Mobile phones,back then
- Thread starter jet
- Start date
hollydolly
SF VIP
- Location
- London England
Michael Z
Senior Member
- Location
- Northern Wisconsin
We had mobile phones, but they were simple flip phones. My choice of phone is still that type. I have a $20 flip phone with an $8/mo Tracfone plan.
jimintoronto
Well-known Member
When I was a long distance expedite freight owner/operator in the years 1995 to 2003, I had a plug in "phone in a bag " that rode with me all over Canada and the USA. It plugged into the cigar lighter outlet. It was not portable. I also carried a company supplied "sat pager " that worked off a Qualcomm satilite system.
As long as I was not in an underground garage or a tunnel, that pager could reach me anywhere in Canada or the States. If I needed to speak to my dispatch office in Cambridge, Ontario, there was a toll free 1-800 number to call. Because I was an owner/operator, the cost of the cell phone was a legitimate business tax write off, as were all the other expenses I incurred while making a living on the road. When I left that business, I sold the phone to a newly hired owner/operator at Dynamex Expedite.
Even back then, 30 plus years ago, it was hard to find a pay phone in the USA that worked. They were either damaged by vandals, or the hand set had been cut off. The phones at truck stops were more likely to be operative, because the phones were inside the building, where they were less likely to be damaged. JimB.
I bought my first Cadillac in 1985 and had a cellphone from a company called Cellular One who also installed it. The terms were much different than today. There weren’t a lot of towers up back then, so clarity was an issue.
On my first plan, I got 30 free minutes per month and had to stay within my region. If I went outside my region, I was charged an additional .45 cents per minute. Long distance charges were also applied. If there were too many cellular users on the same cell tower, your call could be rejected and I would have to call the number I’m trying to reach again.
However, even with all of that, I enjoyed the use of my cellphone from the car. I could have gotten what was called a “bag phone,” which was a cell phone inside a leather bag and that would go wherever I carried it. It was more mobile that way. If I spoke with another Cellular One customer, I wasn’t charged any minutes.
On my first plan, I got 30 free minutes per month and had to stay within my region. If I went outside my region, I was charged an additional .45 cents per minute. Long distance charges were also applied. If there were too many cellular users on the same cell tower, your call could be rejected and I would have to call the number I’m trying to reach again.
However, even with all of that, I enjoyed the use of my cellphone from the car. I could have gotten what was called a “bag phone,” which was a cell phone inside a leather bag and that would go wherever I carried it. It was more mobile that way. If I spoke with another Cellular One customer, I wasn’t charged any minutes.
I should have added to my original post #5 that the charge was $30 per month, plus taxes and fees. Once the guys I worked with saw I had a cellphone in my car, they tried to make a big deal out if it. I told them back then that someday everyone will have a cellphone. A lot of them said “Not me.” How did that work out?
The best part was that on the advice of my friend that was pretty heavy in the stock market advised me to buy all the shares I could afford. He said that someday cellphones are going to be big. Cell One finally sold out to AT&T in the early 2000’s. I did buy a lot of stock in Cellular One and made out pretty good.
The best part was that on the advice of my friend that was pretty heavy in the stock market advised me to buy all the shares I could afford. He said that someday cellphones are going to be big. Cell One finally sold out to AT&T in the early 2000’s. I did buy a lot of stock in Cellular One and made out pretty good.
Memory is getting a little fuzzy, but I believe my lovely wife had a cell phone in her Audi in the mid to late 80s. It had to be hard wired in, and had its own antenna mounted to the window.
What I found funny was that in a few years, that rear mounted antenna became a status symbol to some folks, and you could buy a stick-on antenna that did nothing.
I had a bag phone in the late 90s, but soon replaced it with a ????? I dunno, it's been 25 years
What I found funny was that in a few years, that rear mounted antenna became a status symbol to some folks, and you could buy a stick-on antenna that did nothing.
I had a bag phone in the late 90s, but soon replaced it with a ????? I dunno, it's been 25 years