Cell Phones

Cellular Phones

A mobile or cellular telephone is, by definition, a long-range, portable electronic device for personal telecommunications over long distances. In laden terms, it is a cordless phone you can carry around in your pocket. This day and age the cell phone, as most have come to refer to it as, is owned by almost everyone. The owners range from elementary school students all the way to senior citizens. Most current mobile phones connect to a cellular network of base stations, or cell sites, which is in turn interconnected to the public switched telephone network, or PSTN. The exception of these would be satellite phones.

Throughout the progression of technology there have been great strides in cellular phone advancements. Features seem almost endless and will only continue to advance and become more numerous. Because cell phones are so popular and used by 2/3 of the United States adult population, issues such as tracking, etiquette, and smart mobbing have become synonymous with cellular devices.

History of Cellular Phones
The beginning history of cell phones is based upon radio technology that was developed from the 1940's onward. For instance the beginning of cell phones can be traced to the innovation in taxi cabs, police cars and other service vehicles where two way radios were used to communicate with one another or with a central base. Early cell phone communication technology could be even traced back to individuals with special radios that can patch into a phone line via live operator to make a phone call.

The basic concept of cellular phones began in 1947, when researchers looked at crude mobile (car) phones and realized that by using small cells (range of service area) with frequency reuse they could increase the traffic capacity of mobile phones substantially. However at that time, the technology to do so was nonexistent.

Anything to do with broadcasting and sending a radio or television message out over the airwaves comes under Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regulation. A cell phone is a type of two-way radio. In 1947, AT&T proposed that the FCC allocate a large number of radio-spectrum frequencies so that widespread mobile telephone service would become feasible and AT&T would have a incentive to research the new technology. We can partially blame the FCC for the gap between the initial concept of cellular service and its availability to the public. The FCC decided to limit the amount of frequencies available in 1947, the limits made only twenty-three phone conversations possible simultaneously in the same service area - not a market incentive for research.

The FCC reconsidered its position in 1968, stating "if the technology to build a better mobile service works, we will increase the frequencies allocation, freeing the airwaves for more mobile phones." AT&T and Bell Labs proposed a cellular system to the FCC of many small, low-powered, broadcast towers, each covering a 'cell' a few miles in radius and collectively covering a larger area. Each tower would use only a few of the total frequencies allocated to the system. As the phones traveled across the area, calls would be passed from tower to tower.

The first official mobile phone was used in Sweden by the Swedish police in 1946. The technology was connected to the telephone network and was distinctive of two way radio technology. The phone was not very practical; it was only able to make 6 phone calls before the car's battery was drained.

The technology of modern cell phones started with the creation of hexagonal cells for mobile phones by D.H. Ring from Bell Labs in 1947, later on another engineer from Bell Labs conceived of cell towers that would transmit and receive signals in three directions instead of normal bi directional antennas. However, although some technologies have been developed, electronics and other technologies would take decades to mature and to be developed. For instance, the electronics that were used in the first cell phones were first developed in the 1960's

By 1967, mobile phone technology was available; however, the user had to stay within one cell area. Cell areas which were serviced by a base station were unable to hand off cellular phone calls from one base station to another. While you could make a phone, call, you weren't able to continue the call after you reached a set range. In 1970, Amos Edward Joel, who also was an engineer at Bell Labs, developed the call handoff system. This technology facilitated continuity of a phone call from one area to another without dropping the phone call.

While the technology had been developed, it wasn't until 1971 that AT&T submitted a request to the FCC for cellular service. It took more than 10 years for an approval and in 1982; the FCC allocated the frequencies of 824-894 MHZ Band to Advanced Mobile Phone Service (AMPS). From 1982 to 1990, AMPS was an analog service, Digital AMPS came online as of 1990.

Throughout the decades, there have been many technologies that existed that made mobile phones available. Most of the time, these phones were installed in vehicles due to the large battery requirements. For instance, the MTA (Mobile Telephone System A) developed by Eriksson was available in Sweden in 1950's. Unfortunately, it weighed over 80 pounds, later versions however weighed around the 20 pound range, still making it ineffective for truly portable devices that are used today.

First Generation Cell Phones
In 1983, Motorola unveiled to the world, the first truly portable cellular phone. It was called the Motorola DynaTAC 8000X. It was approved for use in the United States by the FCC. Motorola developed the technology for cellular phones for decades and this particular phone took 15 years to come to market at an expense of over 100 million dollars in research costs. The DynaTAC800X was extremely lightweight for its time and only weighed about 28 ounces. It was 13 inches x 1.75 inches x 3.5 inches and was known as the Brick for its shape. It was largely developed with the help of Dr. Martin Cooper of Motorola.

From 1983 to the end of the 1980's cell phones grew in popularity due to the innovations in cellular networks that were able to handle phone calls in either one area or hand them off to other areas. While most cell phones weren't made to be carried in your hand, all phones were made for permanent installation in the car. For a while the term "car phone" was extremely popular. Besides car phones, there were a few models that came in tote bag type configurations that can easily hook up to a car's battery, via the DC outlet to make calls. There were also a few models that came as briefcases, to hold large batteries necessary to make phone calls.

Second Generation Cell Phones
Cellular phones from the early 1990's are considered being second generation (2G) and they were able to work on mobile phone systems such as GSM, IS-136 (TDMA) and IS-95 (CDMA). Digital mobile phone networks were in use in the United States in 1990 and in Europe by 1991. 2G mobile phones use digital circuit switched transmissions. This ultimately enabled quicker network signaling, lowering the amount of dropped calls and increasing call quality. As 2G digital networks were online, most of the time, they replaced analog network frequencies, effectively making them obsolete.

Phones based on 2G technology were much smaller than the brick telephones of the mid to late 80's. Most 2G cellular phones were usually in the range of 100 to 200 grams, plus they were hand held devices that were truly portable without the need for a large battery. Advances in battery technology, as well as computer chip technology also helped to make 2G cell phones much smaller than their predecessors. With these innovations, cell phone usage soared.

Third Generation Cell Phones
Third Generation cellular phones is the technology that is currently available today and it is commonly referred to as 3G. While 3G came only a few years after 2G, mainly due to many innovations in technology and services, standards for 3G are usually different depending on the network.

It is usually stated that 3G is not necessarily a rigid standard, but is a set of requirements that most networks and cell phone providers follow. There are two main requirements; they include 2 Megabits of maximum data rate indoors and 384 kbits for outdoor use. 3G mobile phones usually include innovations to receive much more than phone calls, for instance, SMS text is available and some 3G phones also offer email and Internet access. Currently technologies are continuing to improve and new innovations such as streaming radio and TV, as well as Wifi are currently breaking into the market.

Cell Phone Etiquette
In this section are some do's and do nots of the privileges of carrying a cellular phone. We all encounter cell phone use at home, at work and a variety of other situations. These rules will help everyone avoid embarrassing situations and some dangerous ones too.

Common Courtesy

 * When in the company or presence of others, keep your phone conversations brief.
 * Avoid the multi-task syndrome of carrying on a cell phone conversations while you're in the grocery store line, heading into a bank, or at a department store cash register.
 * Be aware of your voice level. Not everyone around you needs to know the details of your conversations.
 * Make sure to turn the ringer off in certain public places including movie theaters, playhouses, airplanes and religious services.

Cell Phone Safety On the Road

 * Talking on a cell phone while driving can become an unnecessary distraction and can lead to accidents. Avoid chatting on a mobile device when on the road.
 * If your cell phone rings while you are driving, allow your voice mail to pick up the messages and return the call later.
 * Cell phone safety means you can pull the car over to use the cellular device if you must talk en route to your destination.
 * Allow the passenger of your vehicle to handle your phone calls or consider reserving conversations when you are not in the driver seat.

Other Important Tips

 * When in doubt, mute your cell phone: Many establishments ask customers to refrain from using their cell phones. Place the phone on "Silent" or "Vibrate" mode and make the phone easily accessible.
 * When in earshot, keep the conversation short: What is more annoying that listening to all the intimate details of a stranger's weekend? Be aware of your surroundings; don't conduct nonessential calls in public transportation, restaurants, checkout lines, bathrooms or other close quarters.
 * Say please before they say cheese: The proliferation of camera phones means that everyone is walking around with a camera in their pocket. Think twice before pulling out that cell phone in locker rooms, swimming pools, and other potentially compromising situations. Most of us aren't interested in finding unknown pictures of ourselves on the internet.

Resources
http://www.wirefly.com/resources/etiquette/courtesy.html

http://www.wirefly.com/resources/etiquette/safety.html

http://www.letstalk.com/promo/unclecell/unclecell2.htm

http://www.tech-faq.com/history-of-cell-phones.shtml

http://inventors.about.com/library/weekly/aa070899.htm

http://www.historicaltextarchive.com/s/history-of-cell-phones.php