How Do Mobile Phones Work?

The process of a cellular phone working seems simple enough to those of us who use them. However, it is not as simple as it seems. Cellular phones work like radios and are, in fact, radios themselves. Working with the equipment on the inside of the phone along with equipment located outside the phone, cell phones have made our lives easier. Here's how they work.

Radio Signals

Like any radio that is not plugged in, a cellular phone must have a battery. Without the battery the phone would die and be unusable by the caller. Of course, you could always use the phone while on the charger. It is just like using a radio whose electrical cord is plugged into the wall.

Just like when you try to find a certain radio station, when people call your mobile telephone number, they are really trying to find your telephone's unique wave frequency. In reverse, when you use your mobile phone to contact another mobile phone, you too are allowing your phone to identify itself as a specific frequency while searching for someone else's unique identifying frequency.

Frequencies

In order for a radio to work, a radio tower is necessary. The sound emitted from the frequency wouldn't reach very far at all. This is the same with mobile phones. In order for your voice to be heard by the other person on the other end of the conversation, the frequency of your phone must reach your mobile phone company's cellular tower in order to transmit the wave.

When there is no tower within reach of the waves of frequency, your phone is emitting then you will most likely lose your call or the call will get dropped. For some frequent travelers, looking up the coverage map to find where their cellular phone company's towers are located can help them decide when to make calls when on the road.

Of course, no one enjoys just staying in one place. Therefore, cellular companies have built many of these towers with emitters in place for their customer's unique wave frequencies. If you were to walk from one end of the state to the other, your mobile phone's frequency would communicate with various towers.

So, when you start out at your home, there is one specific tower your phone is using to emit waves. As you drive to the other end of the city, your phone will communicate with whatever base tower is closest to it. The process of switching towers is automatic. The caller never has to do anything to make sure the mobile phone's frequencies are communicating with the nearest base tower.

Waiting on a Signal

Sometimes, there are too many mobile phone users from the same company all trying to use their phones near one specific base tower. Most will be able to complete their calls, but sometimes overload can happen and no one will be able to get through. If you make a call that won't go through, try traveling to another location or waiting for five or ten minutes to try again.