- Cellular telephone is a type of short-wave analog or digital telecommunication in which a subscriber has a wireless connection from a mobile telephone to a relatively nearby transmitter. The transmitter's span of coverage is called a cell. Generally, cellular telephone service is available in urban areas and along major highways. As the cellular telephone user moves from one cell or area of coverage to another, the telephone is effectively passed on to the local cell transmitter.
A cellular telephone is not to be confused with a cordless telephone (which is simply a phone with a very short wireless connection to a local phone outlet). A newer service similar to cellular is personal communications services (PCS).
Martin Cooper placed the first call on a cellular phone on April 3, 1973, while general manager of Motorola's Communications Systems Division. According to a report from Informa Telecoms and Media, as of November 2007, there was one active cell phone for every two people on the planet.
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19 Mar 2008
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