Digital cellular service
is more limited in its coverage area. When you have to
travel, your chances of not getting a signal for service
are much higher when you leave a major freeway or dense
metropolitan area. Even if you are in a metro area, you
may get a busy signal. The reason for this is that
digital is still very new to the marketplace. As such,
towers to take calls are not as readily available.
Digital carriers have
found a temporary solution to this problem by creating
what is called a dual mode phone. The phone will allow
the user to switch from a digital mode into an analog
mode. However, when you switch into the analog mode, be
prepared to pay high per minute roaming charges and
possibly network access fees.
Digital phone technology
uses a much more compact bandwidth that makes cloning of
the phone much more difficult. The transmission is
focused and direct rather than blasted through the
airwaves and prevents the signal from being picked up for
cloning theft.
CDMA (Call Division
Multiple Access). This digital technology sends a
scrambled transmission of encoded speech and then
reassembles it again at the destination source. The
benefits of the digital service over analog is that it
has an increased call capacity of up to 10 times that of
an analog service tower. It also allows for a "soft
hand off" of your signal. A soft hand off is making
sure the call is connected to the next cell site before
transferring the call to the cell site, and reduces your
chances of a "dropped call." Uses less power to
conserve battery power and increases the talk time you
have available before needing to recharge your battery.
TDMA (Time Division
Multiple Access). Different from CDMA in that it uses
time slots to transmit voice messages in packets. TDMA
assigns 10 second time slots to each frequency. The phone
then sends bursts or packets of information in each of
these time slots. Once again, the voice packets are then
reassembled by the end destination.
Advantage of Analog
Cellular Service:
- Larger coverage area
- Travel longer distances
between cell sites
- More types of cellular
phones available to choose from
- Better reception and
signal when in rural areas
Disadvantage of Analog
Cellular Service:
- Susceptible to cloning
- Higher chance of
dropped calls
- Poorer quality of voice
transmission
Advantages of Digital
Cellular Service
- Prevents cloning theft
- Less chance of dropped
calls through soft hand off
- Higher quality of voice
transmission
- Uses less battery power
thus increasing talk time available
Disadvantages of Digital
Cellular Service
- Higher chance of dead
spots with no service coverage
- Limited coverage area
for rural areas
- Limited selection of
cellular phones to subscribers
If you are a new
subscriber or are looking to become a cellular phone
user, this is the information you need to review and
think about when you make that plunge. It is in your best
interest to be as educated as much as possible. Make it
easy on yourself by making the right choice the first
time. We cannot tell you how many people we have heard
complain that they wished they had done this or done
that.
