THE CELLULAR CONNECTION pdf

THE CELLULAR CONNECTION The Cellular Connection: A Guide to Cellular Telephones, Fourth Edition. Robert A. Steuernagel Copyright  2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. ISBNs: 0-471-31652-0 (Paper); 0-471-20340-8 (Electronic) THE CELLULAR CONNECTION A Guide to Cellular Telephones Fourth Edition ROBERT A. STEUERNAGEL A Wiley-Interscience Publication JOHN WILEY & SONS, INC. New York / Chichester / Weinheim / Brisbane / Singapore / Toronto Designations used by companies to distinguish their products are often claimed as trademarks. In all instances where John Wiley & Sons, Inc., is aware of a claim, the product names appear in initial capital or   . Readers, however, should contact the appropriate companies for more complete information regarding trademarks and registration. Copyright  2000 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including uploading, downloading, printing, decompiling, recording or otherwise, except as permitted under Sections 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without the prior written permission of the Publisher. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158-0012, (212) 850-6011, fax (212) 850-6008, E-Mail: PERMREQWILEY.COM. This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information in regard to the subject matter covered. It is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering professional services. If professional advice or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional person should be sought. ISBN 0-471-20340-8 This title is also available in print as ISBN 0-471-31652-0. For more information about Wiley products, visit our web site at www.Wiley.com. CONTENTS PREFACE 1 AN INTRODUCTION TO CELLULAR PHONE SYSTEMS 1 The Cellular Method 2 CELLULAR PHONE EQUIPMENT 9 The Cellular Telephone. What You Should Know About Cellular Frequencies. Numeric Assignment Module (NAM). A Quick Visit to a Cell Site 3 THE BUSINESS OF CELLULAR PHONES 19 Where Can you Get Cellular Service? How Licenses Were Granted: Wireline and Nonwireline Companies. Who Sells Cellular Phones 4 GETTING CELLULAR SERVICE 23 Finding the Best Source of Cellular Phones and Service. Equipment Costs. What to Look for in a Cellular Phone. Trying It Out. Cellular Service Pricing — Your Most Important Decision. Reminder: The Cellular Buyer’s Checklist v 5 THE BILL, PLEASE 31 One-Time (Nonrecurring) Expenses. Recurring Expenses. Variable Charges and Pricing Plans. Terms Associated with Recurring Charges. Illustrative Pricing Plans. Additional Rate Plans. Special Promotions and Pricing Options. How Calls Are Billed. Long Distance and Roaming. Choosing a Service Provider 6 HELLO, MA? IT’S ME! 47 Buttons, Buttons. Displays and Indicators. Placing a Call. Special Telephone Numbers. Receiving a Call. Health Considerations. Batteries and Power Supplies. Cellular Etiquette. Special Cellular Features 7 ROAMING 63 How to Tell When You’re Roaming. Roaming: Outgoing Calls. Roaming: Incoming Calls. Roaming Fraud. Roamer Billing. Additional Roaming Considerations 8 MOBILE AND TRANSPORTABLE PHONES 75 Car Cellular Telephone Components. Roof-Mounted Antennas. Trunk-Mounted Antennas. Glass-Mounted Antennas. Transportables 9 OPTIONS AND ACCESSORIES 87 Batteries. Chargers and Eliminators. Hands-Free Operation. Pagers. Cases. Data Applications. A Cellular Data Communications Session. Fax Applications. Short-Message Service 10 DEALING WITH OPERATIONAL DIFFICULTIES 97 Bad Connections. Signal Dropouts and Dead Spots. Other Intermittent Effects. Mechanical or Electronic Failure. Service and Repair vi CONTENTS 11 SAFETY AND SECURITY 107 Safety. Security 12 INTO THE FUTURE 113 Digital Cellular. Personal Communications Service. Technology. Applications GLOSSARY 121 INDEX 129 CONTENTS vii PREFACE The need to keep in touch — we all have it, whether for business or personal reasons. Now you can keep in touch on the way to work or the shopping center, from a construction site or the golf course, or in a rental car or on your boat. If you spend time away from your best communication tool — the telephone — a cellular phone can add several business hours to your week. Now you can stay in touch with your office, your customers, or your family, even as you inch along in a traffic jam. And cellular’s excellent audio performance ensures clear voice reception. In today’s fast-paced world, the average business manager spends fourteen work-weeks per year on the telephone. Salespeople, doctors, and wheeler-dealers report that when they spend time on the road, a cellular phone makes them much more productive. So it’s no surprise that cellular has grown to more than 50 million subscribers and is expected to exceed 100 million by 2005. Cellular phones are not only for the person who spends time in a car. The first cellular phones — ‘‘mobile’’ phones — were bulky and meant to be mounted in a vehicle. The development of convenient, small portable models has increased the number of applications for cellular phones by making them usable anywhere conventional phones are not available. Architects, carpenters, or electricians work- ing at construction or repair sites can be in touch with their home offices. Newspaper reporters and other journalists on assignment can transmit their stories to headquarters immediately or send written copy from a portable computer via their portable phone. ix And let’s not forget about the family — its safety, pleasure, and convenience can be greatly increased by using a cellular phone, both in the car and away from it. And the greater affordability and availability of cellular service, as well as the cellular phone, puts it within the average person’s reach. Driving to the movies, taking a bus to a sporting event, or just walking to the corner store, instant communications can be at most people’s fingertips. Although using cellular service might be as easy as pushing a few buttons, it is still expensive compared to regular telephone service, and there are several things you should understand when choosing your phone and the service you use with it. Everything you need to know is explained here in an easy-to-understand manner. You will learn how the cellular system works; what the purposes and advantages of each feature are; how to choose a telephone and telephone carrier; how to install and operate your phone; what to do when traveling outside your home area; how to tap into other communications systems; and what’s coming in the future. Also included are informative illustrations, photographs, and a glossary of terms for easy reference. Welcome to the world of cellular telephones — communications on the move. R A. S Carlsbad, California July 1999 x PREFACE THE CELLULAR CONNECTION INDEX A Abbreviated dialing, 55, 66, 89 A carrier, 64, 105, 121, 126 Access charge, see Charge(s), access Accessories, 25, 26, 34, 40, 41, 87—96, 108, 115 Activation, 31, 41 Advertising, 23 Agreement, service, see Contract(s), service Airtime, 32—44, 55, 61, 71, 90, 95, 121, 126 AirTouch, 20 AMPS, 3, 121, 126 Antenna, 2, 4, 7, 9, 11, 17—18, 57, 75, 79—82, 99—101, 103, 105, 108—109, 111, 116, 117, 121 Any-key answer, 50 AT&T, 3, 20—21, 23, 121 Automatic call delivery, 66—67 B B carrier, 64, 105, 121—123, 126, 127 Band, 13—15, 17, 104, 110, 122 Battery, 9—12, 25—28, 41, 51, 53, 57—58, 75, 78—79, 82—85, 87, 95, 104, 111, 114, 116, 119 alkaline, 10 charger, 31, 87—88 eliminator, 87—88 lithium-ion, 10, 58, 87 nickel-cadmium, 10, 58, 87 nickel-metal hydride, 10, 58, 87 standby time, 26—27, 58 talk time, 11, 26—27, 58 Bell Atlantic, 20 BellSouth, 20 Bill, 15, 24, 30, 31—45, 60—62, 69—71 Block, frequency 13—14, 20, 52—53, 64—65, 105, 121, 122, 126, 127 Blocked calls, 54, 101, 105 Buildings, 10, 11, 16, 99—100, 103—104, 117 Burn (a NAM), 15, 122 Business use, 27—30, 35—40, 109 Buying cellular, 11, 23—30, 41, 114 C CALL indicator, 52 129 [...]... are discounting the price of a cellular phone to almost zero for the most basic models, and less than wholesale for the more sophisticated ones Dealers can afford to do this because they use the sales commissions paid to them by the carrier for cellular subscriptions to ‘‘buy down’’ the retail price of the cellular phone, so that the price of 23 24 GETTING CELLULAR SERVICE Table 4.1 The Cellular Buyer’s... paging, or another radio-based service in its region of service The nonwireline carrier was assigned the A block of frequencies In the case of a wireline carrier, there was usually no competition for the license in a particular area, and the monopoly phone company was awarded the license In the case of the nonwireline license, there were several competing companies who applied for the license, and there was... facilities in your area is to ask the people who own and use the phones They’ll be proud to show them off to you and will be a rich source of information on phones, service, and the cellular situation in general Much more on the subject of selecting and purchasing a cellular phone can be found in Chapter 4, ‘‘Getting Cellular Service.’’ The Cellular Connection: A Guide to Cellular Telephones, Fourth Edition... Most new cellular phones can program their own NAMs using special key sequences Included in the information programmed into a NAM is the serial number of the cellular telephone you are using and the phone number assigned to it, along with other information The computers at cell sites and MSCs use this information to identify you when you use the phone — which, among other things, helps the cellular. .. off’’ to the next cell without any noticeable interruptions THE CELLULAR METHOD 7 signals — as you approach the limit of the range of one cell, you will enter another before the quality of service deteriorates Furthermore, the limited range of cellular transmissions means that there will be no interference from other neighboring systems and that the same frequency can be used again just a few cells away... and the other to a wireline, the B block The lower band (824—849 MHz) is for use by cellular phones to transmit to cell sites, and the upper one (869—894 MHz) is for use by cell sites to transmit to cellular phones There are 832 frequencies, or channels, allocated by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for cellular use; each carrier — wireline or nonwireline — is assigned the use of half of them... of the nature of the equipment, you and the party you were speaking with had to take turns talking, pushing a button before you spoke If you tried to say something while the other party was speaking, they wouldn’t be able to hear you and you wouldn’t be able to interrupt them You had to wait until they decided that 1 2 AN INTRODUCTION TO CELLULAR PHONE SYSTEMS they had had their say and gave you the. .. dynamically adjusting their power level It can be raised to improve the signal, or lowered to reduce interference The Cellular Connection: A Guide to Cellular Telephones, Fourth Edition Robert A Steuernagel Copyright 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc ISBNs: 0-471-31652-0 (Paper); 0-471-20340-8 (Electronic) 3 THE BUSINESS OF CELLULAR PHONES The business of cellular phones is a big one Although cellular phone companies... issuing the licenses required to operate cellular systems 19 20 THE BUSINESS OF CELLULAR PHONES To encourage competition, the FCC decreed that provision be made for each area to be serviced by two cellular phone carriers, one a wireline and the other a nonwireline service The wireline carrier is usually affiliated with the organization that already provides conventional telephone service in the area... Corporation.) the time A second battery is a must for most users, for use while the other is charging WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT CELLULAR FREQUENCIES The frequencies used by cellular telephones range from 824 to 894 megahertz (MHz), with a gap between 849 and 869 MHz that’s used by other communications services (A map of the 800-MHz cellular WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT CELLULAR FREQUENCIES 13 A typical cellular . and the voice from the other end of the connection usually came through a loudspeaker. You couldn’t dial a call; instead the mobile operator at the other end of your radio link established the connection. another before the quality of service deteriorates. Furthermore, the limited range of cellular transmissions means that there will be no interference from other neighboring systems and that the. increased by using a cellular phone, both in the car and away from it. And the greater affordability and availability of cellular service, as well as the cellular phone, puts it within the average person’s