The Cell Phone

Asides from the internet and email, the most common form of social mass communication today is by use of the cell phone. The idea for the cell phone came as researchers wanted to futher develop the car phone (see below post). The goal was to create a more handy and portable phone, with a greater coverage that used "cells" transmitted over radio frequencies - in other words, a modern two-way radio capable of communication over great distances. Initially, the FCC (Federal Communications Commission) limited the amount of mobile phone users/frequencies so that only 23 conversations could occur simultaneously. In the late 1960's the FCC declared that if cell phones and mobile devices were proven to work and to benefit the population, then the FCC would increase and free up airwaves for the cell phones and mobile devices. The first use of the mobile phone technology was in police cars as car phones and radio scanners. Then in 1973, the first call on a cell phone was made by Dr. Martin Cooper (GM of Motorolla) to his rival Joel Engel at Bell Labs. This the fisrt time that the technology was used outside of an automobile. In 1982, the FCC finally created an international cell phone service in the US, and since then, people all around the world have been able to communicate by useof the cell phone. Another great development in cell phone history, was the creation of the GSM, the Global System for Mobile Communications, which developed a system in Europe to allow cell phone users to roam through different European countries without being limited in their bandwidth and reception. Today, the inclredible technologies behind mass communication have combined and created the new cell phones and PDAs of the present. The Blackberry for instance, has the characteristics of a cell phone, but also is capable of communcating like a computer. A person can talk to anyone in the world, go online, write emails, watch tv, and most importantly do all of this on one tiny pocket sized machine that has revolutionized the methods of mass communication for the better. A common method of mass communication today is telemarketing. Telemarketing is a way of selling products or more commonly ideas and opinions over the phonelines. Thanks to caller ID and unlisted numbers, the amount of telemarketing has declined substantially in the last number of years. A great example of mass communication using this method would be for political campaigns. During the presidential and even statewide elections, the candidates record themselves talking about their qualities and goals, and then their organizations replay these messages to people by calling their phones. This form of mass communication, although annoying at dinner time, is very effective in changing and impacting people's views on political candidates. If a person cannot afford a cell phone, or cannot get one, a very common method of mass communcications by way of the phone takes place in the form of the phone card. A phone card is a prepaid phone service that one can purchase almost anywhere, that allows a person to call local and long distance. There are all types of phone cards from, international, to certain countries, all the way to global phone cards. This is a very good form of mass communication becuase it allows people to be able to call places, when they cannot afford a regular phone service. Cell phones can also be used as mp3 players to listen to music and to the radio, which brings up one of the newest forms of mass communcation: the iPod. Created by Apple Inc., the iPod has shaped a new generation of music goers and communicaters around the world. Usig mp3 technology, the iPod is capable of transporting music and files anywhere one goes. The iPod has become part of today's culture and has had a great impact on mass communication thus far. The brand new iPhone combines the technology of an iPod and that of a cell phone and gives you a phone that holds all your music and videos and can acess the internet and email. If there is any downside to the new forms of mass communication, it would only be the effect of the technology on people behind the wheel of an automobile. Cell phones are the leading cause of accidents in today's society because people pay attention to the phone instead of the the road. This proves to be an obstacle for the sucess and safety of these new forms of technology, but currently, law makers and the companies behind this technology are trying to find a way to cut down on accidents and hopefully create a brighter future for mass communcation. One method of safety with cell phones, is the hands-free aspect and headsets like Blutooth technology, which enables the driver to use both hands for driving and no hands for talking.