George Sweigert, an amateur radio operator and inventor from Cleveland, Ohio, is largely recognized as the father of the cordless phone. He submitted a patent application in 1966 for a "full duplex wireless communications appartus"[sic]. The US Patent and Trademark Office awarded him a patent in June of 1969 (see below: Patents). Sweigert, a radio operator in World War II stationed at the South Pacific Islands of Guadalcanal and Bouganville, developed the full duplex-concept for untrained personnel, to improve battlefield communications for senior commanders. He was also licensed as W8ZIS and N9LC in the amateur radio service. He also held a First Class Radiotelephone Operator's Permit issued by the Federal Communications Commission.
Sweigert was an active proponent for directly coupling consumer electronics to the AT&T-owned telephone lines in the late 1960s (which was banned at the time). The Carterphone, a crude device for interconnecting a two-way radio with the telephone, led to the reversal of the Federal Communications Commission ban on direct coupling of consumer equipment to phone lines (known as the 1968 landmark Carterphone decision) on June 26, 1968. The original cordless phones, like the Carterphone, were acoustically (not electrically) connected to the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN).
In the 1980s, a number of manufacturers, including Sony, introduced cordless phones for the consumer market. Typically, they used a base station that was connected to a telephone line and a handset with a microphone, speaker, keypad, and telescoping antenna. The handset contained a rechargeable battery, typically NiCd; the base unit was powered by household current, typically via a wall wart. The base included a charging cradle, which was generally a form of trickle charger, on which the handset rested when not in use.
Some cordless telephones now utilize two rechargeable AA or AAA batteries in place of the more expensive traditional proprietary telephone batteries.
Cordless phones became commercially feasible in the United States only with the breakup of the Bell System's monopoly on land-line telephone service around 1984. Before the breakup, all telephones were made by Western Electric and rented to the customer.
Since the 1980s, several companies have entered the cordless-phone market: V-Tech, Uniden, Philips, Gigaset and Panasonic. They advertise many new features: a few provided by the phone and most provided by the network.
Sweigert was an active proponent for directly coupling consumer electronics to the AT&T-owned telephone lines in the late 1960s (which was banned at the time). The Carterphone, a crude device for interconnecting a two-way radio with the telephone, led to the reversal of the Federal Communications Commission ban on direct coupling of consumer equipment to phone lines (known as the 1968 landmark Carterphone decision) on June 26, 1968. The original cordless phones, like the Carterphone, were acoustically (not electrically) connected to the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN).In the 1980s, a number of manufacturers, including Sony, introduced cordless phones for the consumer market. Typically, they used a base station that was connected to a telephone line and a handset with a microphone, speaker, keypad, and telescoping antenna. The handset contained a rechargeable battery, typically NiCd; the base unit was powered by household current, typically via a wall wart. The base included a charging cradle, which was generally a form of trickle charger, on which the handset rested when not in use.
Some cordless telephones now utilize two rechargeable AA or AAA batteries in place of the more expensive traditional proprietary telephone batteries.
Cordless phones became commercially feasible in the United States only with the breakup of the Bell System's monopoly on land-line telephone service around 1984. Before the breakup, all telephones were made by Western Electric and rented to the customer.
Since the 1980s, several companies have entered the cordless-phone market: V-Tech, Uniden, Philips, Gigaset and Panasonic. They advertise many new features: a few provided by the phone and most provided by the network.
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