WHAT IS CELLULAR TELEPHONE? In the United States, radio signals carry conversations on a frequency band assigned by the Federal Communications Commission and licensed to the cellular service providers. Cell sites are built around service areas to form a pattern resembling a honeycomb to ensure continuous coverage. When you turn on a cellular phone, it sends an electronic serial number to the closest radio tower at a cell site. Your speech is converted into radio signals that travel between the cellular phone and the cell site. If you are traveling through different cells, the call is handed off from one site to another. When the cellular call reaches a regular phone, it is connected to the phone companyís traditional telephone wire lines. California Microwave equipment interconnects the cell sites to each other and to the regular telephone network via microwave radios. The typical hand-held cellular phone, which represents about 80 % of all cellular phone sales today, is designed for use in densely-populated areas. Phones mounted in cars are more powerful and can transmit stronger signals that allow use even on the fringe of the cellular operatorís coverage area. WHAT IS PCS? Personal Communications Services (PCS) promises a whole new set of enhanced, two-way communications capabilities. In Europe, this new digital communications system is called Personal Communications Network (PCN). This palm-sized, all-in-one communications device provides wireless connections to voice, data, fax, paging and the Internet. PCS could eventually offer users a single phone number, no matter where they travel. PCS digital quality is better than analog cellular, its cost will be lower, and it is more secure for privacy.

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