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commercial mobile telephony service developed from these pilots. introduced a pilot system to serve Baltimore, Maryland, and Washington, D.C. By 1946 AT&T Bell Laboratories had created the Improved Mobile Telephone Service (IMTS), the first mobile telephone radio system to connect with the public telephone network.ĭevelopment of this sophisticated technology, tests for its commercial applications, formulation of Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regulations, introduction of new radio frequencies for “land mobile communications, ” and the breakup of AT&T -among other events -delayed the construction of a pilot wireless systems until 1983 when Illinois Bell/AT&T began to operate a pilot wireless system in Chicago, and American Radio Telephone Service Inc. For example, Motorola ’s FM Handie-Talkie and Walkie-Talkie, products developed during the war years, carried over into peacetime use.
AMERICAN TOWER COMPANY PORTABLE
military used FM for efficient two-way mobile radio communications on the battlefield, and such companies as Motorola, AT&T, and General Electric began to focus on refining mobile and portable communications for commercial use. This technology reduced the bulk of radio equipment and improved the quality of transmission.ĭuring World War II the U.S. A major breakthrough occurred in 1935 when Edwin Howard Armstrong invented frequency modulation (FM) to improve radio broadcasting. Furthermore, bumpy streets, tall buildings, and uneven landscapes prevented successful transmission of radiotelephone signals on land. However, radiotelephone communication equipment that was easily housed on large ships was too large and unwieldy for installation in cars. ” In the 1920s, police departments in Michigan, New Jersey, and Connecticut wanted to equip their patrol cars with the radiotelephone technology that had improved the safety of oceangoing vessels. The need for safety was the major catalyst for the growth of the wireless communications industry, according to AT&T ’s “Brief History of Wireless. 1920-94: Genesis of Wireless Communications ATC ’s net revenue rose from $17.5 million in fiscal 1997 to $200 million for the 12 months ending September 30, 1999. The holding company ’s diversified base of customers includes most of the major wireless service providers -for example, AirTouch, Alltel, AT&T, AT&T Wireless, Bell Atlantic Mobile, Nextel, Omnipoint, PageNet, Sprint PCS, Teligent, WinStar -and a majority of radio and television broadcasters, such as ABC, CBS, Chancellor Media, Clear Channel, CNN, Fox, and NBC. ATC Teleports has Technical Operations Centers located in New York City, Dallas, and Alexandria, Virginia. A teleport is the technical link for all video, voice, and data transmission to and from ground-based, terrestrial sources and satellites. an American Tower wholly owned subsidiary -is a leading provider of domestic and international satellite services. The company operates in three business segments: the TRM segment offers leasing and subleasing of antennae sites on multi-tenant towers for radio and television broadcasting and a wide range of wireless communication industries -such as cellular phone systems (computer-controlled systems that connect to a network of radiotelephones), personal communications services (PCS), and various mobile radio systems the Services segment contributes network development, including network design, site acquisition and construction, zoning and other regulatory approvals, tower construction and antennae installation the VVDI (video, voice, data, and Internet) segment provides transmission services in the New York City to Washington, D.C., corridor and in Texas. ATC ’s primary business is the leasing of antennae sites. The company operates a national network of over 10,000 sites in the United States and Mexico, including about 300 broadcast tower sites.
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NAIC: 513322 Cellular and Other Wireless Telecommunicationsīoston, Massachusetts-based American Tower Corporation (ATC) is the leading independent owner, operator, and developer of broadcast and wireless communications sites in North America. Incorporated: 1995 as American Tower Systems Corporation
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