations 2G 3G 4G 4G LTE 5G 6G 6G Melda (Melda is referred to a modern ITU as an advanced Cellular bandwidth than 6G) References Category:Mobile telecommunications Category:Wireless communication systems