Cell Phone TechnologyRingtone! All the people within 20 feet think they are the ones playing. The women rummage through their bags; the men search their pockets to see if it is their cell phone that is ringing. The year is 2002 and it seems like almost everyone has a cell phone. Many believe that in today's society it is a necessity to own one and it would be difficult to go a day without it. Are they really necessary? People survived just fine without them before their invention. It wasn't until about 15 years ago that they really started appearing and for the past five it seemed like every Tom, Dick and Harry owned one. What caused their sudden boom? Are people becoming too dependent on them? Are there any health risks when people send such powerful signals directly to the head? Cell phone technology dates back to 1947. “In that year researchers first developed ideas about the possibility of creating cell phones that used “cells” that would identify a user in whatever specific region from which he or she initiated the call” ( Cell Phone World). However, the technology was very limited at the time, so much more in-depth research was needed. In 1968, private companies began to engage in the development of cell phones, such as AT&T. The FCC (Federal Communications Commission) then opened new frequencies and private companies adopted the cell tower theory. Each tower would be responsible for a particular region. When a customer traveled farther from a region, it transferred the call to a closer repeater without interruption. In 1977, testing of public cell phones began. People in Baltimore, Chicago and Washington were the first to be eligible for cell phone evidence. In 1979 a Japanese company began testing cell phones with the public. It wasn't until 1983 that cell phones were truly available. “The year 1988 changed many of the technologies that had previously become standard. The Cellular Technology Industry Association was created to set realistic goals for cell phone vendors and research new applications for cell phone development” (Cell Phone World). In a sense they were not yet very accessible to the public, due to the extremely high operating costs for the consumer. Only the richest could afford cell phones. Prominent cooperation leaders, movie stars and senior government officials have been able to afford the luxury of a mobile phone.