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HISTORY OF CORDLESS PHONES
It all started around 1980. The cordless phones were primitive
by today's standards. These cordless phones were given a
frequency of 27 MHz. By this standard, FCC range was good but the
sound quality was not. These cordless phones had a lot of noise
and static. The FCC allowed ten channels. If you were within distance
of someone using the same frequency you could share conversations
or have a 3 way conversation at no additional charge from MA Bell.
The cordless phone came with 1 of the 10 channels. If you had this
problem you took the cordless phone back to the retailer and exchanged
for another frequency. So, cordless phones would hunt for their
base when portable. They may find their neighbor’s base. If
you were using your neighbor’s cordless phone base you could
make long distance calls and have it charged to the neighbor’s
bill. That was fun!!
Around 1986 the FCC stepped in and changed the cordless phone frequency
to 47-49 MHz. This was a higher frequency which meant less noise.
They also cut down the power to decrease range. This was an attempt
to slow down the 3 way conversation problem and the long distance
dialing problem. Cordless phone manufacturers were making huge
strides in technology introducing security cords
and cordless phones that actually could change channels. This was a big help
but cordless phones just didn’t have any range. Customers would be able
to talk as long as they were in the same room and standing or sitting still.
It’s now 1990. The FCC allows a new cordless phone frequency of 900
MHz. These cordless phones were much clearer and had better distance than
ever before. They also gave their cordless phones 100 channels to choose
from which meant less crowding. The cordless phones work great but sold
for $499.99. Retailers thought if they could sell them for less than $200
then they would sell.
Around 1994 different choices in 900 MHz cordless phones would be developed.
Previously, cordless phones had been analog meaning the transmission was sent
and received in a regular voice format. The engineers found out that they could
send out a digital signal (X and O’s) transforming them back to analog
when received by this cordless phone. This increased clarity and it also made
it impossible for radio scanners to pick up this frequency for listening to
other’s conversations.
1995 was a good year for cordless phones. DSS (Digital Spread Spectrum)
was a whole new way of sending the cordless phone signal from the base
to the handset. It spread the cordless phone signal 360 degrees so there
were no dead spots and distance went up to half a mile. It was digital
so your signal was secure. Cordless phones were expensive, and you had
limited choices. The cordless phone of choice was Uniden 910 at $359.99.
It was an awesome cordless phone at a great price. Of course there was
a price to pay for this power. If this cordless phone was a car, the government
would have slapped a gas guzzling tax on it! This cordless phone drained
batteries like a Ferrari through gas. As technology progressed battery
life got better and prices came down. I think they call it capitalism.
Around this time, Caller ID was sweeping the nation, and this was a big
boost for cordless phones. Now you could have the cordless phone next to
your chair and see who was calling before you answered it. As additional
features were added, prices dropped even further and more people bought cordless
phones. Consumers were no longer satisfied with only one cordless phone in
the home any longer. Now they wanted two or three or all the phones to be cordless.
This created a new set of problems. If there was ever a power failure you wouldn’t
have any working phones. All of the sudden, one phone line wasn’t enough.
Because of the evolving of the Internet and teenagers, Americans decided that
they needed two phone lines in the household. Manufactures starting selling
two line cordless phones. Now you could buy a two line cordless phone with
Caller ID and DSS. Life was good! However, this created a new problem. DSS
is a bully phone. If you were on the DSS and someone else (example: your teenager)
was on a regular 900 MHZ cordless digital or analog phone, the DSS cordless
phone would walk over the other phone, meaning it would cause static or lessen
the transmission of the non DSS cordless phone.
In 1998 came another huge cordless phone advancement. The FCC saw how many
cordless phones were being used and and gave the American public an expanded
new cordless phone frequency. The frequency increased to 2.4 GHZ. It was so
much higher, so you have better clarity, and in some cordless phone models
you picked up better distance. Cordless phones had now reached their goal of
true corded quality in a cordless phone. You could walk around the block with
no noise and maximum security.
In the year 2000 you can buy a DSS cordless phone for under $100. That’s
amazing!! Technology in cordless phones has come a long way in the past 20
years!
Select a Product below to view its history:
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