Wireless Telephone

The demand by consumers all over the world for mobile communications is booming and will continue for at least the next decade. By the end of 2007, over 100 million people in the United States were using cellular service. Globally, the numbers are growing equally as fast. Over 1billion people were using a mobile service by the end of 2007. People are utilizing wireless technology to connect their fixed home and business phones as well, particularly in developing nations around the world.

How does wireless technology work?

Wireless communications systems provide anytime, anywhere communications. When you talk on a wireless phone, it transmits low energy radio waves to a local antenna site, which connects you with the landline or wireless location you are calling. That same antenna also send signals back to your wireless phone. A computerized system monitors each call and ensures that the phone always receives the strongest available signal at all times.

Wireless systems fall into two groups, depending on their range of operation:

Wide area systems are targeted at highly mobile users whose primary concern is the ability to communicate at any time from any location.

Local area systems, because they are more of a convenience, usually replace local wireline service.

A comparison of these two groups of wireless systems is found in the following table:

Wireless Service Providers:

The prominent US wireless service providers by their rank in terms of subscribers are:

1. ATT Wireless (formerly Cingular)

2. Verizon Wireless (a joint venture of Verizon & Vodafone)

3. Sprint (a combination of Sprint & Nextel)

4. T-Mobile (a unit of Deutesche Telecom)