Jon Gertner in The Idea Factory, discussing early mobile phones:
The main shortcoming, however, was that the Federal Communications Commission had only made a narrow portion of the radio spectrum — a portion just above the frequency of FM radio — available for mobile telephone service. The narrow spectrum meant there were only a few channels available to make calls. In all of Manhattan, fewer than a dozen people could use their car phones at any one time.
I find this incredible to think about.