People once thought that the telephone was the ultimate form of communication. They had to guess again when cellular phones came into vogue.



In today's information age, there are so many different forms of communication. The internet opened the doors to electronic mail and instant messaging communications.

However, the fastest growing mode of communication is cellular network communication, which in everyday talk is the use of cellular phones.

In 2003, the reported number of cellular phone users rose to 700 million, 120 million of which are in the Unites States.

The growing popularity of cellular phones owes much to the fact that cellular phones allow subscribers to call and be called from practically any location, as long as he or she is within the network area. And as cellular phones grow in popularity, the network coverage grows along with them.

Cellular phones are also attractive because they are wireless, and are lightweight. They run on low power and can remain powered up to receive a call for as long as half a week. The phone allows talk times up to a few hours.

How Do They Work

Cellular phones work by transmitting radio signals to nearby cell sites. These cell sites are towers that receive such signals and transmit them to other nearby cell sites until they reach the cell site nearest to the recipient of the call.

The structure of the network makes sure that the network coverage can span immense distances without having to rely on only on broadcast site.

These phone networks exist in most metropolitan areas in the world and their nearby provinces. Even the far off regions of each country are starting to benefit from an increased construction of infrastructure to accommodate larger network coverage.

The phone itself contains complex circuitry that allows it to be identified over the network. This allows the network to track, identify, and coordinate calls from its subscribers.

History of Cellular Phones

The first cellular phones were developed in the late 70's by Illinois Bell in Chicago. This undertaking met with great success. Development for mass service of cellular technology began in the 80's through the 90's.

During this time, cellular phones were yet clunky, heavy, and had very limited battery life. It was only recently that technological innovations made possible the shrinking of the cellular phone unit.

Nowadays people can not live without the convenience of a cellular phone at hand. It allows people to stay constantly in touch with people they wish to talk to. It also provides cheap, efficient communications among time-critical endeavors such as medical work, business meetings, etc.

The Future

The future of communications starts with the cellular network. Even today newer protocols and technology aim to push mobile communications to the next level. Technologies such as 3G and GPRS are growing in support. Soon these technologies will use the cellular networks as a springboard towards success.

Although the information age is forever changing the way we communicate with one another. Cellular networks have effectively redefined and re-chartered the path technology will take with regards to communication.