Notes on the history of the mobile phone in Australia

The first automatic mobile phone service was launched in Australia in 1981, with the first cellular mobile service following in 1987. In 2003 there were over 14.5 million mobile phone subscribers, and the technology had become central to everyday life and culture. Despite the significance of mobile phones, little has been written about their Australian histories. This paper offers some notes on the history of mobile telecommunications in Australia. As well as reviewing the development of the mobile phone in Australia, it looks at the cultural representation of this technology.