In 1997,I bought a Nokia mobile phone & was told it had an American chip in it.I shall be wanting to use it again during roll over for international calls.

Are mobile phones going to be usuable ?

I haven't the foggiest idea a)what this chip is

& b) how these phones work.Isn't the signal bounced upto a satellite & then down again ?

I admit I am technologically challenged so any comments would be gratefully received.

-- Chris (griffen@globalnet.co.uk), August 07, 1999

Answers

If it's a cellular phone it works line-of-site from transmitter towers and switches to closer ones as you travel. Here in Western U.S. they work in cities and on interstate highways but out here in the country even a cloudy day makes it a gamble. I wouldn't count on it.

-- Roger (pecosrog@earthlink.net), August 07, 1999.

Chris,

Cell phones use a combination of radio and 'land line' routes to complete their calls. Some of the land line routes may involve transmission by microwave, especially if long distance calls are made. I don't know how much 'conventional' telephone traffic is carried by satellites- not much, I think. If you have a "sat phone" you'll know it by the size of the bill (!).

The switching and tracking processes involved in cell phone operations are complex and the tasks are handled by computer (naturally). So it may not matter whether your cell phone (actually a radio transciever) works or not- if the tracking and switching functions go down, or the timekeeping/billing functions don't work, or if the landline phone network itself goes down, you'll be talking to yourself anyway. Sorry,

-- Lee (lplapin@hotmail.com), August 09, 1999.

Oh,dear.We shall just have to go back to the adage...no news is good news !!Either that or homing pidgeons will come back into vogue unless they are eaten first !

Did you know that the great Mongol Empire had an excellant communication system based on these birds who flew in relays.Somebody actually compared the speed of this system with modern airmail & the pidgeons got there first !The world's first airmail paper was designed for them to carry the messages.It was a very light paper the width of three fingers so it could be wrapped around the bird's leg.

(A papermaking story)

-- Chris (griffen@globalnet.co.uk), August 09, 1999.