How cell phones work

By
M.Junus
Staf Pengajar
Politeknik Negeri Malang

Cellular Phones: The Facts

400 million cell users in the world
60% of Europeans
40% of Americans
20% of US teenagers (more girls than boys)

Cell Phone = Radio?

Combination of telephone and radio ideas
First mobile communications: radio
telephone
Requires powerful transmitter; minimal
channels

Millions of Users, Millions of Frequencies?

Typical analog carrier has 832 frequencies
Division of coverage area into cells
Each cell about 10 miles (26 km)
Frequency reuse in each cell allows millions
of simultaneous users

Inside the Cell Phone

One of the most intricate devices used daily
Components:
I. Circuit board
II. Antenna
III. Liquid Crystal
Display
IV. Keyboard
V. Microphone
VI. Speaker
VII. Battery
Copyright 1998-2002 Howstuffworks, Inc.

Circuit Board

Front

1. Analog-to-Digital, Digital-toAnalog converters

2. Digital Signal Processor (DSP)
3. Radio Frequency (RF) Control
4. RF Amplifiers
5. Power Control
6. ROM and Flash memory
7. Microprocessor

Back

Circuit Board: Flash memory,

Microprocessor
Flash Memory

Microprocessor

LCD Display

Keypad

Cell-phone speaker, microphone and battery backup

Cellular Access Technologies

The 3 most common cell-phone network
technologies for transmitting information
are:
Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA)
Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA)
Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA)

Allows for multiple access by splitting calls

FDMA
FDMA puts each call on a separate
frequency
Separates spectrum into distinct channels by
splitting it into uniform bands of bandwidth

Mainly used for analog transmission

Capable of carrying digital information, but
not an efficient method for that type of
transmission

FDMA Diagram

TDMA
With TDMA, a narrow band that has a bandwidth of 30 kHz
and is 6.7 ms long is split time-wise into three time slots
Each conversation gets to transmit for 1/3 of the time
Possible because voice data converted into digital
information that is compressed allowing for less
transmission time
Electronics Industry Alliance and Telecommunications
Industry Association, IS-54 and IS-136
3x capacity of analog system with same no. Channels
Operates at 800 MHz (IS-54) or 1900 MHz (IS-136)
frequency bands

TDMA Diagram

TDMA/GSM
TDMA is used as access technology for GSM
Implemented in a different and incompatible way from
IS-136
Uses encryption for more secure calls
900 MHz and 1800 MHz bands in Europe and Asia
1900 MHz in United States
International standard for Europe, Australia, most of Asia
and Africa.
SIM cards used to store connection data and identification
no.s required to access provider

CDMA
After data is digitized, CDMA spreads it out over bandwidth
(spread spectrum)
Each call assigned unique sequence code, used to spread over
bandwidth, and to recover signal at receiver
Multiple calls are put on top of each other
CDMA systems require an accurate time-stamp on each piece of
signal to recover signal, so it references the GPS for information

8 to 10 calls can be carried on same channel space as an

analog AMPS call
Basis for IS-95, operates in 800 MHz and 1900 MHz
frequency bands

CDMA Diagram

AMPS (Advanced Mobile Phone System)

Analog cell phone standard, established in 1983
First used in Chicago
Uses range of frequencies between 824Mhz and
894 MHz
Pair of frequencies, one for transmit and one for
receive create one channel
Standard analog voice channel - 30kHz,
comparable to a wired telephone

AMPS (Advanced Mobile Phone System)

Transmit and receive frequencies are separated by

45 MHz
Only operate in the 800 MHz band; therefore, not
many features (like email, web browsing) offered

Analog vs. Digital

Analog
Thomas Edison phonograph

sound collecting diaphragm-> needle-> rotating aluminum cyl

inder
Eventually modified to become the modern phonograph,
signals are amplified electronically
Analog wave is vibration created by sound
Storage and playback of an analog wave simple but fidelity
is not very good
Fidelity the similarity between the original signal and the
reproduced signal

Analog vs. Digital

Digital
Goal was to create a recording with very high fidelity
and perfect reproduction
Converts analog wave into a stream of numbers and
records the numbers and not the wave
Analog to digital converter (ADC)
Digital to analog converter (DAC)
Sampling rate, sampling precision
Amount of digital data goes up significantly

Analog vs. Digital

LOW sample rate and sampling precision

HIGH sample rate and sampling precision

Digital technology
Same radio technology as analog but different way
of compressing the voice
Easier to compress and manipulate to fit more
channels within a given bandwidth, more efficient
Converts voice signal into binary information(1s
and 0s) and then compression of it allows
between 3 to 10 digital cell phone calls to occupy
the space of a 1 analog call

Digital Technology
Frequency-shift keying (FSK)
- uses two frequencies (one for 1s & the other for
0s)
- alternates between the two frequencies
modulation and encoding schemes
- convert the analog ->digital, compress it->analog
- acceptable level of voice quality maintained
Cell phones need a lot of processing power

Cellular vs. PCS

digital cellular,
paging, caller ID and
email
PCS has smaller cells
and larger number of
antennas.

Cellular

PCS

Frequency

824MHz894 MHz

1850 MHz1990 MHz

Channel
spacing

30 KHz

200 KHz

Time slots

Dual band, Dual mode

Triband, Trimode
What is Dual band?
CDMA digital cellular (800 MHz) or CDMA digital PCS
(1900 MHz).

What is Triband?
GSM 900, 1800 and 1900 (MHz)

Dual Mode
AMPS and TDMA
Analog and digital

Trimode
Two digital (CDMA and TDMA) and analog
Two bands in digital and analog

Cell phone towers

Cell phone towers cont.

The box houses the radio transmitters and receivers that let the tower
communicate with phones. The radios connects with the antennae on the
tower through thick cables.

Cell phone disposal

135 million registered cell phones today.
By 2005, there will be at least 200 million cell
phones in use and another 500 million older
phones to be disposed.
Toxins that accumulate in the environment
arsenic, antimony, beryllium, cadmium, copper,
lead, nickel and zinc cancer and neurological
disorders

Recycling Program

Risks
Brain Tumors?
The brain cancer patients did not report
more cellular phone use overall than the
controls.
Side of the head on which the brain cancer
occurred and the side on which the cellular
phone was used no link.

Future of Cellular Technology

GAIT
General Packet Radio
Services
2.5G
3G

Java-Enabled Phones
Bluetooth
More than Phones

Sources
http://www.cancer.org/eprise/main/docroot/PUB/c
ontent/PUB_3_8X_Environmental_CarcinogensCellular_Phones_and_Risk_of_Brain_Tumors
http://www.usatoday.com/life/cyber/tech/2002/05/
07/cell-phone-pollution.htm
http://www.howstuffworks.com/