PIMRC conference enjoys today wide respect and represents a new trend in international conferences, one which is well suited to the evolving global market. It is uniquely identified by the following features:
- Balance among academia, industry, and governmental organisations
- Truly international technical program endorsed by IEEE, IEE, and IEICE
- Flexible organisation tailored to the conference venue
- Personal touch and care by the area coordinators, executive committee members and a group of faithful individuals

The major reason for the success of the conference is the simplicity and practicality of the organization, which has created a productive and friendly environment with minimal administrative delays.

The foundation for PIMRC was a 1989 workshop on Mobile Communications organized by Prof Aghvami of King's College London with the cooperation of the local IEEE Communication Society Chapter. With fewer than 100 participants and about thirty technical papers, the workshop was a successful experience for this new industry that was about to explode. In 1990, King's College organized a similar successful conference under the name ISSSTA.

The first PIMRC, as an international symposium, also took place in King's College, with joint sponsorship of the local IEEE Communication Society Chapter and close cooperation with BT laboratories. Dr Rowbotham, director of BT Labs, was the honorary chairman, Prof Aghvami was the organizer and the TPC chair while Dr Kato and Prof Pahlavan were the area coordinators in Far East and North America, respectively. The conference attracted around 200 participants and several prominent figures in the industry.

In 1992, PIMRC was scheduled for Boston. The conference attracted more than 500 people from more than 25 different countries and almost all the major figures in the cellular, PCS, wireless LAN, and mobile data industries. To reflect the true international spirit of the conference, IEEE Communication Society, IEE and IEICE were invited to cooperate with the conference.

The following edition of PIMRC was held in Yokohama in 1993 with over 500 participants from more than 25 countries.

In the 1994 edition of PIMRC, held in the Hague, Holland, the organization of the conference was for the first time endorsed by the area coordinators to the local team; held in parallel with WCN conference, it attracted 500 participants.

Toronto followed in 1995 with 600 participants from more than thirty countries and about 270 technical papers; the IEEE Communication Society sponsored the conference for the first time.

The following year, PIMRC'96 was held in Taipei with more than 600 participants from more than 35 different countries.

PIMRC'97 was held in Helsinki, Finland with 500 participants from 40 countries and a record of 440 papers were received.

In 1998, PIMRC was held once again in Boston, gathering more than 500 participants; the technical program included 300 technical papers, 18 invited papers, and 15 tutorials.

PIMRC'99 was held in Osaka, Japan and attracted 600 delegates.

PIMRC2000 was held in London, UK

PIMRC2001 was held in San Diego, Cal.

PIMRC2002 will be held in Lisbon, Portugal. It will be hosted by the Instituto Superior Técnico - Technical Uiversity of Lisbon, sponsored by Vodafone, Siemens, Ericsson and Lucent Technologies.