| Policy analysts and economists have frequently criticized the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for delaying the commercial launch of cellular communications in the United States. This study looks at the evolution of the wireless industry in the U.S. from the end of World War II to the commercial launch of cellular service in 1983. It focuses on three arenas—technology, politics and the market. It argues that competitive forces unleashed by the federal government in 1946 shaped the path and pace of innovation and conditioned the coevolution of four core economic and political institutions: AT&T, Motorola, the association of Radio Common Carriers, and the FCC. |
