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Arlene Harris (inventor)
Arlene Harris (inventor)
Arlene Harris (inventor)
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Arlene Joy Harris (born June 6, 1948) is an entrepreneur, inventor, investor, and policy advocate in the telecommunications industry. She is the president and co-founder of Dyna LLC, an incubator for start-up and early-stage organizations historically in the wireless technology field.[1] Harris is widely recognized as a pioneer in mobile and wireless enterprise and an innovator of consumer products and services. In May 2007, she became the first female inductee of the Wireless Hall of Fame,[2] and was named to the Consumer Technology Hall of Fame in 2017.[3]

Key Information

Harris started and built several companies. She was a founding member of many early cellular industry organizations and holds several patents in wireless communications. Her companies’ successes included achieving substantial market share for cellular billing systems, developing and implementing the first prepaid cellular service, and creating the first automated wireless management systems. Notably, she led the development and market introduction of the SOS phone, renamed the Jitterbug as part of her GreatCall organization. The Jitterbug phone was developed and launched in 2006 in partnership with Samsung.[4] Subsequently, it was sold to a Chicago private equity company in July 2017 and acquired on August 15, 2018, by Best Buy Co, Inc.[5]

Career

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Born and raised in Los Angeles, Harris began her career at the age of 12 as a mobile telephone switchboard operator for her family's business, Industrial Communications Systems (ICS), Inc. (sold to Metromedia in 1983, now Spok).

2018–present

[edit]

Don Norman Design Award

Harris is a Founding Director of Don Norman Design Award (DNDA).[6]

Wrethink

Harris is currently working on Wrethink, a high-tech start-up company focused on consumer privacy and helping families use technology to organize and manage personal information.[7]

Wrethinking

Harris and Martin Cooper started, Wrethinking, a foundation to support early-stage technology companies and other meaningful non-profits that embrace charitable and/or aligned social purposes. Wrethinking provides startup funding and continued support for the Internet Safety Labs (ISL). ISL promotes the use of disciplined and verifiable product safety protection concepts and rules in the creation of all software and its provision of services to connect consumer devices. Wrethinking also supports several other non-profits. [8])

Accessible Wireless

In 2001, Harris acquired cellular carrier Accessible Wireless in order to provide a home carrier service for offerings targeting low-usage services. Accessible Wireless enabled the wireless services delivered later by GreatCall, Inc., at a time when other wireless carriers did not support low-usage service or provide value-added services needed by GreatCall's customers.

GreatCall, Inc.

GreatCall, acquired by Best Buy on August 15, 2018, was founded by Harris to establish the Best Buy's connected health market entry. Harris conceived and led GreatCall through the development of the Jitterbug phone in partnership with Samsung. Jitterbug is a cellular device designed to provide wireless cellular access to less tech-savvy customers, such as senior citizens.[9] Jitterbug was named to the New York Times “Top 10 List” of greatest technology ideas of 2006, per personal tech columnist David Pogue.[10] It was a finalist in Yahoo's "Last Gadget Standing" competition at the Consumer Electronics Show in 2007[11] and was named by Reader's Digest as one of its “Top 100 Products”. In the same year, the Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association (CTIA), a trade association representing the wireless communications industry in the United States, recognized GreatCall with the wireless industry's coveted Andrew Seybold Choice Award for "Best New Company”.[12] GreatCall was also acclaimed by the American Society on Aging with the Stevie Award for "Best Small Business in 2008”.[13]

In 2009, GreatCall acquired Mobiwatch,[14][15] a company focused on developing Mobile Personal Emergency Response Services (M-PERS), for an undisclosed amount and spent the following two years implementing a service that, along with Jitterbug, established GreatCall's connected health solution.

Wireless History Foundation

Harris founded the Wireless History Foundation in 2008 along with Liz Maxfield and Judith Lockwood Purcell. The Wireless History Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization formed to preserve and promote the history of the wireless industry. Harris remains on the organization's board of directors.[16]

1990-1999

[edit]

In 1994, Harris founded SOS Wireless Communications. SOS developed a phone and specialized services for making outgoing calls for urgent and occasional communications marketed primarily to elderly Americans.[17]

1980-1989

[edit]

In 1981, under the leadership of Harris, ICS developed the first wireless consumer healthcare application. Called Life Page, the program provided pagers to patients awaiting organ transplants. She later promoted and expanded the program to Telocator, the National Trade Association for independent wireless operators. (Telocator later became the Personal Communications Industry Association [PCIA], which recently changed its name to the Wireless Infrastructure Association [WIA].)

Under Harris and her family's direction, ICS became the largest single-city paging system in the world. Most notably, ICS was among the first of any category of business to create online computer systems to manage business subscriber offerings, now referred to as Customer Relationship Management (CRM).

In addition to its direct sales to businesses, ICS also supported the first wholesale wireless service in history, starting in 1972. This wholesale model promoted substantial growth and shareholder value for ICS, its suppliers, and its partners. Because of the success ICS realized in its wholesale strategy of bolstering opportunities for partners and service adoption by new users, its resale concept was mandated by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in the original cellular spectrum allocations in 1982. In 1983, Harris co-founded Cellular Business Systems, Inc. (CBSI), which was sold to Cincinnati Bell Information Systems in 1986 and is now Netcracker. At CBSI, Harris guided the development of a billing/CRM (customer relationship management) service bureau (currently known as SAAS—software-as-a-service). CBSI developed the first automated cellular service activation systems (referred to as “provisioning systems”) now used globally in retail locations to remotely and instantly activate cellular phones. Also, at CBSI, Harris served as one of three FCC committee members challenged to develop intersystem roaming protocols. The committee was established to create the methods by which cellular companies enabled and billed customers who visited their networks. The committee's work, along with subsequent efforts by CTIA, resulted in the Cellular Inter-carrier Billing Exchange Record (CIBER) used throughout the cellular industry.

In 1986, Harris founded the software company Subscriber Computing, Inc. which was acquired by Corsair Communications Inc. in April 1998. (Corsair was then sold to Lightbridge Inc. in 2000.) Susbscriber Computing, Inc. built and delivered systems to the largest paging companies in the world. These systems provided the first converged billing systems for cellular transmissions and Internet communications to leading global technology companies including Motorola, British Telecom, and Hutchinson. In 1988, Subscriber Computing, Inc. implemented the first communications methods used to support access to cellular services by low and no-credit consumers. This is now known as "prepaid" cellular service, which has grown to one of the primary choices for cellular customers. The advent of prepaid cellular service generated rapid cellular adoption in developing countries where consumer credit was scarce. Harris’ team used some of the same realtime techniques employed in prepaid cellular service for the development of systems created to prevent the fraudulent use of cellular phones – a problem that caused revenue losses for cellular carriers due to stolen airtime.

In 1986, Harris also founded the company Cellular Pay Phone, Inc. (CPPI), where she developed her first patented invention, the first unique application of cellular service – custom designed cellular phone and a program-controlled end-to-end management system (created with Mal Gurian at OKI Electronics and the Cellular Mobile Division at Motorola). This offering made CPPI the first niche cellular reseller to create a tightly integrated system to support cellular service with automated payments by credit card. This system was licensed to GTE Mobilnet for use in its ViaCall service, which provided pay cellphones in public vehicles, limousines, trains, barges, and oil rigs. In 1986, Harris launched Dyna LLC in Chicago, Illinois, and later relocated the organization to Del Mar, California, to incubate and spin out new ideas and to help young companies and entrepreneurs.

References

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Arlene Harris (inventor)

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Arlene Harris (born June 6, 1948) is an American inventor, entrepreneur, and pioneer in the wireless telecommunications industry, best known for developing the first prepaid cellular service, the Jitterbug phone for seniors, and several patented systems for cellular management and payphone operations. Harris began her career in wireless technology at age 12 as a switchboard operator for her family's company, Industrial Communications Systems (ICS) in Los Angeles, which provided early mobile telephone services. In 1981, while at ICS, she developed "Life Page," the world's first consumer wireless health monitoring service for organ transplant recipients, which became the largest single-city paging system at the time. By the mid-1980s, she had founded Subscriber Computing, Inc., where she invented the first prepaid wireless service in 1988, revolutionizing access to cellular phones by allowing users to pay in advance without credit checks. In 1983, Harris co-founded Cellular Business Systems Inc. (CBSI), which created the first automated cellular service activation and customer management systems, later sold to Cincinnati Bell. Three years later, in 1986, she established Cellular Pay Phone, Inc. (CPPI) and Dyna, LLC, patenting the first program-controlled end-to-end management system for over-the-air cellular applications, which was licensed to Mobilnet (now Verizon Wireless). Her innovations extended to specialized hardware and software, including partnerships with OKI Electronics and for application-specific cellular phones. Harris continued her entrepreneurial efforts into the and , founding SOS Wireless Communications in (which evolved into GreatCall) and acquiring a wireless carrier in 2006 to launch Assessable Wireless, enabling across nationwide networks. In 2006, through GreatCall, she introduced the phone in collaboration with —a simplified, large-button device designed specifically for seniors, which was named one of the ' Top 10 Brilliant Ideas of 2006 and earned the Andrew Seybold Choice Award in 2007. GreatCall was acquired by in 2018 for $800 million. She holds multiple patents in communications for both enterprise and consumer applications, influencing global prepaid services used by billions. Recognized as the "First Lady of Wireless," Harris was the first woman inducted into the Wireless History Foundation's Hall of Fame in 2007, and she has received numerous accolades, including the Consumer Technology Hall of Fame induction, the PCIA Foundation’s Distinguished Chairman’s Award, the Pinnacle Award, and a Stevie Award for Technology Innovator of the Year in 2008. She co-founded the Wireless History Foundation in 2008 and serves on advisory boards for institutions like the Institute of Design at Illinois Tech and the Jacobs School of Engineering at UC San Diego. Married to wireless pioneer Marty Cooper, Harris continues to innovate as founder and chairwoman of Wrethink, a startup developing secure family management platforms and solutions (as of 2025).

Early Life

Birth and Family Background

Arlene Joy Harris was born on June 6, 1948, in , . She was the daughter of Dolores Harris and Homer Harris, an electrical contractor who later became a communications entrepreneur. Her parents founded Industrial Communications Systems (ICS), a mobile telephone company that provided car radiophone services, in the early . This family business immersed Harris in the wireless industry from childhood, shaping her early interests in . Harris married inventor Marty Cooper in 1991. Beyond this union and her familial ties to ICS, details about her , such as further family dynamics or non-professional experiences, remain limited in public records, with available information centering predominantly on her career influences.

Entry into Telecommunications

Arlene Harris entered the telecommunications industry at the age of 12, working as a mobile operator for her family's business, Industrial Communications Systems (ICS), in . After starting at age 12, she left ICS in 1969 to work for airlines including and Continental, returning in 1972 to continue developing the business. ICS, founded by her parents in the early 1950s, specialized in providing car radiophone services, an early form of communication that connected mobile users to landline telephones through manual switchboard operations. This hands-on role immersed Harris in the technical and operational aspects of nascent wireless technology, including call routing and signal management in a pre-cellular era. Through her involvement with ICS, Harris gained foundational practical knowledge in wireless communications, observing the challenges of limited bandwidth and manual connectivity that defined early . The family-run operation grew into the largest single-city paging system globally, serving businesses and individuals reliant on vehicle-based communications for professional needs. This environment exposed her to the intricacies of allocation and in , building her understanding of the industry's potential and limitations. Under ICS, her team also launched LifePage in 1981, the first consumer wireless health monitoring service for organ transplant recipients. In 1983, coinciding with the commercialization of cellular technology, the Harris family sold ICS to , concluding their direct involvement in the business. This transaction marked the end of Harris's initial phase in the family enterprise, having equipped her with essential expertise in systems that would inform her subsequent independent contributions to the field.

Career

1980s Foundations

In the early 1980s, Arlene Harris transitioned from her family's established mobile telephone business, Industrial Communications Systems (ICS), to independent serial entrepreneurship, focusing on innovations in wireless billing, payphones, and automated systems within the burgeoning cellular industry. In 1983, she co-founded Cellular Business Systems Inc. (CBSI), which created the first automated cellular service activation and customer management systems, later sold to Cincinnati Bell. This period marked her shift toward founding companies that addressed operational challenges in wireless communications, leveraging her prior experience in and paging services. In 1981, under Harris's guidance at ICS, the company launched Life Page, the first consumer wireless healthcare application, which provided pagers to organ transplant recipients and their families to facilitate urgent notifications from medical teams. This initiative represented an early intersection of wireless technology and healthcare, enabling real-time communication for life-saving purposes in an era when cellular services were still emerging. By 1986, Harris had founded or co-founded three key ventures that laid foundational infrastructure for the cellular sector: Cellular Pay Phone, Inc. (CPPI), which developed over-the-air application-specific cellular s in partnership with OKI Electronics and ; Subscriber Computing, Inc. (SCI), where she led the creation of the first networked automated provisioning systems for cellular retail activation, enabling efficient over-the-air service management including early support for prepaid cellular services; and Dyna LLC, co-founded with Marty Cooper, where Harris assumed the ongoing role of CEO to incubate technologies. These companies addressed critical needs in billing, activation, and payphone deployment, establishing scalable models that influenced industry standards through the late .

1990s Expansions

During the 1990s, Arlene Harris continued to build on her earlier innovations in wireless , focusing on expanding billing and solutions through Subscriber Computing, Inc. (SCI), which she had founded in 1986. SCI developed and deployed advanced automated systems for cellular service activation, tracking, and customer , enhancing for carriers worldwide. These expansions included the refinement and broader implementation of prepaid cellular billing platforms, initially conceived in 1988, which allowed low- and no-credit consumers to access services without traditional credit checks, mitigating financial risks for providers. By the mid-1990s, SCI's systems had become integral to the growing cellular market, supporting millions of users and contributing to the global standardization of prepaid models that generated billions in industry revenue. A key milestone came in 1994 when Harris founded SOS Wireless Communications, Inc., a pioneering venture aimed at providing accessible services for underserved populations, particularly seniors and those needing connectivity. SOS introduced specialized handsets with simplified interfaces, such as one-button access to operators and contacts, marking an early effort to tailor cellular for and ease of use. This company served as a precursor to later senior-focused services, emphasizing reseller models that bypassed complex carrier contracts to deliver straightforward, affordable plans. By the late , SOS had established a foothold in consumer-oriented resale, implementing custom provisioning systems that tied back to Harris's earlier automated technologies from SCI. Harris's companies achieved significant market penetration during this decade, with CBSI's billing systems—building on their 1980s dominance—retaining a substantial share of approximately 80% in the non-wireline cellular sector through ongoing integrations and updates post-acquisition. The prepaid services pioneered at SCI similarly captured a leading position, powering the first widespread business rollouts of no-credit cellular access and influencing carrier strategies across the industry. Complementing these commercial expansions, Harris actively participated in policy development, serving on committees of the (), (), and Personal Communications Industry Association (PCIA) to shape wireless standards, including protocols and service accessibility guidelines. Her contributions helped standardize billing exchanges and promote equitable access in the evolving cellular landscape.

2000s Innovations

In the early 2000s, Arlene Harris shifted her focus toward consumer-oriented wireless solutions, particularly those addressing low-usage needs for niche markets. In 2001, she acquired the cellular carrier Accessible Wireless to establish a dedicated home carrier service tailored for low-usage applications, such as emergency and limited-access services. This acquisition built on her innovations in prepaid cellular systems, which facilitated affordable, low-volume usage models, and enabled the development of technologies like for prepaid wireless customers. By , Harris had evolved her company Wireless—originally focused on emergency cellular services—into GreatCall, launching the phone in partnership with . The was designed as a simplified cellular device with large buttons, amplified sound, and minimal features, specifically targeting seniors who found traditional smartphones overwhelming. This launch marked a pivotal consumer pivot, offering an end-to-end service that combined hardware, prepaid plans, and operator assistance without contracts. Under GreatCall, Harris's innovations drove significant commercial growth by specializing in accessible cellular solutions for older adults, filling a market gap for user-friendly, safety-focused devices. The company's emphasis on simplified interfaces and health-related features, such as urgent response buttons, resonated with seniors, leading to widespread adoption and establishing GreatCall as a leader in senior-oriented services during the decade. In , Harris co-founded the Wireless History Foundation as an initial nonprofit effort to preserve and educate on technology's evolution, reflecting her commitment to the industry's legacy.

2010s–Present

In 2018, Harris facilitated the sale of GreatCall, Inc., the company she founded in 2006 to provide simplified mobile services for seniors, to for $800 million in cash on August 15, marking her exit from direct consumer phone operations. This transaction allowed to expand into connected health services, with GreatCall operating as an independent subsidiary initially and later rebranded as Lively in 2021 to continue serving the senior market. Entering the 2020s, Harris maintained her role as co-founder and CEO of Dyna LLC, the technology incubator she established in 1986 with her husband, Marty Cooper, to develop innovative solutions benefiting society. Through Dyna, she has focused on incubating startups, including Wrethink, a solution designed to enhance connectivity across generations, with development ongoing as of 2025, planned for launch later in the year. In 2024, Harris delivered a address at Westcliff University's commencement ceremony, where she shared insights on innovation in wireless technology and announced the Harris-Cooper Scholarship to support women in STEM. Later that year, on August 27, she appeared on 's Catalyst podcast, discussing the evolution of from early paging systems to modern platforms with host Clinton Anderson and NTT DATA executive Devin Yaung. As of 2025, Harris continues to serve as an investor and advisor in technologies, leveraging her expertise to guide emerging companies through Dyna LLC. She holds board memberships in key industry organizations, including the Wireless History Foundation and the IT History Society, where she contributes to preserving heritage and fostering future advancements.

Inventions and Innovations

Prepaid Cellular Systems

In 1988, Arlene Harris conceived the first prepaid cellular service, a groundbreaking designed to provide access to wireless telephony for low- and no-credit consumers who were previously excluded from traditional postpaid plans. This system was developed through her company Subscriber Computing, Inc. (SCI), founded in the mid-1980s, which created the underlying software for automated network activation and billing management. Complementing SCI's platform, Harris's Cellular Pay Phone, Inc. (CPPI), established in 1986, integrated payment mechanisms to enable seamless transactions. The technical foundation of Harris's prepaid model involved automated deduction from user balances in real-time, allowing calls to be initiated only when sufficient funds were available and preventing unauthorized usage through built-in controls. This approach eliminated the need for checks and long-term contracts, significantly reducing entry barriers for low-income and underserved populations by making cellular service affordable and immediate. The system's end-to-end management, including over-the-air provisioning, ensured efficient operation without manual intervention, setting a scalable standard for billing. Harris's invention revolutionized cellular access worldwide, transforming prepaid services from a niche solution into the dominant industry model, now accounting for the majority of global subscriptions and fueling adoption in developing regions where it has connected billions and supported economic inclusion. By the , her technologies were rolled out through partnerships with major carriers, solidifying their commercial viability. Harris holds several patents related to cellular communications, including U.S. Patent No. 4,776,003 (issued October 11, 1988), which describes a cellular mobile station supporting billing for public use, integral to enabling prepaid-like payment structures. Additional patents from CPPI cover methods for integration in cellular services, further underpinning the prepaid ecosystem.

Jitterbug and Senior-Focused Devices

In 2006, Arlene Harris co-founded GreatCall and launched the phone, a simplified cellular device specifically designed for seniors and non-tech-savvy users, in partnership with . The phone addressed barriers to mobile adoption among older adults by prioritizing ease of use over complex features, marking the first U.S. cell phone tailored for this demographic. Harris's vision stemmed from recognizing the need for accessible technology that empowered without overwhelming interfaces. The featured a streamlined with large, tactile buttons and a high-contrast display screen to accommodate users with vision impairments or dexterity challenges. It omitted advanced functions like texting, internet , or cameras to reduce confusion, instead emitting an audible upon opening to confirm readiness for calls, mimicking traditional familiarity. A dedicated operator assistance service allowed users to press "0" for 24/7 live support, enabling , speed dialing, or help with any call, while integration with response systems provided one-touch access to trained agents for urgent situations. These elements made the device particularly suitable for and seniors seeking reliability without technical hurdles. The evolved from Harris's earlier Wireless concept, introduced in 1994 as a "safety phone" offering one-button contact access for vulnerable users. Under GreatCall, it expanded into a full service platform, incorporating affordable prepaid plans to lower entry barriers for fixed-income households. This progression transformed 's foundational safety focus into a commercially viable ecosystem, emphasizing personalized support over generic mobile offerings. The achieved significant commercial success, earning recognition as one of ' top 10 tech ideas of 2006 and a finalist spot at CES 2007's Last Gadget Standing. By catering to an underserved market, it helped GreatCall grow into a leader in senior-focused wireless, culminating in the company's $800 million acquisition by in 2018.

Automated Provisioning and Healthcare Applications

In the mid-1980s, Arlene Harris founded Subscriber Computing Inc. (SCI) in 1986, where she directed the development of the first networked automated provisioning systems for cellular service activation. These systems enabled remote activation of cellular services at retail locations, marking a significant advancement in backend for the emerging mobile industry. By automating the process that previously required manual intervention by carriers, SCI's innovations streamlined customer onboarding and reduced operational costs for cellular providers. Earlier, in 1981, while leading product development at Industrial Communications Systems (ICS), Harris spearheaded the creation of Life Page, the first consumer healthcare application. This service provided pagers to organ transplant recipients and their families, delivering real-time alerts for donor organ availability through ICS's paging network. Life Page addressed a critical need in transplant by enabling rapid response times, potentially improving outcomes in an era before widespread mobile connectivity. Harris also pioneered over-the-air (OTA) updates in cellular management systems during her work with companies like Cellular Pay Phone Inc. (CPPI) and SOS Wireless Communications in the late 1980s and 1990s. These innovations allowed remote programming and control of cellular devices without physical access, laying groundwork for modern application management in wireless networks. She holds multiple patents in these areas, including U.S. Patent 8,155,710 for systems enhancing provisioning and functionality of wireless instruments, with additional pending applications in communications technologies. The impact of Harris's work in automated provisioning extended to enabling scalable retail cellular services worldwide, as her systems became a standard for global carriers and facilitated the growth of accessible mobile subscriptions. Similarly, Life Page's real-time alerts influenced the evolution of IoT-based health monitoring, inspiring later applications in remote patient care and wearable health tech.

Awards and Recognition

Hall of Fame Inductions

In 2007, Arlene Harris was inducted into the Wireless Hall of Fame as the first woman to receive this honor, recognizing her pioneering role as an inventor and businesswoman in the wireless industry. She was celebrated for her early contributions, including leading a family paging business and co-founding Cellular Business Systems with Martin Cooper, as well as innovative applications like providing pagers to organ transplant candidates to save lives. Harris's induction highlighted her lifetime achievements in wireless entrepreneurship, from developing prepaid cellular systems to founding GreatCall Inc. and creating the phone tailored for older adults. In 2017, she was inducted into the Consumer Technology Hall of Fame by the , further acknowledging her as the "first lady of " and a serial entrepreneur who addressed underserved markets through technology. This recognition emphasized her invention of the phone for seniors and her broader impact on consumer innovations.

Company and Innovation Awards

GreatCall, the company co-founded by Arlene Harris in 2006, received the Andrew Seybold Choice Award for Best New Wireless Company at the 2007 CTIA Wireless conference, recognizing its innovative launch of simplified mobile services tailored for seniors through the phone, which featured large buttons and emergency response capabilities. In 2008, GreatCall was honored with the Stevie Award for Best Overall Company of the Year in the Service Businesses category (up to 2,500 employees) in the , highlighting its pioneering approach to accessible for older adults and its rapid growth in providing user-friendly wireless solutions. That same year, Harris personally received the Stevie Award for Technology Innovator of the Year in the , recognizing her leadership in wireless innovations. Also in 2008, she was awarded the Pinnacle Award for Technology, honoring her as a prominent executive advancing opportunities for women in the industry. Harris's earlier innovations in prepaid cellular systems and over-the-air (OTA) programming technology, developed through companies like Subscriber Computing Inc. (now part of VeriSign), earned industry-wide recognition for establishing foundational standards in wireless provisioning and fraud prevention; for instance, in 2000, she received the Personal Communications Industry Association (PCIA) Chairman's Award for her contributions to the sector's infrastructure and billing advancements. These company-specific accolades underscore Harris's role in commercializing technologies that influenced wireless standards, though no new awards for her ventures were reported as of , with recent activities focusing on keynotes and .

Advocacy and Philanthropy

Wireless History Foundation

The Wireless History Foundation was established on October 13, 2008, as a dedicated to documenting and preserving the history of the industry. Founded by a group of wireless pioneers, including Arlene Harris, the foundation aims to connect past innovations with future generations by archiving key developments, stories, and artifacts from the evolution of mobile communications. This initiative reflects Harris's lifelong commitment to the sector, stemming from her early career inventions in paging systems and automated provisioning during the and . Under Harris's leadership as a co-founder and prominent board member, the foundation conducts a range of activities to safeguard wireless heritage. These include collecting oral histories from industry veterans to capture firsthand accounts of technological breakthroughs, building digital archives of documents and media related to wireless progression, and hosting events such as the annual Wireless Hall of Fame Awards Dinner. Additional programs encompass the WHF Scholarship Program to support emerging talent and the Wireless Timeline, an interactive resource outlining major milestones in telecom history. Harris, often called the "First Lady of Wireless" for her pioneering role as the first woman inducted into the Wireless Hall of Fame in 2007, drives these efforts to ensure diverse voices and innovations are represented. The foundation's work has a significant impact on educating the public and professionals about the telecom industry's evolution, providing accessible resources that highlight how early technologies laid the groundwork for modern connectivity. By preserving these narratives, it fosters among future entrepreneurs and underscores the industry's transformative role in society, aligning with Harris's vision of honoring the collaborative spirit behind advancements.

Wrethink and Policy Initiatives

In recent years, Arlene Harris has channeled her expertise in wireless technology through Dyna LLC to found Wrethink, a startup developing a comprehensive secure platform and designed as a solution for families. This initiative emphasizes by providing tools to manage multi-generational connectivity and preserve family legacies in a digital environment. Wrethink is slated for launch in 2025, addressing modern challenges in household broadband usage with a focus on secure, user-centric innovations. Complementing this effort, Harris co-founded Wrethinking, the Foundation, in collaboration with Martin Cooper, where she serves as founder, president, and board chair. The foundation supports underserved technology founders tackling critical societal issues, including the development of respectful technology standards. It provides startup funding and ongoing support to initiatives like the Internet Safety Labs (ISL), which received general and unrestricted grants from the foundation in 2023 to advance and solutions for online safety. Harris's policy advocacy through Wrethinking extends to child online protection, exemplified by her role as foundation president in co-signing a 2021 coalition letter to California Governor urging the creation of statewide data privacy forums to strengthen protections against online harms, particularly for vulnerable populations including children. This work builds on her longstanding involvement in policy, including service on FCC and (TIA) committees that shaped early wireless standards, now evolving to emphasize equitable access to safe and inclusive technology in the .

References

  1. https://www.ithistory.org/honor-roll/ms-arlene-joy-harris
  2. https://id.iit.edu/people/arlene-harris/
  3. https://wirelesshistoryfoundation.org/arlene-harris/
  4. https://corporate.bestbuy.com/2018/best-buy-acquires-greatcall-expanding-reach-in-health-space/
  5. https://dnda.design/arlene-harris/
  6. https://dynallc.com/arlene-harris/
  7. https://www.constellationr.com/events/PCDF/speakers/arlene-harris
  8. https://socal2025.techconglobal.com/team/arlene-harris/
  9. https://dynallc.com/milestones/
  10. https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/2006/11/19/answering-the-call-del-mar-company-markets-simple-easy-to-use-cell-phones/
  11. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-08-15/best-buy-acquires-senior-focused-device-maker-for-800-million
  12. https://www.fierce-network.com/wireless/best-buy-s-biggest-acquisition-ever-greatcall-mvno-targeting-seniors
  13. https://www.fierce-network.com/wireless/greatcall-switches-up-to-lively
  14. https://www.westcliff.edu/resources/wu-news/others/pioneer-in-wireless-technology-arlene-harris-to-deliver-keynote-address-at-westcliff-university-2024-commencement/
  15. https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240611274260/en/Westcliff-University-Celebrates-Distinguished-2024-Graduates-and-Introduces-Historic-Harris-Cooper-Scholarship-for-Women-in-STEM
  16. https://launch.nttdata.com/insights/telecom-through-the-years-with-the-first-lady-of-wireless
  17. https://wirelesshistoryfoundation.org/wireless-history-foundation-announces-the-appointment-of-two-new-board-members/
  18. https://www.grandmagazine.com/2012/06/easier-is-better/
  19. https://www.disabled-world.com/assistivedevices/visual/jitterbug-cellphones.php
  20. https://www.dailynews.com/2006/11/01/a-phone-that-wont-bug-you/amp/
  21. https://clark.com/technology/jitterbug-phone-need-to-know/
  22. https://www.dynallc.com/arlene-harris/
  23. https://kaihan.net/market-foresight-meets-empathy-inside-an-800m-exit/
  24. https://www.rcrwireless.com/20070526/archived-articles/wireless-hall-of-fame-arlene-harris
  25. https://patents.justia.com/inventor/arlene-j-harris
  26. https://www.rcrwireless.com/20070526/archived-articles/harris-kitchen-inducted-into-2007-wireless-hall-of-fame
  27. https://www.cta.tech/press-releases/the-consumer-technology-association-inducts-12-visionaries-into-the-2017-ct-hall-of-fame
  28. https://www.tmcnet.com/usubmit/2007/05/31/2677088.htm
  29. https://dynallc.com/arlene-awards-and-recognitions/
  30. https://stevieawards.com/women/2008-honorees
  31. https://wirelesshistoryfoundation.org/about-us/
  32. https://wirelesshistoryfoundation.org/
  33. https://wrethinking.org/our-founders-and-directors/
  34. https://www.grantmakers.io/profiles/v0/823638693-wrethinking-the-foundation
  35. https://internetsafetylabs.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/me2ba-coalition-newsom-letter-establishment-of-statewide-data-privacy-forums.pdf
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