In just 3 decades the humble mobile phone has come a long way…
Coverage – in August 1981 the mobile network was limited to greater Melbourne (the service launched in Sydney in December 1981, Brisbane in 1983 and reached all Australian capital cities by 1985) – and today the Telstra mobile network covers 2.1 million square kilometers and reaches more than 99 per cent of the population.
Customers – approximately 1300 customers in Sydney and Melbourne used the mobile network in its first year, compared to today where there are an estimated 22 million mobile phone services in Australia[1]. In 2010/11 Telstra connected more than one million mobile services in just nine months.
Texts – in 1981 no one had heard of ’texting’ whereas in 2009/10 Telstra customers sent 9.4 billion text messages.
Mobile internet – in 1981 using a mobile network for internet access wasn’t even imagined, now Telstra’s mobile broadband network supports over 10 million internet capable phones, tablets and data cards
Base stations – in 1981 there were three base stations in Melbourne and five base stations in Sydney, today there are more than 7,400 base stations across Australia.
Costs – in 1981 it cost $4995 plus a $350 installation fee to purchase a mobile phone compared to today where a customer can buy a phone from Telstra for less than $35 outright.
Take a look at this 1980 information video introducing Australia to Mobile phone technology.
Source: Telstra
