# Is there any truth to claims of Israel's contribution to the invention of early cellphone technology **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 27, 2014, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-truth-to-claims-of-israels-contribution-to-the-invention-of-early-cellphone-technology/708254 "2014-12-27T01:32:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![davidmich](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e56c9b/32.png) [@davidmich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidmich)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2014, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-truth-to-claims-of-israels-contribution-to-the-invention-of-early-cellphone-technology/708254/1 "2014-12-27T01:32:27Z")
Hi, Is there any truth to claims of Israel’s contribution to the invention of early cellphone technology? I’ve seen websites with this claim and just wanted to fact-check it. I look forward to your feedback. davidmich ---
**Author:** ![The\_Niply\_Elder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8e8cbc/32.png) [@The\_Niply\_Elder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Niply_Elder)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2014, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-truth-to-claims-of-israels-contribution-to-the-invention-of-early-cellphone-technology/708254/2 "2014-12-27T02:13:53Z")
Which claims are those? ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2014, 8:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-truth-to-claims-of-israels-contribution-to-the-invention-of-early-cellphone-technology/708254/3 "2014-12-27T08:55:16Z")
Maybe they’re referring to Israeli software company [Comverse Technology](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comverse_Technology)? They were key players in cellular boom of the 1990’s and early 2000’s. ---
**Author:** ![davidmich](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e56c9b/32.png) [@davidmich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidmich)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2014, 9:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-truth-to-claims-of-israels-contribution-to-the-invention-of-early-cellphone-technology/708254/4 "2014-12-27T09:09:51Z")
Yes Allesan. That’s probably it. I believe it was AT&T and Southwestern Bell that originally developed the first mobile technology in 1946. . In 1978 Chicago was the first to have a cellular network. ---
**Author:** ![Seydell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e4f/32.png) [@Seydell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seydell)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2014, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-truth-to-claims-of-israels-contribution-to-the-invention-of-early-cellphone-technology/708254/5 "2014-12-27T17:09:57Z")
Motorola has a subsidiary in Israel that was definitely involved in the cellular industry. I have no idea whether they were key to its invention. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2014, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-truth-to-claims-of-israels-contribution-to-the-invention-of-early-cellphone-technology/708254/6 "2014-12-27T17:41:36Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > Maybe they’re referring to Israeli software company [Comverse Technology](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comverse_Technology)? They were key players in cellular boom of the 1990’s and early 2000’s. I just spent some time looking at the website of Verint, one of its successor companies. Amazing stuff. NSA-type for purchase or hire, internal corporate or everything-out-there, including big data analytics. I wonder what kind of clearances and licenses you must have to use their products. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2014, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-truth-to-claims-of-israels-contribution-to-the-invention-of-early-cellphone-technology/708254/7 "2014-12-27T17:44:30Z")
A lot of small tech and “brain tech” has come from Israel. I used to work in an industry that had two or three key players HQed there. I also, oddly, have a 4-foot construction level made there. It amuses me to think of manufacturing in Israel. Not what comes to mind, usually. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2014, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-truth-to-claims-of-israels-contribution-to-the-invention-of-early-cellphone-technology/708254/8 "2014-12-27T17:47:56Z")
On this exact question, I simply checked the strongest source for information. They say no. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2014, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-truth-to-claims-of-israels-contribution-to-the-invention-of-early-cellphone-technology/708254/9 "2014-12-27T19:11:25Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > Maybe they’re referring to Israeli software company [Comverse Technology](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comverse_Technology)? They were key players in cellular boom of the 1990’s and early 2000’s. They were big players, I don’t think the word “key” is appropriate though. Was’nt this the company whose owner escaped to Namibia? ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2014, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-truth-to-claims-of-israels-contribution-to-the-invention-of-early-cellphone-technology/708254/10 "2014-12-27T22:18:32Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > They were big players, I don’t think the word “key” is appropriate though. > > Was’nt this the company whose owner escaped to Namibia? Yes, according to the Wik. See Comverse Technology Inc. Not to be confused with the new reformed squeaky clean Comverse Inc. ---
**Author:** ![davidmich](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e56c9b/32.png) [@davidmich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidmich)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2014, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-truth-to-claims-of-israels-contribution-to-the-invention-of-early-cellphone-technology/708254/11 "2014-12-28T23:23:17Z")
So I guess the answer is that Israel had no involvement in the pioneering work of cellular technology. Afterwards perhaps but not at the very beginning. I have not found anything so far to substantiate it. Ragarding Motorola, > **[8 Motorola inventions: The first cell phone to the Moto X](https://money.cnn.com/gallery/technology/mobile/2014/01/30/motorola/index.html)** > > Motorola's creations stretch from a pioneering walkie-talkie to the first cell phone. [http://www.motorolasolutions.com/US-EN/About/Company+Overview/History/Explore+Motorola+Heritage/Cell+Phone+Development](http://www.motorolasolutions.com/US-EN/About/Company+Overview/History/Explore+Motorola+Heritage/Cell+Phone+Development) " Motorola debuted the DynaTAC 8000X in 1983, the first portable cellular phone for consumer use. Better known as the phone that Gordon Gekko carried (lugged?) around in the 1987 movie Wall Street, the DynaTAC weighed 1 lb., 12 oz. Motorola actually invented the DynaTAC 10 years before it reached store shelves. But the company also had to develop and build out the cell tower infrastructure that made mobile phone calls possible." ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2014, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-truth-to-claims-of-israels-contribution-to-the-invention-of-early-cellphone-technology/708254/12 "2014-12-29T00:59:47Z")
Few people realize this, but Israelis were the first to take cellphone photos of cherry tomatoes. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Niply\_Elder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8e8cbc/32.png) [@The\_Niply\_Elder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Niply_Elder)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2014, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-truth-to-claims-of-israels-contribution-to-the-invention-of-early-cellphone-technology/708254/13 "2014-12-29T01:20:19Z")
this may be threadshitting, but it seems to me that it’s overall a reach to attribute any technological development to a country per-se (a political entity), rather, it’s the universities that educate and train the engineers who create an environment where technology advances rapidly. So in other words, it’s pretty much all US universities, and that’s where credit should be rightfully given. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2014, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-truth-to-claims-of-israels-contribution-to-the-invention-of-early-cellphone-technology/708254/14 "2014-12-29T01:50:22Z")
I have a faint memory of this being part of a political argument at one time with some conservative mouthpiece (maybe Pat Buchanan) claiming that Israel was an indispensable technology partner of the US. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2014, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-truth-to-claims-of-israels-contribution-to-the-invention-of-early-cellphone-technology/708254/15 "2014-12-29T01:52:26Z")
> [@The\_Niply\_Elder](#): > > this may be threadshitting, but it seems to me that it’s overall a reach to attribute any technological development to a country per-se (a political entity), rather, it’s the universities that educate and train the engineers who create an environment where technology advances rapidly. So in other words, it’s pretty much all US universities, and that’s where credit should be rightfully given. Yes, The Technion, The Weizmann Institute of Science, Hebrew University, Tel Aviv University, and Ben Gurion University are all known for their Gender Studies departments. ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2014, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-truth-to-claims-of-israels-contribution-to-the-invention-of-early-cellphone-technology/708254/16 "2014-12-29T18:58:34Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > I have a faint memory of this being part of a political argument at one time with some conservative mouthpiece (maybe Pat Buchanan) claiming that Israel was an indispensable technology partner of the US. “Indispensible” is certainly debatable. But Israel is definitely a technology partner. Just about every tech company I’ve worked for has had an engineering office, or at least a team of engineers, based there.