Cellular networks
Every day, we make calls, send messages or connect to the Internet using mobile devices but rarely stop to wonder how it all works. So what is actually going on behind the scenes to enable your mobile to do what it does?
Mobile communications work by using low power radio waves necessary to carry speech and data. When a call is made, the signal is handed across a network of linked geographic areas called cells - hence the term cellphone - until it reaches its destination.
A piece of equipment called a base station transmits signals from one cell to the next, or to land-line networks. Each cell is the area that each base station covers. Base stations are often called masts, towers or cell-sites.
All about base stations
Base station sites come in a range of shapes and sizes and are essential to making mobile phones work. They house radio transmitters and receivers that pick up signals sent from your phone and transfer them to your network operator, so that you can be connected.
Location, location, location
So, where do mobile communications transmitters get located? Three main factors affect the positioning of base station sites: