@mint @Forestofenchantment @EscapeVelo in America it 100% was. Hence Obama having one being a famous thing and "national security concern" for a while (that nobody took seriously because he's in the "inner circle" if you know what I mean)
https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna28780205
https://www.theverge.com/2016/6/11/11910306/obama-upgrades-from-blackberry

But then again, the American mobile phone market and what was mainstream was "radically" different than what you see in Russia. See: IDEN phones (vid related, a cell network made by the radio part of Motorola)