Cellular vs Satellite Phones

Let us first study how the cellular network functions.

What is a cell?

A cell may be defined as a given geographical area that is within the range of a site or, zone or, base station, which contains all network communication equipments including a radio receiver and transmitter.

What is a cellular network?

A cellular network comprises of a number of hexagonal cells each having a local transmitter, which has the inbuilt capacity to cater to the communication needs of that particular cell.

There may be many cellular network companies offering cellular services. Each cellular Network has a Cellular Communication Exchange known as MTS0 - Mobile Telephone Switching Office. It has all the details of all cells and the subscribers listed together with handset numbers.

Cellular vs. Satellite phones.

· A satellite phone can be accessed from any part of the world, even from sea, or airplane, or a desert or a mountain.

· A cellular phone can only be used where there is such a service, cannot be used from areas where there is no coverage, or from sea, or from air or from other remote areas such as deserts or mountains.

· The quality of voice reproduction is always excellent, as the voice need not go through any cellular telephone exchange or Public Switched Telephone Network PSTN.

· There is always signal loss and voice interferences found in cell phone system. Also if you are located at the peripheral area (the so called fringe areas) of a cellular site, there is bound to be a weak voice reproduction.

· The coverage of cellular services is mostly limited to cities and bigger towns as it would be economically unviable to establish a cellular network if there are not enough subscribers.

· A cellular phone does not require a distinct geographical location, as it is independent of regions.

· Landline services cover not even 20% of earth's landmass besides no coverage for all the areas of seas.

· Satellite phone gives dependable service. Emails, text etc, in addition to voice, is also possible.

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Mobile Cell Phone History - Wireless Communications

Children today consider wireless phones as necessary and usual in daily life. They don't know a time without them being prevalent. But that was not the case in 1973 when Martin Cooper made his first cellular phone call from a New York City street and New Yorkers stared gaping at him. But the history of cell phone starts further back in time.

The history of cell phones or wireless communications must start with Samuel Morse. He introduced the concept of wireless by conduction when he transmitted a telegraph signal through water. His telegraph was the first device to transmit messages by electricity.

Then in 1843 a man by the name of Michael Faraday studied to see if space could conduct electricity. In 1865 a dentist, Dr. Mahlon Loomis was the first person to communicate through wireless via the atmosphere. He came up with the idea of transmitting and receiving messages using the atmosphere as a conductor and sending up kites covered with copper screens that were linked to the ground with copper wires. Loomis was awarded a $50,000 research grant by congress.

But let us move forward to the twentieth century and the invention of the cell or wireless phone as we know it today. This brings us to a man often referred to as the father of the cell phone, Martin Cooper. He was employed by Motorola and worked on developing the first hand held radios made for the Chicago police department in 1967. He then went on to lead Motorola's cellular research.

AT&T's, Bell Laboratories introduced the idea of cellular communication in 1947. Through the 60' and 70's Motorola and Bell Laboratories were in a race to incorporate the technology into portable devices.

On April 3, 1973 Martin Cooper won the race when he placed the first cell phone call to his rival at AT&T. Motorola introduced the 16-ounce "DynaTAC" phone into commercial service in 1983, at a cost to the consumer of $3,500. It weighed 2.5 lbs. took 10 hours to charge with 35 minutes of talk time. Features were limited to dial, listen and talk. This was commonly referred to as the Brick.

In 1977 cell phones went public. Chicago was the first city to trial cell phones with 2000 customers.

In 1983 Motorola, with the help of Martin Cooper, introduced the 16-ounce "DynaTAC" the first truly portable cellular phone. This phone took 15 years and a cost of over 100 million dollars to come to market. The cost to the consumer was $3500. It weighed 2.5 lbs., took 10 hours to charge and allowed 35 minutes of talk time. Features were limited to dial, listen and talk.

From 1983 to the late 1980"s 1st generation cellular or car phones as they were often called became very popular. Most were not hand held but rather installed in cars or bag phones.

In 1988 the CTIA (Cellular Technology Industry Association) was founded.

In the early 1990's second generation or 2G phones came onto the market. They were able to work on GSM, TDMA, and CDMA technology. 2G digital networks were online and replacing the analog network frequencies making them virtually obsolete. The phones became much smaller and portable and usage soared.

Currently third generation or 3G phones are the technology available today. 3G phones include innovations that allow them to receive more than just phone calls. For example Internet access and email capability and streaming video.

In December 2005 the wireless industry in the US surpassed the 200 million subscriber mark. In 2006 that number grew to 233 million subscribers with 12.8% of households being totally wireless. There are 195,613 cell sites making this possible.

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Short Message Service - The Alternative Communication Method of Cellular Phones

Cellular phones play a very important part in anyone's daily life. More people are increasingly becoming dependent on their cell phones that it is almost unfathomable to visualize a world without it. It is indeed true that they have become so intertwined with most people's lives that it is impossible to do without it. However, there are times when cellular signal is not very good that your voice may appear choppy at the other end. When this happens, you can always utilize the alternative communication method of cellular phones which is the Short Message Service or the SMS.

Short Message Service or SMS have become an integral part of every cellular phone ever since it became very popular among subscribers. For one, it only needs a minimum amount of cellular base station signal in order to successfully transmit. Naturally, with this particular kind of signal, your voice may start getting a little bit choppy, making it hard for the person listening to you on the other end to understand what you are trying to say.

There are also some cases where communication utilizing Short Message Service can be transmitted even if your cellular phone is not within range. What happens is that the message waits in queue within your cellular phone's memory until it is in range again then transmits the communique using the Short Message Service of your cellular phone provider. With the service, however, you would be able to convey your thoughts to the person you are talking to without fear of being misunderstood.

One distinct advantage of using a Short Message Service over that of a regular phone call is that it is downright cheap. While a call in excess of your bundled plan can cost as much as thirty cents per minute, communications sent through the service costs at just around ten cents or less per message sent. The one downside to using the Short Message Service is that you are only limited up to one hundred sixty characters, sometimes two hundred twenty four characters depending on the type of cellular phone you use. This is why you have to be really brief and concise in what you are conveying so as to give the reader the real picture of what you are trying to say.

Despite this minor handicap, Short Message Service has become one of the most popular mediums of communication. In fact, it has become a sort of a fad among teenagers to send and receive news tidbits about their social groups. Truly, Short Message Service will stay on in the years to come as the premier alternative communication method of cellular phones after voice calls.

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Cellular Phone Or Satellite Phone - Marine KVH TracPhone FB150 - Inmarsat Satellite Communication

If you are just cruising around the harbor then chances are you can get by with a mere cell phone, but if you leave sight of the shore, do some sport fishing, or serious cruising - you'll need a satellite phone system for your vessel. Indeed, this is something you must take seriously, that is if you value your life and you prefer sailing or cruising with a safety net. So, let's talk about the Marine KVH TracPhone FB150, which runs off the Inmarsat Satellite communication system.

First, let's start with the realization that this is indeed a class act system, and you don't have to worry about the challenges that we normally face with dropping calls on our cellular phones running through the 3G networks of Verizon, AT&T, or Sprint. The TracPhone FB150 is a true broadband data service and communication device. The phone system works through Inmarsat's FleetBroadband Service plan. It is the ideal system for boats and vessels of 40-feet and up. I say that because this system is not free or cheap to purchase and install.

Inmarsat's newest 1-4 satellite constellation system is state-of-the-art meaning it's going to be around for the next 10-years or so, unless with get the solar flare from hell. The voice is really crystal clear in all regards. If you can afford it, you should have one. If not, and if you want to save money, the next baset choice would be to rely on your smart cell phone, perhaps, a Blackberry, iPhone, or Google Nexus One running on preferably the new 4G network, or perhaps, the older 3G network.

In that case you can find great cell phone calling plans for your smart phone and data device online by shopping around and then get that service through one of the major carriers such as Alltel, Nextel, Sprint, Verizon, or AT&T. It is also advised to shop for the best price and know how much each phone is actually worth - otherwise some cell phone stores will hide the price in the 2-year lock-in service plan. It's easy to get bundled to the point of no-return, and realize these technological advances are not stopping here.

Next year, you might want the latest cool smart phone, but you'll already be locked in to the one you have with the service plan you have, which may not be compatible to your current program. Please be careful when shopping around, as sometimes the plans, and all the options can get tricky, so think on this.

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