Marty Cooper cellphone inventor book tour interview

Martin Cooper has been justifiably dubbed the “father of the cell phone”. He and his Motorola team created the first cell phone in 1973 and the world hasn’t been the same since. He wrote about this endeavor and his approach to technology and innovation. We spoke about his time in the Navy, his engineering work, the cell phone, and his thoughts about the future of wireless communication technology.

0:34 - Marty talks about his time as a Navy officer and participating in the Korean conflict.
2:49 - Marty talks about his work after the Navy and how he developed his skills.
4:20 - Marty talks about his time on a submarine.
5:39 - Marty talks about his time with Motorola.
7:22 - Marty talks about combining computing with communications equipment.
8:38 - Marty talks about Motorola's Iridium project. {23FEB21 700pm after this
9:58 - Marty talks about science versus engineering at Motorola.
11:55 - Marty talks about government versus the commercial market.
13:32 - Marty talks about managing people who don't work in teams well.
16:05 - Marty talks about science fiction and its importance.
17:55 - Marty talks about the FCC and how the radio spectrum can be better managed.
19:33 - Marty talks about fixing the radio spectrum.
23:10 - Marty talks about his observation of spectrum efficiency.
24:13 - Marty talks about why people were skeptical about being able to create a cell phone.
25:47 - Marty talks about the science fiction he enjoyed reading.
27:56 - Marty talks about his first cell phone call to his rival at AT&T. He also discusses the importance of showing the mobility of the cell phone.
30:50 - Marty talks about the technical challenges with the first cell phone.
36:00 - Marty talks about the infrastructure they created for their cell phone.
36:22 - Marty talks about the creation and manufacturing of the cell phone parts.
38:31 - Marty talks about the computing power of the first cell phone.
39:20 - Marty talks about patent rights for Motorola scientists. He then discusses what Motorola did after it created the first phone and then the billing company he created.
42:57 - Marty talks about how he applies visionary thinking.
44:45 - Marty talks about smart antennas. He discusses systems for innovation.
47:59 - Marty talks about the state of cell phone technology.
51:19 - Marty talks about the size of Motorola compared to AT&T and their business and political power in 1973.
52:46 - Marty talks about cell phone infrastructure inefficiencies.

54:33 - Marty talks about 5G technology.
57:13 - Marty talks about what the cell phone industry should be focused on.
58:36 - Marty talks about the educational system and how games can be used to teach students.

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Guests: Martin Cooper
Host: Cris Alvarez

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