Home > Encyclopedia of Science > Cellular/Digital Technology

• Development of cellular/digital technology
• Words to Know
• Mobile phone usage takes off
• Importance of cellular/digital technology

Cellular technology is the use of wireless communication, most commonly associated with the mobile phone. The term cellular comes from the design of the system, which carries mobile phone calls from geographical service areas that are divided into smaller pockets, called cells. Each cell contains a base station that accepts and transfers the calls from mobile phones that are based in its cell. The cells are interconnected by a central controller, called the mobile telecommunications switching office (MTSO). The MTSO connects the cellular system to the conventional telephone network and it also...