The “Cellular Concept” was one of the communication technologies that were discussed in our class lecture. According to the lecture notes "cell" is defined as, “the area served by a single cell phone antenna”. It divides geographical regions into separate cells where each cell has its own operating tower. This would allow clearer calls between individuals but if the call passed between the cells one would experience a “handoff or dropped call”. According to the lecture the handoff occurs “when you travel from one cell to the next” and the dropped call occurs “when your phone cannot switch to a new tower fast enough or when you enter a dead zone”. After the cellular concept eventually lead to the cellular generation which as of today has four. The first cell phone or 1G was the biggest of the four in size. It had very low frequency and consisted of voice only. I believe this was the test phone being that it was the first which allowed developers to therefore improve its disadvantages. Then the 2G was introduced having a higher frequency band which used circuit switching. According to the notes circuit switching “sets up a closed circuit between caller and receiver where voice or data is transmitted from beginning to end without interruption”. As oppose to the first generation the second generation was digital allowing both voice and data. This was an improvement but the downfall was that it was not fast enough for video. Next, the public was introduced to the 3G which is what most of us use as of today. According to the lecture the “U.S. 2G phones didn’t work in Europe and vice versa which lead to The International Telecommunication Union who developed a 3G global standard”. Where the 2G used circuit switching the 3G used packet-switching which transmitted small digital packets. This was faster than the 1G and the 2G and was the first to allow low definition video. In a journal article I found Peterson states, “new media such as cell phones and the Internet are significant features of contemporary communities, and act as both a context for and medium of linguistic and cultural vitality and transformation”. I am curious to see what the future of the cellular phone has in store for is. It might just be our everything when it comes do our daily lives.
Peterson, L. C. (2010). Technology, ideology, and emergent communicative practices among the Navajo. New Media and Society, 71, 231.
