Alexander Graham Bell and/or Elisha Gray invented conventional telephony, most people know. Marconi is generally recognized as the father of radio, but many know that people like Tesla did most of the heavy lifting. Bell and Marconi are more or less household names, possibly because the prominence achieved by the companies named for these men.
Who invented the mobile? Here is the obituary of Amos E. Joel, Jr., one of the men who contributed to the emergence of mobile telephony as we know it. But what about the others? Who made the critical breakthroughs?
4 Comments
Deane
I think it was Obama.
Ranga
This has nothing to do with wireless communication, but the transition from carbon microphones to piezoelectric microphones/transducers also happened in the 1970s, and paved the way for miniature and portable devices such as the mobile phone.
A single person cannot be credited with the discovery, as most of the research were pioneered by the Japanese who were not hindered with patent restrictions as in the United States. Collectively as a nation they came up with materials such as PZT (Lead Zirconium Titanate) that are still the most efficient and prominent of piezoelectric ceramics.
Chanuka Wattegama
Though it is difficult to single out the ‘inventor’ of a mobile phone (just like we don’t know who exactly invented car as different people invented components) Martin Cooper is widely believed to be the father of ‘hand phone’, against the car phone. According to Wikipedia, Cooper is the inventor named on US patent 3906166 ‘Radio telephone system’ filed on October 17, 1973. He is considered the inventor of the first portable handset and the first person to make a call on a portable cell phone on April 3, 1973, to the bewilderment of passers-by in a New York City street.
Nuwan and myself had the rare opportunity of meeting him during a Wireless Research Forum meeting once in Chennai.
Nuwan
In Chennai he told us the story of his wife’s idea of the Jitterbug mobile phone (http://www.info4cellphones.com/jitterbug-cell-phone-for-seniors.html) intended for senior citizens and or physically impaired. True, in this case his wife was behind this innovation.
Rethinking Sri Lanka’s Data Centre Hub Ambition
The idea of turning Sri Lanka into a regional data centre hub is an attractive one, particularly in the context of growing global demand for digital infrastructure and AI-driven services. However, it raises important economic questions, especially whether this is a viable and high-return investment strategy for a small, fiscally constrained economy like Sri Lanka.
Nepal’s digital crossroads: building a transparent data governance framework
Nepal’s evolving digital landscape highlights a growing tension between constitutional guarantees of privacy and access to information, and a fragmented, outdated data governance framework. In a recent article published in Republica on March 17, 2026, Avash Mainali, Country Researcher for Nepal for LIRNEasia’s D4D Asia project, argues that while the introduction of the Personal Data Protection Policy, 2082 (2025), marks a positive step, its impact will depend on whether it can move beyond aspirational language to enforceable rights.
LIRNEasia CEO Helani Galpaya Shares Insights on AI and Labour at ISLE Conference 2026
Artificial intelligence is rapidly transforming labour markets worldwide. In the Global South, however, these changes are unfolding unevenly, shaped by labour markets defined by high levels of informality, uneven social protection, and large skills gaps.
Links
User Login
Themes
Social
Twitter
Facebook
RSS Feed
Contact
9A 1/1, Balcombe Place
Colombo 08
Sri Lanka
+94 (0)11 267 1160
+94 (0)11 267 5212
info [at] lirneasia [dot] net
Copyright © 2026 LIRNEasia
a regional ICT policy and regulation think tank active across the Asia Pacific