About Cell Phone Reception

Cell phone reception is a term that refers to the clarity of a message signal on a cellular telephone, and can vary depending on the handset location, proximity to a radio tower and internal design.

Significance

Cell phones, also called wireless phones, send and receive voice and data information through short range radio signals. The handset sends out a radio signal that is received by the nearest cell site, or cell tower, that can usually be no more than five to eight miles away. The tower relays the radio message to the next tower until it reaches the transmission destination, either another cell phone or landline telephone. Cell phones are designed to "listen" to the signals being transmitted from the closest tower, and receives notification when a message specific to its switch, or phone number, is being transmitted.

Types

A phone's reception is based on the proximity to a radio tower and also the strength of the phone's transmitter. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, scientists were afraid of exposing the human body to overly powerful transmitters, so early cell phones were built with low-watt receivers and transmitters. As the technology and medical awareness of cell phones advanced, the strength of the receivers increased, giving newer phones considerably better reception compared to older phones.

Features

There are many things that may interfere with a cell phone's reception even when it is in range of a tower. The "line of sight rule" can often be attributed to reception problems, meaning if there is something that is blocking your sight line to the reception tower such as a large building or underground parking structure you will not be able to receive full reception. While modern digital networks are not as strongly affected by this, there are still areas that are reception killers. These areas are colloquially called "dead zones" and include parking garages, basements, caves, and rural communities where there are no towers.

Benefits

There are many ways to improve cell phone reception, including updating to a newer phone, using a wireless provider with many cell towers, and attaching an additional receiver and transmitter to the phone, called a signal booster.

Potential

As the wireless industry expands, so does the importance of reception coverage to the consumer. Many of the top cell providers, including AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile, have designed entire multi-million dollar advertising campaigns around the strength of its system reception. In the early 2000s, Verizon became a household name thanks to their "Can you hear me now? Good!" advertising campaign, and continue to push the reception reliability of its network with the "Dead Zone" television commercial campaigns. In 2008, T-Mobile began to advertise heavily for the reception checker feature they host on its website, that allows potential customers to check the amount of reception the T-Mobile network has on a street by street basis.