• EDUCATE
    EDUCATE

    ...our citizens to be cyber smart, and develop pathways for the future cyber workforce.

  • ENGAGE
    ENGAGE

    ...and convene partners to address emerging cyber and cryptologic issues.

  • COMMEMORATE
    COMMEMORATE

    ...our cryptologic history & those who served within the cryptologic community.

THE NCF VISION

Advance the nation’s interest in cyber and cryptology through leadership, education, and partnerships.

1973: Motorola completed the first handheld cellular phone call.

Wednesday, April 3, 2019

3 April 1973: Motorola engineer Marty Cooper (pictured here) made the first handheld cell phone call to Joel Engel, a rival from the research department at Bell Labs. Cooper made the call on a DynaTAC phone that weighed in at about 2.2 pounds and was 10 inches long.

The first fully automated mobile phone system for vehicles had been launched in Sweden by TeliaSonera and Ericsson in 1956. Named MTA (Mobile Telephone system A). This was the first time calls could be made and received in the car while using the public telephone network. Before 1973, mobile telephones were limited to phones installed in cars and other vehicles.

In 1947, an engineer at Bell Labs named William Rae Young proposed that radio towers arranged in a hexagonal pattern could support a telephone network. Young worked under another engineer named D.H. Ring. Young's design allowed for low-power transmitters to carry calls across the network. It also accounted for handoffs, which is when a caller moves from one tower's broadcast radius to another. But though the theory was sound, the technology to make it happen was lacking. It would take more than 10 years for the next development.

By the 1960s, Bell Labs engineers Richard Frenkiel and Joel Engel developed the technology to support Young's design of a cellular network. But as AT&T sought permission from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to develop a cellular network, Motorola (their competitor) made the bold move in 1973 of making the first cellular based phone call.

By 1981, the first generation of mobile telephone systems known as Nordic Mobile Telephone System emerged in Sweden and Norway. Osten Makitalo, who is know as the father of the mobile telephone, said “NMT was the first modern telephone system, the mother of all mobile telephones. Everything after that are actually just copies.” Initial NMT phones were designed to mount in the trunk of a car, with a keyboard/display unit at the drivers seat.

Although Cooper and his colleagues had filed a patent for a "radio telephone system" in October of 1973, the DynaTAC 8000X phone did not become commercially available until 1983. The DynaTAC 8000X was the first mobile telephone that could connect to the telephone network without the assistance of a mobile operator and was portable for the user to carry about. It cost about $4,000 to purchase.

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  • The first hire at SIS was Annie Louise Newkirk, hired as a cryptographic clerk. Interesting note, when a phone call came in for someone working in the vault room, Ms. Newkirk would buzz the back room using a Morse code equivalent for the first initial of the individual's name. In honor of Women's History Month - click to learn about more female cryptologic pioneers!

About Us

The NCF's Vision is to strengthen trust in the digital ecosystem.

The NCF Mission: Advance the nation’s interest in cyber and cryptology as we:

Educate citizens to be cyber smart individuals, 

Develop pathways for the future cyber and cryptologic workforce, 

Engage and convene partners to address emerging cyber and cryptologic issues and, 

Commemorate our cryptologic history and those who served. 

The Foundation provides exceptional cryptologic programs, encourages young minds to learn about cryptology and to explore cyber-related career opportunities, hosts educational, cryptology-related exhibits at various community events, and honors the people— past and present—whose contributions to our national security protect and make possible our way of life.

The NCF also provides needed support to the National Cryptologic Museum (NCM), the first public museum in the U.S. Intelligence Community. Located adjacent to the National Security Agency (NSA) in Maryland, the NCM houses a unique and priceless collection of artifacts that represent our Nation's history in code making and code breaking, as well as a world class library of cryptologic media. The NCF has acquired rare and invaluable artifacts for the Museum and helps to support new educational and interactive exhibits.

The NCF is a 501(c)(3) organization.

Learn more about our MISSION, VISION, and VALUES.