
Hopefully this will provide you with a general overview to help you gain a better understanding of how cell phones work.
They’re called “cell phones” for a reason, as the “cellular” part was taken from the fact that the different geographical areas of the world were divided up into “cells”. Each cell contains a station which has equipment and transmitters to control that particular area. Every time a phone is turned on, the phone gives out a radio signal which the station then picks up. The signal lets them know who the phone belongs to and finds an available channel over which to send your call. The cell phone companies also do this as a way to verify that your account is in good standing. Every call takes place on a unique frequency, and should you switch cells, the calls are easily switched over the original cell to a transmitter in your new cell.
Almost all phones these days are digital, but originally most phones were analog. With analog phones, the sound came out as one stream, much like what you hear when listening to the radio in your car. With a digital phone, however, the sound simply becomes a piece of information which is then compressed and made into sound on another person’s phone. Since the information is made smaller, much more of it can be sent out into our digital world. Many more cell phone users can be active at once, and different types of information can be easily sent, such as emails and pictures.
Since what takes place is almost entirely behind the scenes, it’s quite interesting to look at what really goes on and how cellular phone technology is forever changing the world that we live in.