Cellular Connections

A cellular network is a communication network distributed over areas referred to as cells, each served by transceiver (transmitter and receiver) stations. These stations provide the cell with radio frequency coverage, which can be used to transmit voice and data. A cell typically uses a different set of frequencies from neighboring cells to avoid interference and provide guaranteed service quality within each cell. Multiple cells working together provide radio coverage over a wide geographic area.

Such an arrangement of multiple small transceivers provides better coverage than a single large transceiver. Thus, devices using cellular networks use less power since there is always a transceiver nearby. Additional cell towers can be added indefinitely to increase coverage and capacity.

Major telecommunications providers have deployed voice and data cellular networks over most of the inhabited land in their respective countries. This channel allows mobile phones and mobile computing devices to connect to a voice and data network from almost anywhere. These networks are connected to wired data networks, including the Internet, through Internet Service Providers, thus allowing mobile devices to be connected to the Internet from anywhere there is network coverage. It has a better reach than WiFi since WiFi needs access points, which cannot be deployed as widely as cellular stations.

Cellular network technology has evolved over the years, improving voice quality and data transfer speeds. The current most widely deployed technology standard is known as 4G (or fourth generation). And the next stage of evolution, which is already in place in some countries, is 5G. The main advantage of the new 5G networks is that they will have a much higher bandwidth than 4G, giving higher data transfer speeds. Because of this, it is expected that the new networks will not just serve mobile phones but also enable new applications, most significantly in the area of the Internet of Things (IoT).