The first mobile phone networks were launched in the UK in 1985. In the 30 years that have elapsed since then, the mobile phone has evolved from an expensive device owned by the few to a mass-market smartphone that is now regarded as an essential part of modern-day life. Behind the scenes, the mobile networks have undergone four major technology evolutions that have transformed their functionality from providing a basic telephone service to offering very high-speed connectivity for data applications. Yet, much of the heritage of this relatively young but transformational mobile technology is poorly documented and in great danger of being completely lost. Each new generation of mobile network replaces and ultimately erases the evidence of its predecessor. Equally, manufacturers are so focused on the release of their next handset that this leaves little scope or motivation for preserving and recording older models. The perception remains that the mobile phone is a new and young technology which is still considered by many to be a recent phenomenon. This results in a very casual attitude to the preservation of cellular mobile communications heritage, hence raising the significant risk that no suitable historical records will be available for future generations. This paper therefore begins to address this deficit by examining, through a UK perspective, two key but highly visible parts of the mobile phone story, namely, the cellular radio site installations that adorn roadsides, rooftops and hillsides and the mobile phones themselves as important historical artefacts.

中文翻译：

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英国移动通信 30 年的遗产

第一个手机网络于 1985 年在英国推出。 在此后的 30 年里，手机已经从少数人拥有的昂贵设备发展成为现在被视为必不可少的大众市场智能手机现代生活。在幕后，移动网络经历了四次重大技术演进，将其功能从提供基本电话服务转变为为数据应用提供超高速连接。然而，这种相对年轻但具有变革性的移动技术的大部分遗产都没有得到很好的记录，而且很有可能完全消失。每一代新一代移动网络都会取代并最终抹去其前身的证据。一样，制造商如此专注于他们下一款手机的发布，以至于几乎没有保留和记录旧型号的空间或动力。人们仍然认为移动电话是一项新兴技术，许多人仍然认为它是最近出现的现象。这导致对保护蜂窝移动通信遗产的态度非常随意，从而增加了没有合适的历史记录可供后代使用的重大风险。因此，本文开始通过从英国的角度研究移动电话故事的两个关键但非常明显的部分来解决这一缺陷，即装饰在路边、屋顶和山坡上的蜂窝无线电站点装置以及作为重要历史的移动电话本身。文物。