Mobile+Telecommunication

toc =Introduction=


 * Mobile phone** is also known as **cellular phone**. The name cellular phone is derived from how the first generation of cellular telephone works ([|Lin, 2004]). Service areas were divided into small zones called “cells”(Straubhaar and LaRose 2003, 280). Each cell consisted of relatively weak transmitters allowing the frequencies to be reuse without interference (Straubhaar and LaRose 2003, 280).

=History=

The technological influences started in the mid twentieth century. The first practical mobile telephone was found in Holland. It was first used on police cars, fire brigades and ambulance ([|Louis]). This two way radio is still being used by taxi and police today.

NSF Type DR38a transmitter receiver, the first practical mobile radio telephone(http://home.hccnet.nl/l.meulstee/mobilophone/mobilophone.html)

Car mounted mobile phones used large vacuum tubes and circuits (http://www.privateline.com/PCS/history5.htm)

The first mobile telephone service was introduced by AT&T and Bell in 1946 ([|Lin, 2004]). The service is used for permanently installed communication devices in vehicles. The signal is weaker than the mobile phones of today and the bandwidth is also much lower.

1970s is the era when mobile technology was first extensively researched, developed and experimented. Bell and Motorola were the pioneers at the time. The first patented mobile phone was filed by Motorola in 1973 entitled “Radio telephone system" ([|Farley]). The patent is earned at 1975. In 1979, the first mobile phone network system was bored in Japan and began operation in Tokyo ([|2002]). The second network is later build by Motorola and American Radio phone in Chicago at 1981 ([|2002]). A year later FCC authorized commercial cellular phone service in United States ([|2002]).

Advancement in digital switching and microprocessors made the wireless revolution possible ([|Farley]). In 1983 a single chip digital signal processor (DSP) capable of processing five million operations a second was introduced by Texas Instruments ([|Farley]). DSP for mobile phone can be thought of as the equivalent of a microprocessor to a computer ([|Farley]). The DSP made it possible to compress speech allowing calls to take up less of the capacity of the radio bands, in turn increased the capacity for the number of users in the same amount of radio spectrum ([|Farley]). At least three [|digital]calls can fit into the same amount of space a single [|analogue] call would take ([|Farley]). This allows digital cellular systems such as GSM and TDMA to be much more economical in terms of capacity ([|Farley]). Modern DSP chips can perform over 35 000 000 operations a second ([|Farley]).

=Some developments in wireless operating systems=

//AMPS//
Advanced Mobile Phone System. It is the most widely distributed analog cellular standard. It was first developed in the 1970s by Bell Labs and commercially used in United States in 1983.

//NTT//
Nippon Telegraph and Telephone. A standard widely know in Japan. It is the “old Japanese Analog standard” [|(Farley)].

//CDMA//
Code Division Multiple Access. It supports AMPS operations and uses AMPS frequency bands. The technology is capable of handling high capacity and characterized by small cell radius. The Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) approved the technology in 1993.

//GSM//
Global System for Mobile Communications. It is the first “European digital standard” [|(Farley)]. It was first developed to be compatible throughout Europe; it is now widely use thought out the world. It operates at 850, 900, 1800 and 1900 MHz. Rogers Wireless and Fido use such a technology in Canada

//PCS//
Personal Communications Service. It also includes standards such as N-CDMA and GSM 1900. Telus formerly know as Clearnet uses PCS networks in Canada.

//TDMA//
Time Division Multiple Access. It is the first digital standard developed by United States. In 1992, TIA approved the standard and it was launched for commercial use in 1993.

//UMTS//
Universal Mobile Telephone Standard. It is the latest cellular standard which is only available in a few Asian countries and parts of Europe at the moments. The technology is characterized by fast data transfer that made video calls, streaming videos and other new possibilities into reality.

[|Click here for a comprehensive list of wireless operating systems.]

=Different stages of mobile phones=

First Generation (1G)
The first generation mobile phones use analog transmission. It refers to those that were developed in the 1980s. ([|Lin, 2004])

Second Generation (2G)
Second generation mobile phones were introduce to the public in the early 1990s. The second generation mobile phones are based on digital transmissions. The cells are smaller and digital signal processors allowed digital compression. Digital compression made it possible to have more users sharing each channel and increased the network capacity. This result in lower costs compare to analog systems. GSM is the most common standard for 2G mobile phones in the world, but CDMA and TDMA are also standards used by 2G phones. Short Message Service (SMS) can be performed by the 2G phones. ([|Lin, 2004])

Second and a Half Generation (2.5G)
Mobile phones of this stage are based on the same network standards used by the 2G phones but with additional new technologies. It uses General Packet Relay Service ([|GPRS]) allowing the phone to be always connected. In addition to SMS, 2.5G mobile phones allow the user to browse “stripped-down” Web pages using Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) or connected to a laptop computer to surf the net with up to double the speed of phone modems (Straubhaar and LaRose 2003, 281). Coloured screen, video recording and camera functions are also introduced to mobile phones of this stage. ([|Lin, 2004])

Third Generation (3G)
The latest network protocol enables high speed data transmission. These new generation mobile phones are under IMT-2000, W-CDMA or UMTS standards. The high transmission speed allowed new possibilities that were never found on mobile phones before. These possibilities include internet browsing and video call. The most up to date News and TV programs can be sent wirelessly to the mobile phone and watched by the user at anytime and place. ([|Lin, 2004])

[***Possible addition-** statistics and info for the types of users when it first started in 1979 to contrast the users of today]

[***Possible addition**- price change- around $2000 in the late 1980s to1990s vs free phone for signing a contract]

The number of mobile phone users increased from the few thousand of the initial phase to 1.5 billion in 2004 (http://www.cellular.co.za/news_2004/june/062404-global_mobile_subscriber_base_pa.htm). The number is still rapidly glowing. Far East and Europe countries are growing faster than the United States. Change in billing systems, acceptance of the GSM standard and the high-speed Internet access of the 3G phones are some of the factors for such a rapid growth (Straubhaar and LaRose 2003, 480). Countries where wired telephone network is not reached are turning to mobile phones as their standard telephone (Straubhaar and LaRose 2003, 480). Wireless network can be build cheaper and faster to cover a large number of subscribers than a wired system (Straubhaar and LaRose 2003, 480). The users also have the advantage of mobility (Straubhaar and LaRose 2003, 480).

According to statistics of EMC World Cellular Database, the following were the five largest markets in 2003: (http://www.cellular.co.za/news_2004/june/062404-global_mobile_subscriber_base_pa.htm)
 * **Country** || **Number of Subscribers (millions)** ||
 * China || 257.5 ||
 * USA || 157.3 ||
 * Japan || 79.8 ||
 * Germany || 62.3 ||
 * Italy || 55.5 ||
 * Italy || 55.5 ||

[***Possible additions-** can discuss how the technology have an impact on cultures and societies.Can have input from different cultural backgrounds and experience.This can be a whole new section.]

=Related Links=
 * Please feel free to add more information.**


 * [|W3C's Mobile Web Initiative]

=Bibliography=

Farley, Tom. “Mobile Telephone History: Page 1”, //Privateline.com//. Online at: [|http://www.privateline.com/PCS/history.htm]. consulted on February 19th, 2006.

Farley, Tom. “Mobile Telephone History: Page 5”, //Privateline.com//. Online at: http://www.privateline.com/PCS/history5.htm. consulted on February 19th, 2006.

Farley, Tom. “Mobile Telephone History: Page 8”, //Privateline.com//. Online at: http://www.privateline.com/PCS/history8.htm. consulted on February 19th, 2006.

Farley, Tom. “Mobile Telephone History: Page 8A”, //Privateline.com//. Online at: http://www.privateline.com/PCS/history8A.htm. consulted on February 19th, 2006.

Farley, Tom. “Mobile Telephone History: Page 9”, //Privateline.com//. Online at: http://www.privateline.com/PCS/history9.htm. consulted on February 19th, 2006.

Farley, Tom. “Wireless Operating Systems”, //Privateline.com//. Online at: __http://www.privateline.com/PCS/wirelesstable.htm__. consulted on February 19th, 2006.

Joseph STRAUBHAAR and Rovert LaROSE (2003). //Media Now .Understanding Media, Culture, and Technology.// 4th Edition. Belmont, Wadsworth/Thompson Learning.

Lin, Sunny (2004). “Mobile Phone Technology- The Development”, //M/Cyclopdia of New Media.// Online at: http://wiki.media-culture.org.au/index.php/Mobile_Phone_Technology_-_The_Development. consulted on February 20th, 2006.

Lin, Sunny. “Mobile Phone Technology- Revolution”, //M/Cyclopdia of New Media.// Online at: http://wiki.media-culture.org.au/index.php/Mobile_Phone_Technology_-_Revolution. consulted on February 20th, 2006.

Meulstee, Louis. “Mobile Radio in the Netherlands”, //Wireless for the Warrior.// Online at:__ http://home.hccnet.nl/l.meulstee/mobilophone/mobilophone.html#TOC.__ consulted on February 20th, 2006.

“Global mobile subscriber base passes 1.5bn”, //CellularOnline.// Online at: __http://www.cellular.co.za/news_2004/june/062404-global_mobile_subscriber_base_pa.htm.__ consulted on February 21th, 2006.