A FIRST-HAND HISTORY OF MOBILE COMMUNICATIONS

How GSMchanged the world

The story of the people, ideas and technology that created a global standard and connected billions.

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Provisional AI-assisted restoration of an archival photograph showing four men at a GSM meeting in Bonn, 1987.
Bonn, Germany 1987

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The authoritative guide to everything GSM

Gerry Whent and Chris Gent outside Vodafone, using mobile phones History
of GSMThe people, decisions and milestones. Illustration of radio transmission and frequency bands, without numerical allocations Radio
SpectrumThe airwaves that made it possible. Inside the Mobile RevolutionCasting the NetsEmperor Ofcom’s New ClothesThe Graveyard of Good Intentions BooksIn-depth accounts
and insights. Original archival documents and mobile equipment displayed at the Science Museum Rare
DocumentsOriginal documents, standards and archives. Stephen Temple's original collection of early GSM mobile telephones Vintage
MobilesIconic devices
and their story. BlackBerry Porsche Design handset from the site's original Great Designs archive Great
DesignsEngineering, design and user experience.

Each leap forward

From a European vision to the connected world.

  1. 1970sOriginsA shared mobile
    vision takes shape.
  2. 1980s–90sGSM / 2GA common standard
    takes mobile global.
  3. 2000s3GThe internet moves
    into our pockets.
  4. 2010s4GFast mobile broadband
    goes mainstream.
  5. 2020s5GNetworks connect
    far more than phones.
  6. Ahead6G & beyondThe next leap is
    still unfolding.

A brief timeline

Key moments on the road to a global standard.

  1. 1970sThe need
    for a common standard
  2. 1982GSM concept
    established
  3. 1987Key decisions
    in Bonn
  4. 1991GSM Phase 1
    specification
  5. 1992First GSM
    networks
  6. 2000sGlobal expansion

From the original archives

Original 1987 GSM Memorandum of Understanding; the desktop preview shows a title-and-purpose detail of its first page

The 1987 GSM
Memorandum of Understanding

Original document  ·  7 September 1987  ·  PDF

The founding document that set out the shared commitment to implement a pan European 900 MHz digital cellular mobile telecommunications service by 1991.

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First page of the original Home Office frequency-requirements working paper Handwritten draft base-station recommendations, page 4 of the original GSM technical specification Original signed page of the Bonn ministerial declaration of 19 May 1987
Original scans · editorial arrangement

Explore rare agreements, working papers and original records that reveal how GSM became a global standard.

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Featured story

Do mobiles cause cancer?

How did an ordinary technical study become a national scare? A misunderstood research proposal, a professor’s answer taken out of context and increasingly alarming newspaper headlines sent the story spiralling.

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