How a Cellular Phone System Works Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

How a Cellular Phone System Works - Assignment Example The cells can either take a hexagonal or circular shape. One cell can operate multiple radio towers. People can simultaneously use their cell phones due to the widespread frequency reuse within a city. The cells enable cellular phones to have incredible range as they can automatically switch as people move around. A cellular network’s range is not limited as compared to that of a walkie-talkie (1.1 miles) and a CB radio (4.9 miles). Frequencies also shift between cells when an individual is on a call while in motion. As a cellular phone moves away from its cell, change in signal strength is detected by the cell’s base station. The next base station being approached detects the increasing signal strength. The two base stations in the two cells coordinate, through a Mobile-Telephone Switching Office, and the user is ‘handed over’ to the next cell automatically. The shift makes it possible for someone to drive across a city while using a cell phone, and keep up a conversation for the entire period (Wisniewski, 36). A cell phone differs from both CB radios and walkie-talkies, which are both half-duplex devices. It is able to use multiple frequencies, hence a full-duplex device. An individual can use one frequency for listening and a second frequency for talking. The multi-tasking capability of a cellular phone is that, two people on a call can talk simultaneously. The towers in these cells transmit a two-way frequency maximizing the capabilities of cellular phones as full-duplex devices. Nonadjacent cells can use the same frequencies severally since base stations and cell phones employ low-power transmitters, which ensure that transmissions do not go very far from a cell and the cell phones around it. Low-power transmitters have a stake at the shape of cellular phones since they ensure that the power consumption of the phone is relatively low hence a small battery. Similar frequencies must