When did cellphones originate in South Africa?

Cellphones did not originate in South Africa. The origins of cellphones or mobile phones can be traced to the United States, where the concept was first envisioned by several inventors and engineers, such as Martin Cooper and Amos Joel, in the 1940s and 1950s. The first public demonstration of a handheld cellular phone occurred in 1973, and the first commercial cellular network, launched in 1983, was based on technology from the American multinational corporation Motorola.