Autotel
Encyclopedia
Autotel is a radiotelephone service which was the "missing link" between earlier MTS/IMTS
and later cellular telephone services. It used digital signaling for supervisory messages (call setup, ringing, channel assignment, etc.), except the voice channel was analog (as was the original NMT
and AMPS
cellular systems). This system was not cellular, as it used existent high-power (35 watt) VHF channels. This system was developed for rural British Columbia
, Canada
, where building a network of low-power cellular terminals to cover a forest would have been prohibitively expensive.
Improved Mobile Telephone Service
The Improved Mobile Telephone Service is a "0G" pre-cellular VHF/UHF radio system that links to the PSTN. IMTS was the radiotelephone equivalent of land dial phone service...
and later cellular telephone services. It used digital signaling for supervisory messages (call setup, ringing, channel assignment, etc.), except the voice channel was analog (as was the original NMT
Nordic Mobile Telephone
NMT is the first fully automatic cellular phone system...
and AMPS
Advanced Mobile Phone System
Advanced Mobile Phone System was an analog mobile phone system standard developed by Bell Labs, and officially introduced in the Americas in 1983, Israel in 1986, and Australia in 1987. It was the primary analog mobile phone system in North America through the 1980s and into the 2000s...
cellular systems). This system was not cellular, as it used existent high-power (35 watt) VHF channels. This system was developed for rural British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, where building a network of low-power cellular terminals to cover a forest would have been prohibitively expensive.