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The holidays are come and gone. We're living in the third year of a new
century. Perhaps you were hoping to begin 2002 with a new radio; perhaps
you have a new cellular phone instead. If that's the case, don't fret.
Cell phones are radios. That's why the FCC prefers to call them "wireless" phones
rather than cellular or mobile phones. That's not something most people
generally think about when they're frustrated over poor reception or
a dropped call, but that's really what they are, compact radios that
work on low powered transmissions.
They're called "cell phones" because the radio frequencies used by them exist
in small cells. These radio frequency cells are usually pictured as
hexagonal in shape, and within each hexagon is a cell tower. Highly
populated areas can have a honey-comb look to them because of the number
of cells that exist side by side.
The FCC defines the cell phone system as a "an automated, high capacity
system of one or more multichannel base stations designed to provide
radio telecommunications services to mobile stations over a wide area
in a spectrally efficient manner." In other words, hundreds of cell
phones must be able to work at a given time in a given area. Cell phones
operate efficiently by taking advantage of something called frequency
reuse. As the name suggests, frequency reuse means that cell phones
can use the same radio frequencies without overlapping and having people
listen in on your calls.
One of the ways they accomplish this reuse is through a technique called
automatic hand-off. Base stations located near one another can be programmed
to hand-off calls to other towers automatically, like in a relay race.
This handing off is especially useful when you're on the move, like
in a car or walking through a city. As soon as your signal gets weak,
the cell tower hands off your signal to the next tower -- keeping you
connected and extending the range of your service.
Both analog and digital phones work on the 800 MHz frequency, while PCS
phones use the 1900 MHz frequency. But remember, even though cell phones
are radios, you're not allowed to listen in on cell phone calls. Phone
companies connect the cell phones to land lines through their Mobile
Telephone Switching Office (MOTS). When someone calls you on your cell
phone, the call first goes into the MOTS. From there, it searches the
cell grids until it locates you and when it finds you it finally connects
your call. When you place a call, the reverse happens -- your call
goes through the MOTS and then onto the party you're trying to reach.
There are lots of pluses to cell phones -- both digital and analog. Analog
phones, though considered dated by some consumers, still provide more
reliable connections, while digital phones, because of their use of
binaries (see the article on digital versus analog), have more security.
Phone companies also use digital technology to compress more data into
a frequency -- enabling things like email and web-surfing on some cell
phones.
One of the biggest draw backs to cell phones, though, and it may just be
me, is the sight of the radio towers. If you're reading this article,
and have seen the C. Crane print catalog, you know that C. Crane is
nestled among the majestic redwoods of Northern California. If you've
never seen redwoods up close, you can get a good sense of their beauty
by watching The Return of the Jedi --the last half of the movie was
filmed in a redwood forest near Fortuna.
I mention redwoods because, well, they really don't exist anywhere outside
of Northern California -- and yet, there’s a cell tower near where
I live in New Jersey that rises above the surrounding homes like a
mighty, metal redwood. It's designed to look like a tree, but it's
such an odd sight, that it just looks like someone was playing a bad,
bad joke on nature lovers in the area. The branches are stiff and straight,
and, well, there just aren't any trees like it out here -- so it looks
like someone dropped it from outer space. When you're driving out along
the highway you should try to spot the disguised cell towers near you
-- it's also a great way to entertain a bored youngster during a long
car trip.
Anyway, cell phones are an amazing invention. Many cell phones can do as much
as my first computer could do 15 years ago (maybe more). Of course,
there are still ways to make them better. Since they are radios, one
of the easiest things you can do to get more out of your cell phone
is to boost
the antenna, especially on the road. If you do use a phone
while driving, you should probably consider getting yourself a headset,
for hands-free calling. Some towns across the country have already
banned cell phones while driving, though they do permit headsets and
other hand-free methods.
To view our past articles, please visit our What's
in the News Archives.
As always, please e-mail me with any comments or
article suggestions you might have. If you have a customer service or technical question, please
send to ccraneco@aol.com or call 1-800-522-8863.
If you are interested in using C. Crane's articles on your own Web site,
please let me know. I'd be happy to take a look at your Web site and
see what we can do. Good-bye for now, Carlos. About
the author
For more FCC information on cellular phones you can check out the following links:
FCC Wireless Home Page
All the FCC rules can be found on this Web page
Official FCC information pamphlet on Cell Phones
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