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Private Line covers what has occurred, is occurring, and will ocurr in telecommunications. Since communication technology constantly changes, you can expect new content posted regularly.

Consider this site an authoritative resource. Its moderators have successful careers in the telecommunications industry. Utilize the content and send comments. As a site about communicating, conversation is encouraged.

Writers

Thomas Farely

Tom has produced privateline.com since 1995. He is now a freelance technology writer who contributes regularly to the site.

His knowledge of telecommunications has served, most notably, the American Heritage Invention and Technology Magazine and The History Channel.
His interview on Alexander Graham Bell will air on the History Channel the end of 2006.

Ken Schmidt

Ken is a licensed attorney who has worked in the tower industry for seven years. He has managed the development of broadcast towers nationwide and developed and built cell towers.

He has been quoted in newspapers and magazines on issues regarding cell towers and has spoke at industry and non-industry conferences on cell tower related issues.

He is recognized as an expert on cell tower leases and due diligence processes for tower acquisitions.

« The Automatic Electric Company is still alive? | | What's the difference between the electrical age and the electronics age? »

November 20, 2002

Posted by Tom Farley & Mark van der Hoek at 11:45 PM

Nordic Mobile Telephone System

Europe saw cellular service introduced in 1981, when the Nordic Mobile Telephone System (internal link) or NMT450 began operating in Denmark, Sweden, Finland, and Norway in the 450 MHz range. It was the first multinational cellular system. It was also close to being the first all digital cellular service. Unlike AMPS, which used digital routines and tones for signalling, NMT used all digital or binary signalling. No tones. NMT could have been a fully digital system with digitized voice, but technology for that hadn't quite developed. As Knut Flottorp expalins:

"NMT was before its time, fully digital, TDMA, on SS7 signalling. They did not make a voice codec that could work fast enough, nor would be affordable. So it was digital switching of analog voice. The system then had the benefit of extreme coverage -- where reception would degrade gracefully and cover as far as 25 miles."

For more on the hard to research NMT, click here to read Staffan Hultén's history of the project:

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