Ptarmigan: The military ancestor of your mobile phone network
784Ptarmigan was the British Army's first digital comms system which came into service in the mid-1980s and formed the basis for the civilian mobile phone network used today.
Almost all the Ptarmigan equipment was lost after it was decommissioned in the early 2000s, which makes the group's working example particularly rare.
"This was the precursor to most modern communication systems," said Stephen Manson, a Royal Signals veteran and one of the volunteers.
"It's the only operational vehicle of its type in the world, so it's totally unique."
More: https://www.forces.net/heritage/cold-war/ex-royal-signals-group-fighting-keep-cold-war-vehicle-collection-together
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