Modern cellular systems became a commercial reality in the late 1980s and data streaming is only 10 years old. More calls are made now by mobile than over landlines and mobile purchases are driving ecommerce more than those from desktops and laptops. The technology is unrecognisable from what was available even 15 years ago and it’s getting faster, cheaper and able to carry vastly more voice and data traffic. So let’s take a quick look at how it developed.