The mobile phone industry in the United States is covered in this article. Mobile phones are commonly referred to as smartphones or cell phones.
History
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- In 1983, Ameritech launched the first generation mobile phone service (1G) in Chicago.
Wireless service providers
National operators
There are four major operators in the United States that offer nationwide wireless services. Two of these (AT&T and T-Mobile) provide service using the GSM standard, while the other two (Verizon and Sprint) primarily use CDMA. All four also operate networks using LTE standard for their 4G services.
- Verizon Wireless
- Verizon Wireless, headquartered in Basking Ridge, New Jersey, is a subsidiary of Verizon Communications, that offers 2G service using cdmaOne, 3G service using CDMA2000, and 4G service using LTE technology. See its coverage area map.
- AT&T Mobility
- AT&T Mobility, headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, subsidiary of AT&T Inc., offers 2G service using GSM, 3G service using W-CDMA, and 4G service using HSPA+ and LTE technology. See its coverage area map.
- T-Mobile US
- T-Mobile US, headquartered in Bellevue, Washington, is a subsidiary of German telecommunications company T-Mobile International AG (with Deutsche Telekom as its majority stakeholder). T-Mobile US offers 2G service using GSM, 3G service using W-CDMA, and 4G service using HSPA+ and LTE technology. See its coverage area map.
- Sprint Corporation
- Sprint Corporation, headquartered in Overland Park, Kansas, is majority owned by Japanese telecommunications company SoftBank Group. Sprint offers 2G service using cdmaOne, 3G service using CDMA2000, and 4G service using LTE technology. See its coverage area map.
Regional operators
- U.S. Cellular
- C Spire Wireless
Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs)
- Boost Mobile
- A subsidiary of Sprint Corporation, Boost Mobile provides prepaid wireless service using Sprint's CDMA and 4G LTE network.
- Cricket Wireless
- A subsidiary of AT&T Inc., Cricket Wireless provides service using AT&T's GSM, HSPA+, and LTE network.
- H2O Wireless
- A service brand of Locus Telecommunications LLC, H2O Wireless provides service using AT&T's GSM, HSPA+, and LTE network.
- MetroPCS
- A service brand of T-Mobile US, MetroPCS currently provides service using GSM, HSPA+, and LTE network.
- Ting Inc.
- Provides service in the United States through a no-contract tiered pricing model using Sprint Corporation's CDMA and 4G LTE network as well as GSM, HSPA+, and LTE on T-Mobile US's network.
- TracFone Wireless
- MVNO using Verizon, AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, and U.S. Cellular. Subsidiary of Mexican telecommunications operator América Móvil, TracFone Wireless provides nationwide prepaid wireless service under the TracFone, NET10 Wireless, Straight Talk, Telcel America, Total Wireless, SafeLink Wireless, SIMPLE Mobile and PagePlus Cellular brands. TracFone provides service using GSM, CDMA, HSPA+, and LTE on one of the top five U.S. networks (dependant on phone programming or SIM card).
- Virgin Mobile USA
- A subsidiary of Sprint Corporation, Virgin Mobile USA provides prepaid wireless service using Sprint's CDMA and 4G LTE network.
Mobile phone industry
The Federal Communications Commission is the main regulator of the mobile phone industry in the United States. Qualcomm is the inventor of and main contributor to cdmaOne and CDMA2000 mobile phone standards.
Mobile phone production
U.S. based producers:
- Akyumen
- Apple
- Blu Products
- Firefly children's phone
- Garmin
- HP
- Motorola Mobility
- O Plus
- Sonim
- Kodak Phones
International producers:
- Alcatel (previously Alcatel OneTouch)
- BlackBerry
- Coolpad
- HTC
- Huawei
- Kyocera
- LG
- Microsoft Mobile Oy (previously part of Nokia Oyj)
- NEC Casio (G'zOne)
- Pantech
- Personal Communications Devices (PCD)
- Samsung
- Sharp
- Sony
- ZTE
Mobile phone vs. cell phone
While it is "mobile phone" in British English, it is "cell phone" in American English. The term "cell phone", short for "cellular phone" came into the day-to-day American English vocabulary during the 1980s when the mobile phone companies had to distinguish their mobile phone that can be carried from one cell to another, each controlled by a land-based antenna, from the earlier Improved Mobile Telephone Service phones. In Wikipedia, "mobile phone" is more often used because it can be used across various technologies.
See also
- Mobile phone
- Mobile Telephone Service
- Telecommunications in the United States
References
