Cell Phones And How They Work

Cell phones are one of the high tech gadgets these days. A lot of people have cell phones and it is also among the top selling products all over the world. Cell phones can be compared to a walkie-talkie or some of kind of CB radio. However, the latter makes use of the simplex system wherein the users can’t talk and listen at the same time.

The cell phone is a more advanced system where in the user can listen or talk simultaneously. It makes use of different frequencies for talking and listening. With the CB radio, there are only 40 channels being used while cell phones use 1664 channels.

So why are cellular phones called by such name? The network provider owns a network area wherein it is further divided into small areas or cells. Each of the area or cell has an antenna. If a person carrying the handset moves within the specified area of the provider, the user can stay in touch with friends and relatives through the local antenna.

All cell phone handsets have unique codes given by the cellular service provider. These codes are then used to distinguish cell phones from one another and it’s also how the handsets are identified. By simply making a cell phone call, a lot of things happen in the network.

When cell phones are turned on, the identification code seeks and identifies the service provider on a control channel. This is also the frequency used when you’re talking over the cell phone. When the frequency is not found, then there is no network coverage or no service. However, if the frequency is found, the identification code of the cell phone is matched to it. Again, the identification code is already programmed in your cell phone. The MTSO (mobile telephone switching office) tracks your cell phone and locates your phone’s identification in their database. The MTSO will then pair the frequency of your cell phone and that of the call recipient. Through control channels, MTSO communicates and directs the frequency being used. Your call is connected once the tower and phone tracks the said frequency.

That’s how cell phone works. So you see, with just one call, the network is already busy in connecting you with your loved ones. What more if the users send text messages, emails, pictures, etc? It’s really quite amazing how the cell phones, frequencies, towers, control channels, and MTSO works. Thanks to the cell phone service providers, it’s very easy to keep in touch with the world.