Wireless Communications and Cellular Devices

We are all well aware of wireless telephone or cell phones. In the not too distant past pagers were all the rage and everyone who was "anyone" had a beeper. Today beepers are almost a joke. True they still are popular for certain special applications. Doctors often use them to reduce workload by carrying a beeper when on call, knowing that only the hospital or authorized persons have the number and that any beep signals a critical situation. Sometimes limo drivers use them off duty so that if there is a customer in need of transport, they can be beeped to call the office. It is a way to bypass the issue of cellphones dead zones as beepers, within metro areas, tend to work more reliably under all conditions.

Today's cell phones have moved far beyond just talking. Voice communications remains the major feature but now that data is sharing cellular towers with voice, people use their phones for text messaging and for data services such as web browsing and sending and receiving of videos and images to friends cellular telephones and PDAs.

Many people don't realize that the same cellular telephone network they are talking over also carry other services. GM's popular OnStar emergency response system utilizes the cellphone network. Many modern alarm systems also rely on cellular modems to transmit emergency information and alarms to the central office over cell phone frequencies.

GPS tracking devices, often employed by law enforcement, but also comercialized by some companies to keep tabs on children, mix GPS positioning information and cellular transmission of that data to a central database where users can log in and view the location of the tracking device.

Did you know that your cell phone is always "talking" to the system even when it is not being used to make calls? Cell phones constantly update the communications computers with their present location so they know if they are "home" or "roaming" in a remote location. They update their status and in doing so, make your approximate location knowable. Most people don't worry about this. It is part of the infrastructure that makes the system work and without this update, your phone may not work properly all the time. Your phone is part of a network...not just a lone piece of electronics. Privacy nuts or perhaps people who work for the CIA and NSA know this and if they have a good reason to hide, they often remove the battery from their phones except when they need to place a call or know to expect one.

Now that many phones also include GPS data, intended for 911 emergency calls so they know where you are when you need help, but also useful for certain new services such as location aware web browsing or text advertising. If you search for a place to eat, new applications can use the GPS data to target dining establishments close to your present location. You may also find it hard to hid from your wife if you are up to something no good !

There are only a few major carriers that provide cellular networks. Many of the smaller providers don't actually own any cell towers, instead they purchase bulk services wholesale from one of the major cellular network providers. They pay a lower price because they pre-purchase a lot of talk time and guarantee payment even if you don't pay your bill on time. It is a safe revenue for the big boys without the hassle of billing hundreds of thousands of individuals for service.

Developing countries are some of the fastest to deploy and embrace modern cellular networks. Here in the US we had a wired telephone infrastructure for nearly a hundred years before wireless telephone networks became common. Cell phones compete with the "Baby Bells" for voice traffic and ADSL internet access. America is well wired with both copper and fiber optic communications, without which we would not enjoy the vast deployment of the internet. But when your nation is just entering a communications era, the cost to physically string copper wires to every corner of your country is no longer a financial option. Erecting cellphone towers is relative cheap and quick. Nations who had virtually no traditional telephone infrastructure are relying on cellular technology to extend voice and data communications to their populations quickly. Many of these nations will never have copper phone lines. There is just no need any longer except, perhaps, in densely populated areas where there is a desire to provide high speed broadband access without placing a strain on wireless capacity.

Data services to people with laptop computers and netbooks are coming to the forefront. One of the reasons for the push to digital television was to free up radio frequencies for other uses. The cellular telephone companies paid a lot of cash to get more spectrum in which to provide services including expanded data networks. These services allow people to have internet access on the move or in areas not currently served by traditional hard wired broad band service providers such as cable and telephone companies. The cost is not very attractive now. While some cellular providers will offer you an unlimited plan for your web-enabled cell phone, they typically charge a high premium for the same access for your laptop or notebook computer. The rational, if you ask, is most likely because it is thought that if you are using a laptop you are more likely to spend more time and use more bandwidth than if you use a less convenient cell phone to browse with. Of course the real rational is profits. Most people don't need much web access with a cell phone but if you work and travel with a laptop your access is more important so they will charge you more. It is the American Way to charge more what you need than for mere toys.

What's next? Already two way video cell phones are appearing in Japan and Europe. Our carriers seem to be slow to adopt new technology but to be fair, with a far larger system than exists in those relatively small nations, the cost and bandwidth needs here are much greater.

Toys! Now that you have a wireless device in your hand what else can it do for you? PDAs are now incorporating cell phones. Your address book, reminders and appointments go with you on your phone. I use mine for an alarm clock as well.

Do you have a home alarm system? Perhaps computer operated lights through a home automation system? With the correct equipment you can "call" your house and turn your alarm on or off. You can tell your house to turn on the porch light and living room light from your cell phone in preparation for your arrival. You may be able to unlock the front door to allow the electrician to enter your home while you remain on the road or in the grocery store.

You can customize your phone with your own wallpaper for the screen. Download novel ringtones. Even set a different ring tone for each person in your address book if you like so you know who is calling just by the ring. You can buy fancy replacement cases for many phones to dress up the colors. You can add fancy holsters to attach to your belt.

Cellular accessories are a very big market today!

Less a toy than a safety feature are Bluetooth headsets and hands free devices for use in your vehicle. With this technology you can often voice dial numbers without using a keypad. You can answer and talk while driving, all without using your hands, except perhaps to just touch a button.

Whatever you need, the amazing thing about the modern cell phone is obvious when you stop to think that you hold in your hand a tiny device that can instantly put you in personal contact with other people on the other side of the world in a matter of seconds. Who would have imagined that possibility just 30 years ago when my mobile phone was a big two way radio mounted in the trunk of my car and all calls were routed by giving the numer to call to a operator.

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