Mobile
phones have become as commonplace as pocket radios. There is
no where you will go without finding someone with the palm
tucked close to the ear receiving or making a call. Mobile
services differ greatly from the traditional telephony service
in many respects. Here, we try to look at how cellular phones
phones operate and how calls are made and received.
The first thing you will have to
understand about mobile technology is mobile phones are
essentially radios. All communication – to an from the device
– travel along radio lines and is bound by radio transmission
rules we see in the old Motorola two way radio systems. The
only difference is that cellular phones are able to apply
computer concepts such as advanced networking and sophiscated
programming into their functions and that is how we come by
SMS text messages, conferencing, call waiting features and
calendar systems.
The second concept is that of
cells. There is no single block of network but rather a city
may be divided into several cells and a call from one cellular
device to the other keeps hoping along the cells till it gets
to the destined number. The advantage of the cell system, is
that it allows for frequency reuse, meaning several users can
use the same small cell and permits the company to use the
same frequency over and over again without locking resources
to one phone call only. Typically, one cell covers about 26
square kilometers and each one has a base station which is
just a tower and some radio equipment to manage the signals.
Of late, cell phone technologies are laden with computer
applications. SMS and WAP access are for example typical
computer applications that have found their way into cellular
functionality. SMS operates like the traditional email system
and is controlled by a server just like we have a network
server. WAP dwells more on computer programming and is also
controlled by a WAP server. When you send a text message, it
travels over the cellular network and is stored in a server
and delivered to the recipient. The reason why it is purely a
computer network facility and independent of the cellular
service is that even whilst receiving calls SMS messages can
come through.
WAP is purely an internet
driven service integrated into cellular networks to enhance
experience normally reserved for internet surfers. Examples of
these facilities are downloads and information services like
flight schedules and weather updates which are obtained from
cellular operators via handsets. As mobile users grow in
sophiscation, so does the technology that drives the device.
Each new day we shall see what we call convergence technology
whereby other fields of communication shall be gradually fused
into mobile operations to give customers enhanced experience.
For more more
information about mobile phone network please visit
http://www.cell-phone-nation.com
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