How Cell Phones Work

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Please copy/paste the following text to properly cite this HowStuffWorks article:

Brain, Marshall, Jeff Tyson and Julia Layton. "How Cell Phones Work." 14 November 2000. HowStuffWorks.com. 01 July 2009.

Inside this Article

1. Introduction to How Cell Phones Work
2. Cell-phone Frequencies
3. Cell-phone Channels

4. Cell-phone Codes
5. Analog Cell Phones
6. Along Comes Digital
7. See more »
   7. Inside a Digital Cell Phone
   8. Cell Phone Network Technologies: 2G
   9. Multi-band vs. Multi-mode Cell Phones
   10. Cell-phone Network Technologies: 3G
   11. Cell-phone Towers
   12. Problems with Cell Phones
   13. Lots More Information
   14. See all Cell Phones articles

A Parent's Guide To Cell Phones

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Cell Phone Image Gallery


Nokia
The internal display of the Nokia 6555 has more colors than you can actually see at once. See more cell phone pictures.

Millions of people in the United States and around the world use cellular phones. They are such great gadgets -- with a cell phone, you can talk to anyone on the planet from just about anywhere!

These days, cell phones provide an incredible array of functions, and new ones are being added at a breakneck pace. Depending on the cell-phone model, you can:

• Store contact information
• Make task or to-do lists
• Keep track of appointments and set reminders
• Use the built-in calculator for simple math
• Send or receive e-mail
• Get information (news, entertainment, stock quotes) from the Internet
• Play games
• Watch TV
• Send text messages
• Integrate other devices such as PDAs, MP3 players and GPS receivers

­But have you ever wondered how a cell phone works? What makes it different from a regular phone? What do all those terms like PCS, GSM, CDMA and TDMA mean? In this article, we will discuss the technology behind cell phones so that you can see how amazing they really are. If you are thinking about buying a cell phone, be sure to check out How Buying a Cell Phone Works to learn what you should know before making a purchase.

To start with, one of the most interesting things about a cell phone is that it is actually a radio -- an extremely sophisticated radio, but a radio nonetheless. The telephone was invented by Alexander Graham Bell in 1876, and wireless communication can trace its roots to the invention of the radio by Nikolai Tesla in the 1880s (formally presented in 1894 by a young Italian named Guglielmo Marconi). It was only natural that these two great technologies would eventually be combined.

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