Citizens Band (CB) Radio is a two-way, low-power radio band for use by the public. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) first issued CB licenses in 1947. CB operators chat and exchange information on road conditions and the location of police speed traps. Popular among truck drivers, CB came to be identified with the culture of the open road. Operators adopted colorful nicknames ("handles") for use on the air. In the mid-1970s CB radio became a pop-culture phenomenon; by 1977, 20 million were enthusiasts. By the time the FCC ended the licensing requirement for CB operators in 1983, the fad was over. The spread of mobile phones by century's end had cleared the airwaves of all but a core of diehards and emergency personnel.
Bibliography
Kneitel, Tom. Tomcat's Big CB Handbook: Everything They Never Told You. Commack, N.Y.: CRB Research Books, 1988.
—James Kates/A. R.
