1

Norcel Cell Phone
Circa 1985
Throughout Canada
TEXT ATTACHMENT


2

The first cell phones of the mid-1980s were bulky, but they offered a service although expensive at first, that freed individuals from the office and home. Coverage was limited to large cities and the highways linking them. The Norcel cell phone was one of the early ones sold by Northern Telecom.

3

Norcel Phone Ad
Circa 1985
Throughout Canada

4

Cell Phone Evolution
1980 - 2006
Throughout Canada
TEXT ATTACHMENT


5

Cell phones reduced in size as technology evolved to smaller and smaller components. Coverage improved so that most populated areas now have coverage. Cell phones are more feature rich, they now have text messaging, MP3 players, GPS navigation, 3-D gaming, internet access and built-in cameras.

6

Apple iPhone
Circa 2007
U.S.A.
TEXT ATTACHMENT


Credits:
Apple Inc.

7

The Apple iPhone promises to deliver all the existing features and music while using a touch screen instead of a large number of buttons.

8

Cellular Telephone Antenna Tower
29 January 2007
Throughout Canada and USA
TEXT ATTACHMENT


Credits:
Ken Lyons

9

Cell phones communicate via airwaves so they must be in range of an antenna such as this one. The antennas shaped liked rectangles are used to communicate with the cell phones. Their signals are then transmitted to the equipment in the building at the base of the tower. They are processed and combined with the signals with other cell phones and sent back up the tower to the large round dish antenna for transmission to the switching office. Cell towers without the round dish antennas have their equipment linked to the switching office by cable.

When a cell phone is turned on it searches for a signal which is transmitted from a nearby antenna, antennas are arranged in adjacent cells so that none is more than about 10 km from each other. As a user moves, his phone will always handed off to the antenna that provides the best signal.

It's interesting to note that the round dish antennas transmit microwaves, this is about all that is left for microwave transmission since the long haul microwave systems have been replaced by fibre-optic transmission.