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Communication - How Does A Cellular Phone Work?
How does a cellular phone work?
There are three parts to a cellular car phone system: the telephone unit in the car; the network of cell base stations; and the mobile telephone switching office. Geographic areas are divided into "cells." Each cell has at its center a base station, where the fixed radio receiver and transmitter are located. Every call made by a car phone is first sent to the base station in the cell within which the car is located. As a call passes from one cell site to another, the call is transferred or "handed off to an adjoining cell without any noticeable interruption. All cell sites belonging to a particular system are connected together at a mobile telephone switching office, which ties them to the local phone system.
Sources: Bernard, Josef. The Cellular Connection, p. 7; "Telecommunications Systems: Radiotelephone." Encyclopaedia Britannica CD 97.
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