Update 2025-2026
What is cellular? - Answers Cellular is a generic term for mobile phone systems or devices.
What is cellular design? - Answers The idea of using hexagonal (six-sided) cells.
What is a base transceiver station (BTS)? - Answers An antenna array that communicates
directly with the subscriber phones within its coverage area.
What are cell towers? - Answers Antenna arrays that are usually perched on a tall metal
structure.
What are T1/E1 trunks? - Answers They are the standard digital carrier signals that transmit
both voice and data.
What are base controller stations (BCS)? - Answers Point-to-point microwave links which
connects to the core network.
What is fequency reuse? - Answers Patterns that use the practice of assigning multiple users to
the same frequency channel, achieved by the physical separation of power management of the
transmission streams.
What are macrocells? - Answers cells within a mobile system for large coverage areas that are
needed for rural areas.
What are microcells? - Answers Cells within a mobile system for small coverage areas that are
needed for urban areas.
What are picocells? - Answers Small hotspot cells offering Wi-Fi connectivity via a mobile carrier
that are needed for dense urban areas.
What are some characteristics of Frequnecy Division Multiple Access? - Answers It is the
foundation of cellular coverage maps, but in this case, each channel is split up further so that
multiple users can share a common channel without interference.
FDMA frequencies are assigned for the length of the communication, the downside being that
unused channels sit idle. FDMA is a 1G technology, and is still common in satellite
communications.
What are characteristics of Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA)? - Answers It allows multiple
users on the same frequency channel. each with its own sliver of time. This works will in a voice
conversation because a phone conversation between two people is mostly silince. That means
there's a lot of "empty space" on a channel even when it's in use.
,TDMA does not require high-performance filtering as FDMA does, but it does require very tight
timing synchronization. TDMA helped bridge 1G technology to 2G and allowed for rapid
subscriber expansion from the original analog cell systems to digitial without expensive
upgrades to the system itself.
What is Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA)? - Answers A 3G technology, it makes it possible
for several users to share multiple frequency bands at the same time by spreading the signal
out over the frequencies. This spread-spectrum technique uses codes to distinguish between
connections. The wide bandwidths and improve power usage greatly reduce interfernce, and the
coding allows multiple users to occupy the same channel at the same time.
What is the handoff process? - Answers It occurs at the point when both neighbor frequency
signals are at their lowest, usually at the border between two cells.
What is the Advanced Mobile Phone System (AMPS)? - Answers It was deployed in North
America in 1993. AMPS used analog signals to connect to cell towers, using FDMA for channel
assignment. AMPS succeeded where previous attempts to create a commercial cellular service
failed because of its ability to reuse frequencies (FDMA) and to hand off calls between cells in a
relatively seamless way that did not involve the user.
What is the Digital Advanced Mobile Phone System (D-AMPS)? - Answers 2G cellular phones
and networks used TDMA, which greatly improved bandwidth efficiency and subscriber capacity.
Unlike AMPS, which was essentially the same wywhere it was deployed, two distinct systems
emerged for D-AMPS which were GSM and CDMA.
What is the Global System for Mobile (GSM)? - Answers The use of GSM was mandated
throughout Europe to ensure continent-wide compatibility between countries.
What is the Short Message Service (SMS)? - Answers It was introduced to the world as texting.
SMS did not seem like a compelling feature. But its use exploded with teens and young adults to
the point where many used their phones only for texting.
What is the Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) card? - Answers It is a small, detachable smart
card that fits into a standardized card slot on the phone. It contains all the subscriber's
information, as well as their contacts list. Not only did SIM cards help to address the 1G
system's cloning vulnerability, they also allowed users to switch phones without carrier
involvement. This led to the emergence of third-party phone retailers who could (and did) sell
phones directly to consumers.
What is the General Packet Radio Service (GPRS)? - Answers It was the first packet-switching
technology method that allowed data sharing over mobile networks. Still considered a 2G
technology but often called 2G+ or 2.5G, GPRS allowed access to some websites— although
data rates proved to be too slow for what was becoming a growing need and expectation.
, What is EDGE? - Answers It was an AT&T rolled out service in 2003, and which other carriers
quickly offered, represented an enhancement over GPRS. It offered high data rates through
better data encoding and (at that time) viable data access to many websites.
What about 3G? - Answers The most noticeable improvement in 3G was its high-speed data
rates. One enhancement to 3G was a mobile protocol called High Speed Downlink Packet
Access (HSDPA) which improved data rate to an impressive 14 Mbps.
What is 4G? - Answers 4G is an all-IP network, allowing the use of ultra-broadband and the
promise of 1 Gbps data rates. At that throughput level, voice communications can be converted
to Voice over IP (VoIP) with high quality, high-definition TV can be streamed to mobile devices,
and a host of live interactive gaming applications can be enjoyed.
What are the two systems currently deployed for 4G? - Answers The two systems currently
deployed for 4G are Mobile Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) and Long
-Term Evolution (LTE)
What was the initial system to set up calls and mobile data sessions? - Answers Previous
systems used a signaling system called Signaling System 7 (SS7) to set up calls and mobile
data sessions.
What was the replacement for SS7 in 4G? - Answers 4G uses a signaling protocol called
Diameter . Some critics say Diameter sessions are potentially open to hijacking or having users'
personal information exposed, making it a less-than-ideal replacement for SS7.
What about 5G capabilities? - Answers 5G promises higher data rates, lower latency, greater
connection density, and improved reliability. Two of the highly anticipated applications of 5G are
AR/VR mobile gaming and driverless vehicles.
What was the Blackberry Enterprise Server (BES)? - Answers The BES enabled Blackberry device
to receive "push" emails from Microsoft Exchange Server, which meant that users could send
and receive emails no matter where they were (assuming they had cell coverage, which by then
was nearly everywhere).
What is the CIA Triad? - Answers It is where the C-I-A refers to confidentiality, integrity, and
availability. That is, the information in these setting must be private (confidentiality), accurate
(integrity), and reliable (availability).
Which technology makes it possible for several users to share multiple frequency bands at the
same time by spreading the signal out over the frequencies? - Answers Code Division Multiple
Access (CDMA).
CDMA spreads the signal out over frequencies so several users can share multiple frequency