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 Since then PIMRC has grown tremendously and is one of the premier conferences in its field.

Since 1992 when PIMRC was first organized in Boston it turned to a major international conference that has taken place in Europe, US and Asia and attracted between 500-700 attendees from around 30 countries annually. The major figures in the cellular, PCS, wireless LAN, and mobile data industries are attracted to this conference. Major conference topics are presented through keynotes, tutorials, technical and panel sessions.

Today, PIMRC conference enjoys 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 organizations
- Truly international technical program endorsed by IEEE, IEE, and IEICE
- Flexible organization tailored to the conference venue
- Personal touch and care by the area coordinators, executive committee members and a group of faithful individuals