Wireless Phone Technology

What makes wireless phone technology different from land-based lines is that wireless phone technology transmits radio waves and relies on big antennae installations all around the U.S. Cellular refers to the interconnection of these radio fields around those antennae. As you move from field to field, it's like moving from cell to cell in a giant organism.

A cell site contains a radio transceiver and a base station controller which manages, receives, and sends traffic from the mobiles in its geographical area to a cellular telephone switch, which links to the distant cellular switch called a mobile telecommunications switching office. This MTSO places calls from land based telephones to wireless customers, switches calls between cells as mobiles travel across cell boundaries, and authenticates wireless customers before they make calls. Complex signaling routines handle call placements, call requests, call transfers from one cell to another, and roaming from one carrier's area to another.

Wireless Phone Plans

Picking the service plan for you: Determine when, where and who will be using your cell phone most to select a plan that's just right for you. Pre-paid Plans are a good option if don't like long-term contracts and want to limit your phone expenses. The increasingly popular Family Plan (local, regional, or national in scope) gives parents peace-of-mind and ready access to on-the-go kids. Shared Plans function like Family Plans, giving you the freedom to define the group's members. No Contract Plans offer simplicity and convenience linked to your credit card. However, most wireless phone plans require you to sign a one- or two-year contract and charge a steep penalty if you cancel before the contract expires.