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It's been 30 years since Britain's first mobile phone call
Exactly 30 years ago today, two men made history by completing the first mobile phone call in the UK. As everyone celebrated the opening seconds of 1985, Michael Harrison, the son of former Vodafone chairman Sir Ernest Harrison, rang his father from Parliament Square in London. The call was supposed to be a surprise; Michael had snuck away from his family's New Year's Eve party in Surrey and driven up to the capital earlier that evening. In his possession was the Transportable Vodafone VT1, a cumbersome 5kg block with carry handle, antenna and tethered receiver. One of the network's technicians punched in the correct number and passed Michael the handset, as a curious crowd tried to work out who the minor celebrity was and exactly what he was doing. The call connected after just a few rings (perhaps it wasn't such a surprise for Sir Ernest Harrison) and the pair chatted briefly: "Hi Dad, it's Mike. Happy New Year. This is the first ever call on a UK mobile network."
