| The
Future of Wireless
By James
Mosieur
In
1985, at the beginning of the
cell phone era, cell phone users
in the world totaled only about
200,000. Today, according to
CTIA - The Wireless Association,
there are nearly 200 million
in the US alone!
In
the past some waxed futuristic,
saying that someday there will
be a cell phone in every car.
No one, not even its creator,
could imagine that the cell
phone would become the most
significant consumer electronic
device in history; bigger than
its wired cousin; bigger than
TV’s; even bigger than
PC’s.
But
that's exactly what’s
happening.
A
report by the Gartner Group
projected that by 2009, manufacturers
will be selling 1 billion cell
phones each year. By then, 2.6
billion people worldwide will
be using cell phones, Gartner
says.
The
cell phone's impact is so huge
because it’s so widespread.
A business associate of mine
visiting a developing country
in Latin America noticed a man
riding a bike with a state of
the art cell phone on his belt.
To him a cell phone took priority
over motorized transportation.
Anything so big, so powerful,
so far reaching can literally
transform society.
Many
sources project that this year
cell phones will outnumber land
lines in the US. Right now the
mighty cell phone is challenging
the desktop PC as the single
most important productivity
and entertainment tool. With
worldwide ring tone sales reaching
more than US $4 billion last
year, most via over the air
downloads charged to the cell
phone bill, the viability of
the cell phone as a commerce
platform has already been proven.
So
it’s easy to see how social
change can happen. Cell phones
are now an intrinsic part of
our life. When we misplace them
we panic, when we break them
we seek counseling, when we
lose them we mourn. Our entire
life - phone numbers, contact
names, important dates, kids
pictures, favorite games, CD
collection - is stored on this
mass of silicon and copper wiring.
Just
exactly how the cell phone will
affect our future no one can
be certain. But we can be certain
that the effect on society will
be huge. Will our identity be
tied to our cell phone number;
will cell phones become digital
wallets; will they be electronic
leashes keeping track of our
children; will we someday be
able to get USDA approved Motorola
cell phone implants?
Who
knows? One thing we do know
is that new businesses will
pop up, new ways to make money
will be discovered, we’ll
find new ways to be entertained
and the cell phone will continue
shape society. But for now let’s
just enjoy the new 20 megapixel,
nuclear powered, video mail
enabled iPod credit card flip
phone made by Motorola-Berry…sorry…there
I go…waxing futuristic
again.
James Mosieur is CEO of RMS Communications Group, Inc. RMS operates several cell phone recycling websites like www.CellForCash.com. He has been in the electronics recycling business since 1985. James writes and speaks on cell phone recycling and related subjects particularly as they relate to the individual consumer.
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