Who invented mobile phone text messaging?

xfacilitatorx

Invented is probably not the term that fits here. Designed the programming probably fits better. Check out this site. http://www.reference.com/browse/wiki/Short_message_service Mar 01 06, 9:54 AM

justjoys

Matti Makonnen. A very modest guy from Finland who changed millions of lives. He was paid EUr 300 for this job by Sonera and now he's one of VPs in Nokia. Sep 21 07, 7:00 PM

McGruff

Matti Makkonen, Johtaja, Telecom Finland Mr. Matti Makkonen, born 1952 at Suomussalmi Finland, graduated in 1976 from the University of Oulu with a Master's degree in Electronic Engineering. In 1975 he was employed by Telecom Finland (then PTT of Finland) to develop mobile communications services (national paging and the Nordic Mobile Telephone system, NMT). Matti Makkonen also took active part in the development of GSM until 1988, when he was appointed Head of Mobile Telephone Services, at that time responsible for both mobile network operation and service provision within Telecom Finland. In 1996 he was promoted Vice President of the Mobile Communications Division and since 1997 he is one of four Executive Vice Presidents in Telecom Finland's top management team. Matti Makkonen's area of responsibility is mobile communications at large. http://netlab.hut.fi/opetus/s38001/s97/index.shtml Finnish inventions - going cheap By Tuomo Pietiläinen Matti Makkonen, the father of SMS messaging, didn't earn a cent for his idea. Had the day finally arrived when Makkonen would get compensation for his idea that changed the lives of hundreds of millions of people? After all, Makkonen has been called the father of the text message. Because of his idea, more than 500 billion SMS messages are sent by mobile phone users around the world. Sonera deposited EUR 300 on Makkonen's account. The payment from Sonera had nothing to do with text messages. It involved a telephone exchange innovation that he had already forgotten. Makkonen had been part of a group that developed the operations of a mobile telephone exchange. Makkonen ultimately did not get a cent for developing text messages. http://www.hs.fi/english/article/Finnish+inventions+-+going+cheap/1135220274722 Sep 21 07, 8:09 PM

a_l_e_x_d

Actually justjoys and McGruff are wrong - my uncle worked for Vodafone at the time when they were 'invented' (then known as Racal), later joining the development team. He says that Matt Makonnen has been going round giving off the impression that the title belonged to him until recently when he won a prize for it in The Economist. The two men who had actually first brainstormed the idea (whose names I unfortunately can't remember) challenged him. The three of them (including Matt himself) agreed it wasn't his and wrote a letter to the Economist saying so. I know 'the internet says so so it must be true' about Matt, but if you trust me, my uncle is a much more reliable source. Apr 13 09, 9:59 AM