Conceived in early 1995, ACM SIGMOBILE started as an organization that fosters research in the field of mobility and tetherless ubiquitous connectivity. In early 1997, we had 21 members and were a relatively unknown organization. Since then, we have grown both in size and stature, with members who span the entire world. Our members work in academia, industry, and government. They are students, teachers, practioners, policy makers, and scientists. Our organization boasts one of the most remarkable retention rates among all ACM SIGs.

The single identifying characteristic of our members is that we are a very passionate bunch. We believe we are changing the world, and we are. Our interests range from building commercially viable handheld devices with powerful communications and computing ability, to lightweight wearables that are part of a soldier's battle gear, connecting him to the rest of his platoon or division. We are interested in providing computing and Internet access in automobiles, trains, ships, planes, and spacecraft. We build satellites that connect to each other and to the Internet. We work on problems related to connectivity and functionality of millions of sensors, which we believe will become pervasive. We are interested in personal and body-area networks. Most of all, we are interested in enabling the reliable flows of useful bits in the air, the computing power in your hand, and anywhere and anytime ubiquitous communications.

Some significant milestones in SIGMOBILE's history are:

11 February 1995
The idea of creating an ACM SIG that focuses on mobility and wireless is conceived and discussed between its two founders, Victor Bahl and Imrich Chlamtac.

13 February 1995
Victor contacts ACM and makes an informal proposal to them about creating a new SIG called SIGMOBILE. The ACM SGB encourages Victor to make a formal proposal.

6 December 1995
Imrich rallies well-known researchers in the field and sends a formal proposal to ACM's SIG Governing Board (SGB).

17 April 1996
Victor Bahl and Jason Redi kick off discussions on SIGMOBILE's quarterly newsletter. Several leading researchers in the field are consulted about the proposed scope and format.

13 June 1996
The SGB meets and sanctions SIGMOBILE to become a provisional ACM SIG. SIGMOBILE adopts Bylaws that govern its functioning.

17 July 1996
SIGMOBILE's newsletter gets a name: Mobile Computing and Communications Review.
An editorial board is formed. The initial budget is $1566/issue, and planning for first issue begins.

10 April 1997
The first issue (Vol 1. No. 1) of Mobile Computing and Communications Review is shipped to members. It has 32 pages.

30 June 1999
SIGMOBILE holds a Logo Design Contest, open to both members and non-members. 29 entries are submitted and after a 10 day voting period between June 30, 1999 and July 10, 1999 the winning entry is selected. The winning logo, designed by Joseph Macker, becomes SIGMOBILE's official logo on January 4, 2000.

12 October 2000
SIGMOBILE's Vice Chair, Victor Bahl, makes a viability case presentation to ACM SGB. The SGB votes unanimously to charter SIGMOBILE as a permanent, full-service ACM SIG.

12 June 2001
SIGMOBILE holds its first elections. Eleven members stand for four positions.

1 July 2001
SIGMOBILE's first elected Executive Committee takes office.

25 April 2002
The Chair of SIGMOBILE, Victor Bahl, the CEO of ACM, Patricia M. Ryan, and the Executive Director of The USENIX Association, Ellie Young sign a Co-Sponsorship Agreement to jointly produce MobiSys: The Annual International Conferences on Mobile Systems, Applications and Services.

15 October 2002
SIGMOBILE produces SenSys, the Embedded Networked Sensor Systems Conference. The first SenSys is held in Los Angeles, California, USA in November 2002.

15 January 2003
The SIGMOBILE Executive Committee takes over the ownership of workshops co-located with SIGMBOILE conferences. New policies and procedures are put in place to ensure quality and continuity.

8 February 2005
The SIGMOBILE Chapter Program is launched. The NTU Singapore chapter becomes SIGMOBILE's first Student Chapter, and the Sidney, Australia Chapter becomes SIGMOBILE's first Professional Chapter.

1 April 2005
SIGMOBILE holds new elections for officers. Voting ends 15 June 2005. Nine members stand for four positions.

1 July 2005
SIGMOBILE's newly elected Executive Committee takes office.

Previous SIGMOBILE Executive Committees

2005-2009:
Prof. David B. Johnson, Chair
Dr. Jason Redi, Vice Chair
Prof. Tracy Camp, Treasurer
Prof. Chiara Petrioli, Secretary

2001-2005:
Dr. Victor Bahl, Chair
Dr. Mary Baker, Vice Chair
Prof. David B. Johnson, Treasurer
Prof. Andrew Campbell, Secretary

1997-2001:
Prof. Imrich Chlamtac, Chair
Dr. Victor Bahl, Vice Chair
Prof. David B. Johnson, Treasurer
Prof. Christopher Rose, Secretary