In sync with the development of mobile phones within the last thirty years have been the cellular networks that give them their name, despite the fact that there are many issues regarding cell phone networks – from coverage and service to unlocked cell phones and contracts – few individuals understand exactly what a cell phone network is, or how it operates. Excluding individuals with unlocked cell phones, anyone using a mobile device most likely has a contract with a cell phone service provider, big companies like Verizon or AT&T being the two largest providers. What a cell phone user is essentially paying for with their contract to these providers is the use of the cellular network that they have established across the country – and abroad.
The network itself is simply a network of fixed location transceivers often known as cell sites or base stations located at fixed geographical locations over a wide area. The range associated with an specific base station at which a cell phone can reliably connect varies depending upon several factors, such as the size and power of the station, along with geographical features and other environmental factors. The range of each tower comprises what is referred to as a cell.
Therefore, a cellular network is really a series of strategically placed towers whose overlapping range of coverage is knit together, so that as long as a user is within range of at least one tower, they can get connected to the network and maintain a signal, even if moving between various cells. Verizon and AT&T have both managed to build a cellular network that covers about 95% of the population within the continental US.
Once connected to the network, a signal or call could be forwarded to any other device that has been programmed (through a service provider contract) to the network. Moreover, cell phone signals received by cell sites can also be run from the cell tower through hard lines to reach standard telephones wired into a building or home.
Whenever a cell phone is purchased along with a cellular service provider, the phone is automatically programmed to be used with that company’s cellular network. For example, iPhone users are contracted to AT&T, and therefore all their calls are routed through AT&Ts network of base stations and cell sites. Unlocked cell phones are phones which have not been preprogrammed for virtually any particular network, allowing users to select whichever cellular network works best for them.
This can be based on several factors unique to each company’s contract and terms of services, as relates to the user’s needs and financial capabilities. However, the geographical solidarity of a cell network is arguably more essential, depending on where the user lives. In some, more remote regions of the country, not all service providers have any installations physically situated nearby, and therefore lack coverage.