Can You Hear Me Now?
We have all heard the phrase "Can you hear me now?" and have even joked about it. What the gentleman in the commercial is testing is mobile phone coverage. Indeed, the commercial seeks to tell us that Verizon, the mobile phone provider, is constantly testing and improving its coverage. So, how does this coverage work?
Without coverage, mobile phones cannot work. Mobile phones work by sending and receiving digital radio signals to and from base stations or cell sites. Cell sites link individual mobiles to the rest of the mobile network and to landline telephones. These cell sites are low-powered transmitters and receivers and each one provides mobile phone coverage to a specific area known as a cell, hence the name "cell site". In an ideal scenario, the area covered by a cell site overlaps with adjacent cell sites so that a signal can pass from one cell site to another as a mobile phone customer moves around.
However, where there are gaps between the coverage areas of cell sites, the signal may be lost and the call can "break up" or mobile customers can experience a "dropped call". The most common reasons for a loss in signal include: buildings that block the path of the signal and natural features like hills, mountains and trees. Each cell site is also designed to handle a specified number of simultaneous callers. If the number of calls being routed via a cell site exceeds its capacity, "congestion" or an inordinate amount of traffic on the network occurs.
Note that even though you may have a good signal at a certain location or at particular times of the day, you may not be able to get a signal when the cell site is operating at full capacity - that is at peak times. As a general rule, more cell sites are built where mobile phone usage is higher like in residential and commercial areas and in larger towns and cities. This helps to overcome capacity issues of individual cell sites.
In order to provide customers will quality coverage, TSTT is constantly working to fill the gaps as well as expand its coverage by rolling out more cell sites to areas that have no service. This is to ensure that our mobile customers can use their mobile phones at all times, wherever possible throughout Trinidad and Tobago.
For further information, please visit our website at
tstt.co.tt
A twice-monthly feature that seeks to inform, educate and enhance your knowledge about this interesting and fascinating technology.
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