Ce llu la r Com m u n ica t ion s

D e finit ion
A cellular mobile communications system uses a large number of low-power
wireless transmitters to create cells—the basic geographic service area of a
wireless communications system. Variable power levels allow cells to be sized
according to the subscriber density and demand within a particular region. As
mobile users travel from cell to cell, their conversations are "handed off" between
cells in order to maintain seamless service. Channels (frequencies) used in one
cell can be reused in another cell some distance away. Cells can be added to
accommodate growth, creating new cells in unserved areas or overlaying cells in
existing areas.

Ove r vie w
This tutorial discusses the basics of radio telephony systems, including both
analog and digital systems. Upon completion of this tutorial, you should be able
to accomplish the following:
1. describe the basic components of a cellular system
2. identify and describe digital wireless technologies

Topics
1. Mobile Communicatio ns Principles
2. Mobile Telephone System Using the Cellular Concept
3. Cellular System Architecture
4. North American Analog Cellular Systems
5. Cellular System Components
6. Digital Systems
Self- Test
Correct Answers
 Acronym Guide

1 . M obile Com m u n ica t ion s Pr in ciple s

Each mobile uses a separate, temporary radio channel to talk to the cell site. The
cell site talks to many mobiles at once, using one channel per mobile. Channels
use a pair of frequencies for communication—one frequency, the forward link, for
transmitting from the cell site, and one frequency, the reverse link, for the cell
site to receive calls from the users. Radio energy dissipates over distance, so
mobiles must stay near the base station to maintain communications. The basic
structure of mobile networks include telephone systems and radio services.
Where mobile radio service operates in a closed network and has no access to the
telephone system, mobile telephone service allows interconnection to the
telephone network (see Figure 1).

Fig u r e 1 : Ba sic M ob ile Te le p h on e Se r v ice N e t w or k

Ea r ly M obile Te le ph on e Sy st e m Ar ch it e ct u r e
Traditional mobile service was structured similar to television broadcasting: One
very powerful transmitter located at the highest spot in an area would broadcast
in a radius of up to fifty kilometers. The cellular concept" structured the mobile
telephone network in a different way. Instead of using one powerful transmitter,
many low-power transmitters were placed throughout a coverage area. For
example, by dividing a metropolitan region into one hundred different areas
(cells) with low-power transmitters using twelve conversations (channels) each,

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the system capacity theoretically could be increased from twelve conversations—
or voice channels using one powerful transmitter—to twelve hundred
conversations (channels) using one hundred low-power transmitters. Figure 2
shows a metropolitan area configured as a traditional mobile telephone network
with one high-power transmitter.

Fig u r e 2 : Ea r ly M ob ile Te le p h on e Sy st e m Ar ch it e ct u r e

2 . M obile Te le phone Syst e m Using t he

Ce llula r Conce pt
Interference problems caused by mobile units using the same channel in adjacent
areas proved that all channels could not be reused in every cell. Areas had to be
skipped before the same channel could be reused. Even though this affected the
efficiency of the original concept, frequency reuse was still a viable solution to the
problems of mobile telephony systems.

Engineers discovered that the interference effects were not due to the distance
between areas, but to the ratio of the distance between areas to the transmitter
power (radius) of the areas. By reducing the radius of an area by fifty percent,
service providers could increase the number of potential customers in an area
fourfold. Systems based on areas with a one-kilometer radius would have one
hundred times more channels than systems with areas ten kilometers in radius.
Speculation led to the conclusion that by reducing the radius of areas to a few
hundred meters, millions of calls could be served.

The cellular concept employs variable low-power levels, which allows cells to be
sized according to the subscriber density and demand of a given area. As the
population grows, cells can be added to accommodate that growth. Frequencies
used in one cell cluster can be reused in other cells. Conversations can be handed

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off from cell to cell to maintain constant phone service as the user moves between
cells (see Figure 3).

Fig u r e 3 : M ob ile Te le p h on e Sy st e m U sin g a Ce llu la r

Ar ch it e ct u r e

The cellular radio equipment (base station) can communicate with mobiles as
long as they are within range. Radio energy dissipates over distance, so the
mobiles must be within the operating range of the base station. Like the early
mobile radio system, the base station communicates with mobiles via a channel.
The channel is made of two frequencies, one for transmitting to the base station
and one to receive information from the base station.

3 . Ce llu la r Syst e m Ar ch it e ct u r e
Increases in demand and the poor quality of existing service led mobile service
providers to research ways to improve the quality of service and to support more
users in their systems. Because the amount of frequency spectrum available for
mobile cellular use was limited, efficient use of the required frequencies was
needed for mobile cellular coverage. In modern cellular telephony, rural and
urban regions are divided into areas according to specific provisioning guidelines.
Deployment parameters, such as amount of cell-splitting and cell sizes, are
determined by engineers experienced in cellular system architecture.

Provisioning for each region is planned according to an engineering plan that

includes cells, clusters, frequency reuse, and handovers.

Ce lls
A cell is the basic geographic unit of a cellular system.

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The term cellular comes from the honeycomb shape of the areas into which a
coverage region is divided. Cells are base stations transmitting over small
geographic areas that are represented as hexagons. Each cell size varies
depending on the landscape. Because of constraints imposed by natural terrain
and man-made structures, the true shape of cells is not a perfect hexagon.

Clu st e r s
A cluster is a group of cells. No channels are reused within a cluster. Figure 4
illustrates a seven-cell cluster.

Fig u r e 4 : A Se v e n - Ce ll Clu st e r

Fr e qu e n cy Re u se
Because only a small number of radio channel frequencies were available for
mobile systems, engineers had to find a way to reuse radio channels in order to
carry more than one conversation at a time. The solution the industry adopted
was called frequency planning or frequency reuse. Frequency reuse was
implemented by restructuring the mobile telephone system architecture into the
cellular concept.

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The concept of frequency reuse is based on assigning to each cell a group of radio
channels used within a small geographic area. Cells are assigned a group of
channels that is completely different from neighboring cells. The coverage area of
cells are called the footprint. This footprint is limited by a boundary so that the
same group of channels can be used in different cells that are far enough away
from each other so that their frequencies do not interfere (see Figure 5).

Fig u r e 5 : Fr e q u e n cy Re u se

Cells with the same number have the same set of frequencies. Here, because the
number of available frequencies is 7, the frequency reuse factor is 1/7. That is,
each cell is using 1/7 of available cellular channels.

Ce ll Split t in g
Unfortunately, economic considerations made the concept of creating full
systems with many small areas impractical. To overcome this difficulty, system
operators developed the idea of cell splitting. As a service area becomes full of
users, this approach is used to split a single area into smaller ones. In this way,
urban centers can be split into as many areas as necessary in order to provide
acceptable service levels in heavy-traffic regions, while larger, less expensive cells
can be used to cover remote rural regions (see Figure 6).

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 Fig u r e 6 : Ce ll Sp lit t in g

H a n doff
The final obstacle in the development of the cellular network involved the
problem created when a mobile subscriber traveled from one cell to another
during a call. As adjacent areas do not use the same radio channels, a call must
either be dropped or transferred from one radio channel to another when a user
crosses the line between adjacent cells. Because dropping the call is unacceptable,
the process of handoff was created. Handoff occurs when the mobile telephone
network automatically transfers a call from radio channel to radio channel as a
mobile crosses adjacent cells (see Figure 7).

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Fig u r e 7 : H a n d of f b e t w e e n Ad j a ce n t Ce lls

During a call, two parties are on one voice channel. When the mobile unit moves
out of the coverage area of a given cell site, the reception becomes weak. At this
point, the cell site in use requests a handoff. The system switches the call to a
stronger-frequency channel in a new site without interrupting the call or alerting
the user. The call continues as long as the user is talking, and the user does not
notice the handoff at all.

4 . N or t h Am e r ica n An a log Ce llu la r

Syst e m s
Originally devised in the late 1970s to early 1980s, analog systems have been
revised somewhat since that time and operate in the 800-MHz range. A group of
government, telco, and equipment manufacturers worked together as a
committee to develop a set of rules (protocols) that govern how cellular
subscriber units (mobiles) communicate with the "cellular system." System
development takes into consideration many different, and often opposing,
requirements for the system, and often a compromise between conflicting
requirements results. Cellular development involves some basic topics:

1. frequency and channel assignments

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 2. type of radio modulation

3. maximum power levels

4. modulation parameters

5. messaging protocols

6. call-processing sequences

Th e Adv a n ce d M obile Ph on e Se r v ice ( AM PS)

AMPS was released in 1983 using the 800-MHz to 900-MHz frequency band and
the 30 kHz bandwidth for each channel as a fully automated mobile telephone
service. It was the first standardized cellular service in the world and is currently
the most widely used standard for cellular communications. Designed for use in
cities, AMPS later expanded to rural areas. It maximized the cellular concept of
frequency reuse by reducing radio power output. The AMPS telephones (or
handsets) have the familiar telephone-style user interface and are compatible
with any AMPS base station. This makes mobility between service providers
(roaming) simpler for subscribers. Limitations associated with AMPS include:

1. low calling capacity

2. limited spectrum

3. no room for spectrum growth

4. poor data communications

5. minimal privacy

6. inadequate fraud protection

AMPS is used throughout the world and is particularly popular in the United
States, South America, China, and Australia. AMPS uses frequency modulation
(FM) for radio transmission. In the United States, transmissions from mobile to
cell site use separate frequencies from the base station to the mobile subscriber.

N a r r ow ba n d An a log M obile Ph on e Se r v ice

( N AM PS)
Since analog cellular was developed, systems have been implemented extensively
throughout the world as first-generation cellular technology. In the second
generation of analog cellular systems, NAMPS was designed to solve the problem

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of low calling capacity. NAMPS is now operational in 35 U.S. and overseas
markets and NAMPS was introduced as an interim solution to capacity problems.
NAMPS is a U.S. cellular radio system that combines existing voice processing
with digital signaling, tripling the capacity of today's AMPS systems. The NAMPS
concept uses frequency division to get three channels in the AMPS 30-kHz single
channel bandwidth. NAMPS provides three users in an AMPS channel by
dividing the 30-kHz AMPS bandwidth into three 10-kHz channels. This increases
the possibility of interference because channel bandwidth is reduced.

5 . Ce llula r Syst e m Com pone nt s

The cellular system offers mobile and portable telephone stations the same
service provided fixed stations over conventional wired loops. It has the capacity
to serve tens of thousands of subscribers in a major metropolitan area. The
cellular communications system consists of the following four major components
that work together to provide mobile service to subscribers (see Figure 8):

1. public switched telephone network (PSTN)

2. mobile telephone switching office (MTSO)

3. cell site with antenna system

4. mobile subscriber unit (MSU)

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Fig u r e 8 : Ce llu la r Sy st e m Com p on e n t s

PSTN
The PSTN is made up of local networks, the exchange area networks, and the
long-haul network that interconnect telephones and other communication
devices on a worldwide basis.

M ob ile Te le p h on e Sw it ch in g Of f ice ( M TSO)

The MTSO is the central office for mobile switching. It houses the mobile
switching center (MSC), field monitoring and relay stations for switching calls
from cell sites to wireline central offices (PSTN). In analog cellular networks, the
MSC controls the system operation. The MSC controls calls, tracks billing
information, and locates cellular subscribers.

Th e Ce ll Sit e
The term cell site is used to refer to the physical location of radio equipment that
provides coverage within a cell. A list of hardware located at a cell site includes
power sources, interface equipment, radio frequency transmitters and receivers,
and antenna systems.

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M obile Su bscr ibe r Un it s ( M SUs)
The mobile subscriber unit consists of a control unit and a transceiver that
transmits and receives radio transmissions to and from a cell site. Three types of
MSUs are available:

1. the mobile telephone (typical transmit power is 4.0 watts)

2. the portable (typical transmit power is 0.6 watts)

3. the transportable (typical transmit power is 1.6 watts)

The mobile telephone is installed in the trunk of a car, and the handset is
installed in a convenient location to the driver. Portable and transportable
telephones are hand-held and can be used anywhere. The use of portable and
transportable telephones is limited to the charge life of the internal battery.

6 . D igit a l Syst e m s
As demand for mobile telephone service has increased, service providers found
that basic engineering assumptions borrowed from wireline (landline) networks
did not hold true in mobile systems. While the average landline phone call lasts at
least ten minutes, mobile calls usually run ninety seconds. Engineers who
expected to assign fifty or more mobile phones to the same radio channel found
that by doing so they increased the probability that a user would not get dial
tone—this is known as call-blocking probability. As a consequence, the early
systems quickly became saturated, and the quality of service decreased rapidly.
The critical problem was capacity. The general characteristics of TDMA, GSM,
PCS1900, and CDMA promise to significantly increase the efficiency of cellular
telephone systems to allow a greater number of simultaneous conversations.
Figure 9 shows the components of a typical digital cellular system.

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 Fig u r e 9 : D ig it a l Ce llu la r Sy st e m

The advantages of digital cellular technologies over analog cellular networks

include increased capacity and security. Technology options such as TDMA and
CDMA offer more channels in the same analog cellular bandwidth and encrypted
voice and data. Because of the enormous amount of money that service providers
have invested in AMPS hardware and software, providers look for a migration
from AMPS to DAMPS by overlaying their existing networks with TDMA
architectures.

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 Ta b le : AM PS/ D AM PS Com p a r ison
Analog Digital

Standard EIA–553 (AMPS) IS–54 (TDMA + AMPS

Spectrum 824 MHz to 891 MHz 824 MHz to 891 MHz

Channel Bandwidth 30 kHz 30 kHz

Channels 21 CC / 395 VC 21 CC / 395 VC

Conversations per 1 3 or 6
Channel

Subscriber Capacity 40 to 50 125 to 300

Conversations per cell Conversations per cell

TX / RCV Type Continuous Time shared bursts

Carrier Type Constant phase Constant frequency

Variable frequency Variable phase

Mobile/Base Mobile slaved to base Authority shared

Relationship cooperatively

Privacy Poor Better—easily scrambled

Noise Immunity Poor High

Fraud Detection ESN plus optional ESN plus optional

password (PIN) password (PIN)

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Tim e D iv ision M u lt iple Acce ss ( TD M A)
North American digital cellular (NADC) is called DAMPS and TDMA. Because
AMPS preceded digital cellular systems, DAMPS uses the same setup protocols as
analog AMPS. TDMA has the following characteristics:

1. IS–54 standard specifies traffic on digital voice channels

2. Initial implementation triples the calling capacity of AMPS systems

3. Capacity improvements of 6 to 15 times that of AMPS are possible

4. Uses many blocks of spectrum in 800 MHz and 1900 MHz

5. All transmissions are digital

6. TDMA/FDMA application 7. 3 callers per radio carrier (6 callers on half

rate later), providing three times the AMPS capacity

TDMA is one of several technologies used in wireless communications. TDMA

provides each call with time slots so that several calls can occupy one bandwidth.
Each caller is assigned a specific time slot. In some cellular systems, digital
packets of information are sent during each time slot and reassembled by the
receiving equipment into the original voice components. TDMA uses the same
frequency band and channel allocations as AMPS. Like NAMPS, TDMA provides
three to six time channels in the same bandwidth as a single AMPS channel.
Unlike NAMPS, digital systems have the means to compress the spectrum used to
transmit voice information by compressing idle time and redundancy of normal
speech. TDMA is the digital standard and has 30-kHz bandwidth. Using digital
voice encoders, TDMA is able to use up to six channels in the same bandwidth
where AMPS uses one channel.

Ex t e n de d Tim e D ivision M u lt iple Acce ss ( E–

TD M A)
The extended TDMA (E–TDMA) standard claims a capacity of fifteen times that
of analog cellular systems. This capacity is achieved by compressing quiet time
during conversations. E–TDMA divides the finite number of cellular frequencies
into more time slots than TDMA. This allows the system to support more
simultaneous cellular calls.

Fix e d W ir e le ss Acce ss ( FW A)
Fixed wireless access (FWA) is a radio-based local exchange service in which
telephone service is provided by common carriers (see Figure 10). It is primarily a

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rural application—that is, it reduces the cost of conventional wireline. FWA
extends telephone service to rural areas by replacing a wireline local loop with
radio communications. Other labels for wireless access include fixed loop, fixed
radio access, wireless telephony, radio loop, fixed wireless, radio access, and
Ionica. FWA systems employ TDMA or CDMA access technologies.

Fig u r e 1 0 : Fix e d W ir e le ss Acce ss

Pe r son a l Com m u n ica t ion s Se r v ice s ( PCS)

The future of telecommunications includes personal communications services.
PCS at 1900 MHz (PCS1900) is the North American implementation of DCS1800
(Global System for Mobile communications, or GSM). Trial networks were
operational in the United States by 1993, and in 1994 the Federal
Communications Commission (FCC) began spectrum auctions. As of 1995, the
FCC auctioned commercial licenses. In the PCS frequency spectrum the
operator's authorized frequency block contains a definite number of channels.
The frequency plan assigns specific channels to specific cells, following a reuse
pattern which restarts with each nth cell. The uplink and downlink bands are
paired mirror images. As with AMPS, a channel number implies one uplink and
one downlink frequency: e.g., Channel 512 = 1850.2 MHz uplink paired with
1930.2 MHz downlink.

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Code D iv ision M u lt iple Acce ss ( CD M A)
Code division multiple access (CDMA) is a digital air interface standard, claiming
eight to fifteen times the capacity of analog. It employs a commercial adaptation
of military spread-spectrum single-sideband technology. Based on spread
spectrum theory, it is essentially the same as wireline service—the primary
difference is that access to the local exchange carrier (LEC) is provided via
wireless phone. Because users are isolated by code, they can share the same
carrier frequency, eliminating the frequency reuse problem encountered in AMPS
and DAMPS. Every CDMA cell site can use the same 1.25 MHz band, so with
respect to clusters, n = 1. This greatly simplifies frequency planning in a fully
CDMA environment.

CDMA is an interference limited system. Unlike AMPS/TDMA, CDMA has a soft

capacity limit; however, each user is a noise source on the shared channel and the
noise contributed by users accumulates. This creates a practical limit to how
many users a system will sustain. Mobiles that transmit excessive power increase
interference to other mobiles. For CDMA, precise power control of mobiles is
critical in maximizing the system's capacity and increasing battery life of the
mobiles. The goal is to keep each mobile at the absolute minimum power level
that is necessary to ensure acceptable service quality. Ideally, the power received
at the base station from each mobile should be the same (minimum signal to
interference).

Se lf- Te st
1. Interference effects in cellular systems are a result of ___________.

a. the distance between areas

b. the power of the transmitters

c. the ratio of the distance between areas to the transmitter power of the
areas

d. the height of the antennas

2. Larger cells are more useful in __________________.

a. densely populated urban areas

b. rural areas

c. lightly populated urban areas

d. mountainous areas

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3. The most widely used standard for cellular communications is __________.

a. the advanced mobile phone service (AMPS)

b. the mobile subscriber unit (MSU)

c. the mobile telephone switching office

d. code division multiple access (CDMA)

4. How many conversations per channel can TDMA digital cellular carry at
once?

a. 1

b. 2

c. 3

d. 10

5. Which of the following is not a limitation of AMPS?

a. low calling capacity

b. poor privacy protection

c. Limited spectrum

d. wide coverage area

6. Digital cellular technologies offer increased capacity and security .

a. true

b. false

7. TDMA, a digital air interface standard, has twice the capacity of analog.

a. true

b. false

8. Cells are always hexagonal in shape.

a. true

b. false

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9. Frequency reuse was maximized by increasing the size of cells.

a. true

b. false

10. Fixed wireless access is primarily a rural application.

a. true

b. false

Cor r e ct An sw e r s
1. Interference effects in cellular systems are a result of _________.

a. the distance between areas

b. the power of the transmitters

c . th e ratio o f th e d is tan ce be tw e e n are as to th e tran s m itte r

p o w e r o f th e a re a s

d. the height of the antennas

See Topic 2

2. Larger cells are more useful in _____________.

a. densely populated urban areas

b. ru ra l a re a s

c. lightly populated urban areas

d. mountainous areas

See Topic 3

3. The most widely used standard for cellular communications is _______.

a . th e ad van ce d m o bile p h o n e s e rvice ( AMPS)

b. the mobile subscriber unit (MSU)

c. the mobile telephone switching office

d. code division multiple access (CDMA)

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 See Topic 4

4. How many conversations per channel can TDMA digital cellular carry at
once?

a. 1

b. 2

c. 3

d. 10

See Topic 6

5. Which of the following is not a limitation of AMPS?

a. low calling capacity

b. poor privacy protection

c. limited spectrum

d . w id e co ve rage are a

See Topic 4

6. Digital cellular technologies offer increased capacity and security.

a . tru e

b. false

See Topic 6

7. TDMA, a digital air interface standard, has twice the capacity of analog.

a. true

b. fals e

See Topic 6

8. Cells are always hexagonal in shape.

a. true

b. fals e

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 See Topic 3

9. Frequency reuse was maximized by increasing the size of cells.

a. true

b. fals e

See Topic 3

10. Fixed wireless access is primarily a rural application.

a . tru e

b. false

See Topic 6

Acr onym Guide

AMPS
advanced mobile phone service; another acronym for analog cellular radio

B TS
base transceiver station; used to transmit radio frequency over the air interface

CDMA
code division multiple access; a form of digital cellular phone service that is a
spread spectrum technology that assigns a code to all speech bits, sends
scrambled transmission of the encoded speech over the air, and reassembles the
speech to its original format

DAMPS
digital advanced mobile phone service; a term for digital cellular radio in North
America

DCS
digital cellular system

ESN
electronic serial number; an identity signal that is sent from the mobile to the
MSC during a brief registration transmission

ETDMA
extended TDMA; developed to provide fifteen times the capacity over analog
systems by compressing quiet time during conversations

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FCC
Federal Communications Commission; the government agency responsible for
regulating telecommunications in the United Sates

FCCH
frequency control channel

FD MA
frequency division multiple access; used to separate multiple transmissions over
a finite frequency allocation; refers to the method of allocating a discrete amount
of frequency bandwidth to each user to permit many simultaneous conversations

FM
frequency modulation; a modulation technique in which the carrier frequency is
shifted by an amount proportional to the value of the modulating signal

FRA
fixed radio access

GS M
global system for mobile communications; standard digital cellular phone
service in Europe and Japan; to ensure interpretability between countries,
standards address much of the network wireless infrastructure, including radio
interfaces, switching, signaling, and intelligent networks

Hz
hertz; a measurement of electromagnetic energy, equivalent to one wave or cycle
per second

kH z
kilohertz; thousands of hertz.

MH z
megahertz; millions of hertz.

MS o r MSU
mobile station unit; handset carried by the subscriber

MSC
mobile services switching center; a switch that provides services and
coordination between mobile users in a network and external networks

MTSO
mobile telephone switching office; the central office for the mobile switch, which
houses the field monitoring and relay stations for switching calls from cell sites to
wireline central offices (PSTN)

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MTX
mobile telephone exchange

NADC
North American digital cellular (also called United States digital cellular, or
USDC); a time division multiple access (TDMA) system that provides three to six
times the capacity of AMPS

N AMPS
narrowband advanced mobile phone service; NAMPS was introduced as an
interim solution to capacity problems; NAMPS provides three times the AMPS
capacity to extend the usefulness of analog systems

PCS
personal communications service; a lower-powered, higher-frequency
competitive technology that incorporates wireline and wireless networks and
provides personalized features

P S TN
public switched telephone network; a PSTN is made of local networks, the
exchange area networks, and the long-haul network that interconnect telephones
and other communication devices on a worldwide basis

RF
radio frequency; electromagnetic waves operating between 10 kHz and 3 MHz
propagated without guide (wire or cable) in free space

S IM
subscriber identity module; a smartcard, which is inserted into a mobile phone
to get it going

SN SE
supernode size enhanced

TDMA

time division multiple access; used to separate multiple conversation

transmissions over a finite frequency allocation of through-the-air bandwidth;
used to allocate a discrete amount of frequency bandwidth to each user; to permit
many simultaneous conversations, each caller is assigned a specific timeslot for
transmission

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