How cell phones work

How cell phones work can get very technical, the basics of wireless phones are that they are actually radios (extremely sophisticated radios). Essentially, how cell phones work is that they use high-frequency radio signals to communicate with “cell towers” located throughout the calling area. The great principle of the cellular system is the division of a city into small cells that allows extensive frequency reuse across a city. This allows millions of people to use cell phones simultaneously.

When a call is made, the cell phone sends a message to the tower, asking to be connected to a given telephone number. As long as the tower has enough resources to grant the request, a device called a “switch” patches the cell phone’s signal throughout to a channel on the PSTN (public switched telephone network). This call now uses a wireless channel as well as a PSTN channel that stays open until the call is completed. To allow thousands of calls to go on at any given time within a city, different techniques have been developed by cell phone manufacturers to split up the available bandwidth into many channels each capable of supporting one conversation. How cell phones work depends on what frequency is being used such as, analog, digital, FDMA (frequency division multiple access), TDMA (time division multiple access), CDMA (code division multiple access), or GSM (global system for mobile communications).

There is so much that is involved in how cell phones work, but all that really matters is that they do, making our lives easier and happier.

About The Author:

Alan Zunec is a successful author and regular contributor to http://www.free-prepaid-cellular-phone.com. A resource for prepaid cellular phones, plans and phone card offers.