Communication is called mobile if the source of information or its recipient (or both) move in space. Radio communication has been mobile since its inception. Above, in the third chapter, it is shown that the first radio stations were intended for communication with moving objects—ships. After all, one of the first radio communication devices A.S. Popov was installed on the battleship Admiral Apraksin. And it was thanks to radio communication with him that in the winter of 1899–1900 it was possible to save this ship, lost in the ice of the Baltic Sea. However, in those years, this “mobile communication” required bulky transceiver devices radio communications, which did not contribute to the development of much-needed individual radio communications even in the Armed Forces, not to mention private clients.

On June 17, 1946, in St. Louis, USA, telephone industry leader AT&T and Southwestern Bell launched the first radio. telephone network for private clients. Elemental base The equipment was tube electronic devices, so the equipment was very bulky and was intended only for installation in cars. The weight of the equipment without power sources was 40 kg. Despite this, popularity mobile communications began to grow rapidly. This created a new problem, more serious than weight and size indicators. An increase in the number of radios, with a limited frequency resource, led to strong mutual interference for radio stations operating on channels close in frequency, which significantly deteriorated the quality of communication. To eliminate mutual interference at repeating frequencies, it was necessary to ensure a minimum one-hundred-kilometer separation in space between two groups of radio systems. That is why mobile communications were mainly used for the needs of special services. For mass implementation, it was necessary to change not only the weight and size indicators, but also the very principle of organizing communication.

As noted above, in 1947 a transistor was invented that performs the functions vacuum tubes, but has a significantly smaller size. It was the advent of transistors that was of great importance for the further development radiotelephone communication. The replacement of vacuum tubes with transistors created the preconditions for widespread adoption mobile phone. The main limiting factor was the principle of communication organization, which would eliminate or at least reduce the influence of mutual interference.

Studies of the ultrashort wave range, carried out in the 40s of the last century, revealed its main advantage over short waves - wide range, i.e. large frequency capacity and the main disadvantage - strong absorption of radio waves by the propagation medium. Radio waves in this range are not capable of bending around the earth's surface, so the communication range was provided only on the line of sight, and depending on the power of the transmitter, a maximum of 40 km was provided. This disadvantage soon turned into an advantage, which gave impetus to the active mass introduction of cellular telephone communications.

In 1947, an employee of the American company Bell Laboratories D. Ring proposed a new idea for organizing communications. It consisted of dividing space (territory) into small areas - cells (or cells) with a radius of 1–5 kilometers and separating radio communications within one cell (by rationally repeating the communication frequencies used) from communications between cells. Frequency repetition has significantly reduced the problems of using frequency resources. This made it possible to use the same frequencies in different cells distributed in space. In the center of each cell it was proposed to locate a basic receiving and transmitting radio station, which would provide radio communication within the cell with all subscribers. The cell size was determined by the maximum communication range of the radiotelephone device with the base station. This maximum range is called the cell radius. During a conversation, the cellular radiotelephone is connected to the base station by a radio channel through which it transmits phone conversation. Each subscriber must have his own microradio station - a “mobile phone” - a combination of a telephone, a transceiver and a mini-computer. Subscribers communicate with each other through base stations, which are connected to each other and to the public telephone network.

To ensure uninterrupted communication when a subscriber moves from one zone to another, it was necessary to use computer control over the telephone signal emitted by the subscriber. It was computer control that made it possible to switch a mobile phone from one intermediate transmitter to another within just a thousandth of a second. Everything happens so quickly that the subscriber simply does not notice it. Thus, the central part of the mobile communication system is computers. They find a subscriber located in any of the cells and connect him to the telephone network. When a subscriber moves from one cell (cell) to another, computers seem to transfer the subscriber from one base station to another and connect the subscriber of the “foreign” cellular network to “their” network. This happens at the moment when the “foreign” subscriber finds itself in the coverage area of ​​the new base station. Thus, roaming is carried out (which in English means “wandering” or “wandering”).

As noted above, the principles of modern mobile communications were an achievement already at the end of the 40s. However, in those days, computer technology was still at such a level that its commercial use in telephone communication systems was difficult. Therefore, the practical use of cellular communications became possible only after the invention of microprocessors and integrated semiconductor chips.

First cellular telephone The prototype of the modern device was designed by Martin Cooper (Motorola, USA).

In 1973, in New York, on top of a 50-story building, Motorola installed the world's first cellular communications base station under his leadership. It could serve no more than 30 subscribers and connect them to landline lines.

On April 3, 1973, Martin Cooper dialed his boss and said the following words: “Imagine, Joel, that I am calling you from the world's first cell phone. I have it in my hands, and I’m walking down a New York street.”

The phone Martin called from was called Dyna-Tac. Its dimensions were 225x125x375 mm, and its weight was no less than 1.15 kg, which, however, is much less than the 30 kilogram devices of the late forties. Using the device, it was possible to make calls and receive signals, and negotiate with the subscriber. This telephone had 12 keys, of which 10 were digital for dialing the subscriber's number, and the other two ensured the start of a conversation and interrupted the call. Dyna-Tac batteries allowed talk time for about half an hour, and required 10 hours to charge.

Although much of the development took place in the United States, the first commercial cellular network was launched in May 1978 in Bahrain. Two cells with 20 channels in the 400 MHz band served 250 subscribers.

A little later cellular began its triumphal march around the world. More and more countries realized the benefits and convenience it could bring. However, the lack of a unified international standard for the use of the frequency range eventually led to the fact that the owner of a cell phone, moving from one state to another, could not use the mobile phone.

In order to eliminate this main shortcoming, since the late seventies, Sweden, Finland, Iceland, Denmark and Norway began joint research to develop a single standard. The result of the research was the communication standard NMT-450 (Nordic Mobile Telephone), which was intended to operate in the 450 MHz range. This standard first began to be used in 1981 in Saudi Arabia, and only a month later in Europe. Various variants of the NMT-450 have been adopted in Austria, Switzerland, Holland, Belgium, Southeast Asia and the Middle East.

In 1983, a network of the AMPS (Advanced Mobile Phone Service) standard, which was developed by Bell Laboratories, was launched in Chicago. In 1985, in England, the TACS (Total Access Communications System) standard was adopted, which was a variation of the American AMPS. Two years later, due to the sharply increased number of subscribers, the HTACS (Enhanced TACS) standard was adopted, adding new frequencies and partially correcting the shortcomings of its predecessor. France stood apart from everyone else and began using its own Radiocom-2000 standard in 1985.

The next standard was NMT-900, using frequencies 900 MHz range. A new version came into use in 1986. It allowed to increase the number of subscribers and improve the stability of the system.

However, all of these standards are analog and belong to the first generation of cellular communication systems. They use an analog method of transmitting information using frequency (FM) or phase (FM) modulation - as in conventional radio stations. This method has a number of significant disadvantages, the main of which are the ability to listen to conversations of other subscribers and the inability to combat signal fading when the subscriber moves, as well as under the influence of the terrain and buildings. Congestion frequency ranges caused interference during conversations. Therefore, by the end of the 1980s, the creation of the second generation of cellular communication systems based on digital methods signal processing.

Previously, in 1982, the European Conference of Postal and Telecommunications Administrations (CEPT), uniting 26 countries, decided to create a special group Groupe Special Mobile. Its goal was to develop a single European standard for digital cellular communications. The new communication standard was developed over the course of eight years, and was first announced only in 1990 - then the standard specifications were proposed. The special group initially decided to use the 900 MHz band as a single standard, and then, taking into account the prospects for the development of cellular communications in Europe and throughout the world, it was decided to allocate the 1800 MHz band for the new standard.

The new standard is called GSM - Global System for Mobile Communications. GSM 1800 MHz is also called DCS-1800 (Digital Cellular System 1800). The GSM standard is a digital cellular communication standard. It implements time division of channels (TDMA - time division multiple access, message encryption, block coding, as well as GMSK modulation) (Gaussian Minimum Shift Keying).

The first country to launch the GSM network is Finland, which launched this standard into commercial operation in 1992. The following year, the first DCS-1800 One-2-One network went live in the UK. From this moment on, the global spread of the GSM standard throughout the world begins.

The next step after GSM is the CDMA standard, which provides faster and more reliable communications through the use of code division channels. This standard began to emerge in the United States in 1990. In 1993, CDMA (or IS-95) began to be used in the 800 MHz frequency range in the United States. At the same time, the DCS-1800 One-2-One network began operating in England.

In general, there were many communication standards, and by the mid-nineties, most civilized countries were smoothly switching to digital specifications. If the first generation networks allowed the transmission of only voice, then the second generation of cellular communication systems, which is GSM, allows the provision of other non-voice services. In addition to the SMS service, the first GSM phones made it possible to transmit other non-voice data. For this purpose, a data transfer protocol was developed, called CSD (Circuit Switched Data - data transfer over switched lines). However, this standard had very modest characteristics - the maximum data transfer rate was only 9600 bits per second, and then only under the condition of stable communication. However, such speeds were quite enough for transmitting a fax message.

The rapid development of the Internet in the late 90s led to the fact that many cellular users wanted to use their handsets as modems, and the existing speeds were clearly not enough for this.
In order to somehow satisfy the needs of their customers for access to the Internet, engineers invent the WAP protocol. WAP is an abbreviation for Wireless Application Protocol, which translates to Wireless Application Protocol. In principle, WAP can be called a simplified version of the standard Internet HTTP protocol, only adapted to the limited resources of mobile phones, such as small display sizes, low performance of telephone processors and low data transfer rates in mobile networks. However, this protocol did not allow viewing standard Internet pages; they had to be written in WML, which was adapted for cell phones. As a result, although subscribers of cellular networks received access to the Internet, it turned out to be very “stripped down” and uninteresting. Plus, to access WAP sites, the same communication channel was used as for voice transmission, that is, while you are loading or viewing a page, the communication channel is busy, and with personal account The same money is debited as during the conversation. As a result, a rather interesting technology was practically buried for some time and was used by subscribers of cellular networks various operators very rare.
Cellular equipment manufacturers urgently had to look for ways to increase data transfer speeds, and as a result, HSCSD (High-Speed ​​Circuit Switched Data) technology was born, which provided quite acceptable speeds of up to 43 kilobits per second. This technology was popular among a certain circle of users. But still, this technology did not lose the main drawback of its predecessor - the data was still transmitted over the voice channel. The developers again had to engage in painstaking research. The efforts of the engineers were not in vain, and quite recently a technology came into being called GPRS (General Packed Radio Services) - this name can be translated as a packet radio data transmission system. This technology uses the principle of channel separation for voice and data transmission. As a result, the subscriber does not pay for the duration of the connection, but only for the amount of data transmitted and received. In addition, GPRS has another advantage over earlier technologies mobile transmission data – during a GPRS connection, the phone is still able to receive calls and SMS messages. On this moment Modern phone models on the market pause the GPRS connection when making a call, which automatically resumes when the call ends. Such devices are classified as class B GPRS terminals. It is planned to produce class A terminals that will allow you to simultaneously download data and conduct a conversation with the interlocutor. There are also special devices that are designed only for data transmission, and they are called GPRS modems or class C terminals. Theoretically, GPRS is capable of transmitting data at a speed of 115 kilobits per second, but at the moment most telecom operators provide a communication channel that allows you to reach this speed up to 48 kilobits per second. This is primarily due to the equipment of the operators themselves and, as a consequence, the lack of cell phones on the market that support higher speeds.

With the advent of GPRS, we again remembered the WAP protocol, since now, through new technology, access to small-volume WAP pages becomes many times cheaper than in the days of CSD and HSCSD. Moreover, many telecom operators provide unlimited access to WAP network resources for a small monthly subscription fee.
With the advent of GPRS, cellular networks ceased to be called second generation networks - 2G. We are currently in the 2.5G era. Non-voice services are becoming increasingly popular as the cell phone, computer and Internet are merging. Developers and operators are offering us more and more different additional services.
Thus, using the capabilities of GPRS, a new message transmission format was created, which was called MMS (Multimedia Messaging Service), which, unlike SMS, allows you to send not only text, but also various multimedia information from a cell phone, for example, sound recordings, photographs and even video clips. Moreover, an MMS message can be transferred either to another phone that supports this format or to an email account.
Increasing power of phone processors now allows you to download and run various programs. The Java2ME language is most often used to write them. Owners of most modern phones can now easily connect to the website of Java2ME application developers and download to their phone, for example, new game or other necessary program. Also, no one will be surprised by the ability to connect the phone to personal computer, in order to, using a special software, most often supplied with the handset, save or edit an address book or organizer on a PC; while on the road, using a mobile phone + laptop combination, access the full Internet and view your email. However, our needs are constantly growing, the volume of transmitted information is growing almost daily. And more and more demands are being placed on cell phones, as a result of which the resources of current technologies are becoming insufficient to satisfy our increasing demands.

It is precisely to solve these requests that the fairly recently created networks of the third generation 3G are intended, in which data transmission dominates voice services. 3G is not a communication standard, but a common name for all high speed networks cellular communications, which will grow and are already growing beyond the existing ones. Huge data transfer rates allow you to transfer high-quality video images directly to your phone and maintain a constant connection to the Internet and local networks. The use of new, improved security systems makes it possible today to use a telephone for various financial transactions - a mobile phone is quite capable of replacing a credit card.

It is quite natural that third generation networks will not become the final stage in the development of cellular communications - as they say, progress is inexorable. Current integration various types communications (cellular, satellite, television, etc.), the emergence hybrid devices, including a cell phone, PDA, and video camera, will certainly lead to the emergence of 4G and 5G networks. And even science fiction writers today are unlikely to be able to tell how this evolutionary development will end.

Globally, there are currently about 2 billion mobile phones in use, of which more than two-thirds are connected to the GSM standard. The second most popular is CDMA, while the rest represent specific standards used mainly in Asia. Now in developed countries there is a situation of “saturation”, when demand stops growing.

cellular

cellular, mobile network- one of the types of mobile radio communications, which is based on cellular network. Key Feature lies in the fact that the total coverage area is divided into cells (cells), determined by the coverage areas of individual base stations (BS). The cells partially overlap and together form a network. On an ideal (flat and undeveloped) surface, the coverage area of ​​one BS is a circle, so the network made up of them looks like a honeycomb with hexagonal cells (honeycombs).

The network consists of spatially dispersed transceivers operating in the same frequency range, and switching equipment that makes it possible to determine the current location of mobile subscribers and ensure continuity of communication when a subscriber moves from the coverage area of ​​one transceiver to the coverage area of ​​another.

Story

The first use of mobile telephone radio in the United States dates back to 1921: Detroit police used one-way dispatch communications in the 2 MHz band to transmit information from a central transmitter to vehicle-mounted receivers. In 1933, the NYPD began using a two-way mobile telephone radio system, also in the 2 MHz band. In 1934, the US Federal Communications Commission allocated 4 channels for telephone radio communications in the range of 30-40 MHz, and in 1940 about 10 thousand police vehicles were already using telephone radio communications. All of these systems used amplitude modulation. Frequency modulation began to be used in 1940 and by 1946 it had completely replaced amplitude modulation. The first public mobile radiotelephone appeared in 1946 (St. Louis, USA; Bell Telephone Laboratories), it used the 150 MHz band. In 1955, an 11-channel system began operating in the 150 MHz band, and in 1956, a 12-channel system in the 450 MHz band began operating. Both of these systems were simplex and used manual switching. Automatic duplex systems began operating in 1964 (150 MHz) and 1969 (450 MHz), respectively.

In the USSR in 1957, Moscow engineer L.I. Kupriyanovich created a prototype of a portable automatic duplex mobile radiotelephone LK-1 and a base station for it. The mobile radiotelephone weighed about three kilograms and had a range of 20-30 km. In 1958, Kupriyanovich created improved models of the device, weighing 0.5 kg and the size of a cigarette box. In the 1960s Hristo Bochvarov in Bulgaria demonstrates his prototype of a pocket mobile radiotelephone. At the Interorgtekhnika-66 exhibition, Bulgaria is presenting a kit for organizing local mobile communications from pocket mobile phones RAT-0.5 and ATRT-0.5 and a base station RATC-10, providing connection for 10 subscribers.

At the end of the 50s in the USSR, the development of the Altai car radiotelephone system began, which was put into trial operation in 1963. The Altai system initially operated at a frequency of 150 MHz. In 1970, the Altai system operated in 30 cities of the USSR and the 330 MHz range was allocated for it.

In a similar way, with natural differences and on a smaller scale, the situation developed in other countries. Thus, in Norway, public telephone radio has been used for maritime mobile communications since 1931; in 1955 there were 27 coast radio stations in the country. Land mobile communications began to develop after the Second World War in the form of private, manually switched networks. Thus, by 1970, mobile telephone radio communications, on the one hand, had already become quite widespread, but on the other, it clearly could not keep up with the rapidly growing needs, with a limited number of channels in strictly defined frequency bands. A solution was found in the form of a cellular communication system, which made it possible to dramatically increase capacity by reusing frequencies in a system with a cellular structure.

Cellular systems

Certain elements of the cellular communication system existed before. In particular, some semblance of a cellular system was used in 1949 in Detroit (USA) by a taxi dispatch service - with reuse frequencies in different cells when users manually switch channels in pre-agreed locations. However, the architecture of what is now known as the cellular communications system was not outlined until the Bell System technical report submitted to the FCC in December 1971. From this time on, the development of cellular communications itself began.

In 1974, the US Federal Communications Commission decided to allocate a frequency band of 40 MHz in the 800 MHz band for cellular communications; in 1986 another 10 MHz was added in the same range. In 1978, testing of the first experimental system cellular communications for 2 thousand subscribers. Therefore, 1978 can be considered the year of the beginning practical application cellular communications. The first automated commercial cellular telephone system was introduced in Chicago in October 1983 by American Telephone and Telegraph (AT&T). In Canada, cellular communications have been used since 1978, in Japan - since 1979, in northern European countries (Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland) - since 1981, in Spain and England - since 1982. As of July 1997 cellular communications operated in more than 140 countries on all continents, serving more than 150 million subscribers.

The first commercially successful cellular network was the Finnish Autoradiopuhelin (ARP) network. This name is translated into Russian as “Car radiotelephone”. Launched in 1971, it reached 100% coverage in Finland in 1978, and in 1986 it had more than 30 thousand subscribers. The network operated at a frequency of 150 MHz, the cell size was about 30 km.

Operating principle of cellular communication

The main components of a cellular network are cell phones and base stations, which are usually located on the roofs of buildings and towers. When turned on, the cell phone listens to the airwaves, finding a signal from the base station. The phone then sends its unique identification code to the station. The telephone and the station maintain constant radio contact, periodically exchanging packets. Communication between the phone and the station can be via an analog protocol (AMPS, NAMPS, NMT-450) or digital (DAMPS, CDMA, GSM, UMTS). If the phone leaves the range of the base station (or the quality of the radio signal from the service cell deteriorates), it establishes communication with another one. handover).

Cellular networks can consist of base stations of different standards, which allows optimizing network operation and improving its coverage.

Cellular networks different operators connected to each other, as well as to the landline telephone network. This allows subscribers of one operator to make calls to subscribers of another operator, from mobile phones to landlines and from landlines to mobiles.

Operators can enter into roaming agreements among themselves. Thanks to such agreements, a subscriber, being outside the coverage area of ​​his network, can make and receive calls through the network of another operator. As a rule, this is carried out at increased rates. The possibility of roaming appeared only in 2G standards and is one of the main differences from 1G networks.

The head of the Regional Journalism Club, Irina Yasina, recalls:

By July 1997, the total number of subscribers in Russia was about 300 thousand. As of 2007, the main cellular communication protocols used in Russia are GSM-900 and GSM-1800. In addition, CDMA networks also operate in the CDMA-2000 standard, also known as IMT-MC-450. GSM operators are also making a smooth transition to the UMTS standard. In particular, the first fragment of a network of this standard in Russia was put into operation on October 2, 2007 in St. Petersburg by MegaFon.

The IDC company, based on a study of the Russian cellular communications market, concluded that in 2005 the total duration of calls on a cell phone of residents of the Russian Federation reached 155 billion minutes, and text messages 15 billion units were shipped.

According to data from the British research company Informa Telecoms & Media for 2006, the average cost of a minute of cellular communication for a consumer in Russia was $0.05 - this is the lowest among the G8 countries.

In December 2007, the number of cellular users in Russia increased to 172.87 million subscribers, in Moscow - to 29.9, in St. Petersburg - to 9.7 million. Penetration level in Russia - up to 119.1%, Moscow - 176%, St. Petersburg - 153%. In December 2011, the penetration level in Russia was up to 156%, Moscow - 212.1%, St. Petersburg - 215.6%. The market share of the largest cellular operators as of December 2007 was: MTS 30.9%, VimpelCom 29.2%, MegaFon 19.9%, other operators 20%.

According to a study by J"son & Partners, the number of SIM cards registered in Russia as of the end of November 2008 reached 183.8 million. This figure is due to the lack subscription fee on popular tariff plans from Russian cellular operators and low prices for connecting to the network. In some cases, subscribers have SIM cards from different operators, but may not use them for a long time, or use one SIM card in a business mobile phone and the other for personal conversations.

In Russia in December 2008, there were 187.8 million cellular users (based on the number of SIM cards sold). The penetration rate of cellular communications (the number of SIM cards per 100 inhabitants) on this date was thus 129.4%. In the regions, excluding Moscow, the penetration level exceeded 119.7%.

The penetration level at the end of 2009 reached 162.4%.

As of April 2010, market share in Russia by subscribers: MTS - 32.9%, MegaFon - 24.6%, VimpelCom - 24.0%, Tele2 - 7.5%, other operators - 11.0%

Cellular services

Mobile operators provide the following services:

• Voice call;
• Caller ID (Automatic Caller ID) and Anti-Caller ID;
• Reception and transmission of multimedia messages - images, melodies, videos (MMS service);
• Access to the Internet ;
• Video call and video conference

see also

Notes

Links

• The basis of a cellular network - how base stations are built - review article on the website 3Dnews.ru (Russian)
• Cellular Communications Control Center - a view from the inside - review article on the website 3Dnews.ru (Russian)
• MAIN INDICATORS OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF PUBLIC TELEPHONE COMMUNICATIONS AND MOBILE COMMUNICATIONS (at the end of 2009)

Wikimedia Foundation.

2010.

See what “Cellular communications” is in other dictionaries: - (English cellular phone, mobile radio relay communication), a type of radiotelephone communication in which the end devices, mobile phones (see MOBILE PHONE) are connected to each other using a cellular network of a set of special transceivers... ...

encyclopedic Dictionary One of the types of mobile radio communications, which is based on a cellular network. The key feature is that the total coverage area is divided into cells (cells), determined by the coverage areas of individual base stations (BS). Honeycombs partially... ...

Dictionary of business terms Third generation cellular communications - Third generation cellular networks (3rd Generation, or 3G) operate at frequencies in the range of about 2 gigahertz and provide data transmission at speeds of up to 2 megabits per second. Such characteristics allow you to use a mobile phone in... ...

Encyclopedia of Newsmakers

LLC "Ekaterinburg 2000" Type Cellular operator Location... Wikipedia

The article contains errors and/or typos. It is necessary to check the content of the article for compliance with the grammatical norms of the Russian language... Wikipedia

It is difficult to imagine a person today who can live without cellular communications. Every day people call each other, send millions of messages, go online using mobile phones. Mobile operators are responsible for the quality of communication, cost and package of services.

List of telecom operators in Russia

There is no single operator responsible for mobile communications. There are more than a hundred active mobile operators in Russia. Some regional providers are subsidiaries of large Russian mobile operators.

1. According to statistics, the leaders among companies providing mobile communication services include 3 - the “big three” providers - MTS, Megafon, Beeline. These companies have the largest number of subscribers, the largest coverage area, and a wide range of services. MTS
2. . The only “cell phone” that is among the 20 world leaders. At the end of 2017, it has the largest number of subscribers in Russia (more than 78 million people), and taking into account the CIS countries, the number of subscribers is more than 100 million. It has the most extensive network of communication stores in the country (more than 5,700 points).. There are more than 76 million subscribers in Russia, and there is great demand for Megafon SIM cards in Abkhazia, Tajikistan, and South Ossetia. The company positions itself as the operator with the fastest mobile Internet.
3. Beeline. The Vimpelcom OJSC brand is among the top hundred recognizable brands in the world. The number of subscribers in Russia reaches 59 million people, but Beeline leads in the number of roaming countries and partners. This allows you to stay connected while traveling and save on roaming services.

The top popular operators include companies that are not included in the “big three”, but in terms of popularity they constitute significant competition. The rating of cellular operators includes smaller companies, new ones, and regional ones. The very concept of the “Big Three” is becoming obsolete, because Other providers are also conquering the market:

• Tinkoff Mobile is one of the newcomers to the communications market, which offers its users many pleasant bonuses: selection of an individual tariff without unnecessary services and pitfalls, beautiful rooms, available roaming. Also, importantly, the operator provides high-quality communication. And when you replenish your account for the first time, you will receive.
• Tele2. At the end of 2017, this is the only company that increased the number of subscribers. It has been operating as a federal Russian operator since 2014 after receiving a license for communications in 3G format. The operator's audience is at least 40 million people in 65 regions of the country. The most active subscribers are in Moscow and the Moscow region, in St. Petersburg, Chelyabinsk and Nizhny Novgorod regions. It ranks 3rd in Russia in terms of the number of base stations, and is distinguished by fast mobile Internet due to low network load, as well as affordable package tariffs with the Internet.
• Yota - virtual mobile operator. The brand has existed since 2008. Powered by Megafon technical infrastructure. The subscriber base is about 1.5 million people. Until January 2017, the only operator with unlimited access to mobile Internet, today tariff line includes only products with limited data for smartphones, and for tablet and computer there are offers with unlimited internet, the price of which depends on the speed.
• Rostelecom is an Internet provider and company providing home wireline services, cable television. The company offers its subscribers cellular communications in GSM 900/1800 and Mobile Internet.
• "Motiv" serves only 4 regions in the Ural Federal District. This brand has existed since 2002. The company provides communications in GPRS / EDGE, IVR, MMS, SMS, USSD formats, but is not represented in Moscow.
• "SMARTS" is a Samara company. Communications in Russia are provided to subscribers from the Volga region and central regions of the country. The list of services includes transfer GPRS data, CSD, communication in GSM-900, GSM-1800 standards, SMS, MMS transmission.

Before choosing a cellular operator, each client must outline his own range of preferences and outline the requirements for mobile communications. Each provider is good in its own way, best operator cellular communications can also have regional status if the package of services it provides meets the client’s needs.

A list of communications within Russia, a telephone code and a comparison of operators will help you choose a suitable provider.

Map of mobile operators

Communication companies are sensitive to increasing customer demands. Now it is no longer only major players in the telecommunications market that offer high-quality communication coverage. The emergence of new towers makes it possible to provide communications to even the most remote settlements; you can now use a mobile phone in the subway and in high-rise buildings. Operators provide not only high-quality and uninterrupted telephone coverage, but also fast access to the Internet via 3G and 4G networks.

Each company is fighting to retain existing subscribers and expand its consumer base, so in almost every city there are salons where customers can not only purchase a starter package, but also receive qualified assistance or answers to their questions.

Each Russian company has a database of 11-digit numbers, which can be used to determine the operator and regions of connection of the number. Not all subscribers took advantage of the opportunity to switch from one operator to another, which appeared after the abolition of “mobile slavery,” so the table of codes helps determine where the unknown incoming “came” from.

If the number is registered in Moscow and the Moscow region, then unknown number incoming call easy to define:

Beeline does not have a clear connection to the region, like other large operators. The company has separate codes only for the Far East and Primorsky Territory. And Yota numbers not tied to the region, all start with code 999.

In the North-West region and St. Petersburg

Southern Federal District, including the North Caucasus

The tables indicate both codes designed for all regions and those that apply only in specified city, area. But large operators have codes for certain areas, i.e. cellular services will be cheaper only when used in your home region.

The place of registration of numbers with codes 950, 951, 952 with Tele2 can be the Irkutsk region, Khanty-Mansiysk region, Lipetsk region, Kursk region, Perm region, Chelyabinsk region, Kemerovo region, Republic of Buryatia, Republic of Mordovia, Tyumen region and Udmurtia.
Large operators have allocated separate codes for the Urals: 922 - Megafon, 982 - MTS.

What numbers do Russian operators use?

The telephone number of any Russian operator begins with 8; to dial in the international format you need to dial +7. However, inside Russia, the call will be equally successful when dialing from both eight and +7.

After international code followed by prefix numbers - this is the DEF code used in mobile networks. Prefixes of Russian operators begin with 9, i.e. general form The code is always like this: 9xx. For companies providing mobile communication services, one or more such codes are allocated. This makes it possible to determine the operator and region of the caller: 926, 916, 977 are Moscow numbers, and 911, 921 or 981 are St. Petersburg numbers.

For the “mobile three” there are a series of codes in which the second digits also match. For example, 91x or 98x are MTS numbers, and 92x or 93x are Megafon numbers.

The next 7 digits are the subscriber number, by which it is impossible to determine belonging to the region of residence or provider. The range of Beeline numbers can indicate region membership if the same prefix is ​​used. Code 905 is used in St. Petersburg (range from 250-00-00 to 289-99-99), as well as in the Ulyanovsk region. (range from 183-00-00 to 184-99-99).

But sometimes only the initial digits of the subscriber number help determine the operator. For example, DEF code 958 is used by more than 20 operators, including small companies (covering 1 region and a capacity of 10,000 numbers) and large ones (several dozen regions and hundreds of thousands of numbers).

As an example: the prefix of the TransTelecom company numbers is 7958, but since the company serves 30 regions of the country, you need to know the initial digits of the subscriber number in order to determine the origin of the outgoing call (-00х-хх-хх - Bashkiria, and -03х-хх-хх - Kaliningrad region, etc.).

The same prefix is ​​used by Gazprom Telecom, Business Network Irkutsk, State Unitary Enterprise Avtomaticheskaya telephone exchange Smolny", "Interregional TransitTelecom", "Systematics", "T2 Mobile", "Central Telegraph", etc.

The numbering of DEF codes also changes as needed. Moscow MTS numbers were transferred from 495 to 985, and Megafon numbers - from 495 to 925.

The telephone code used only by Megafon is 920. The number capacity is more than 10 million, and numbers with this code are used in 17 regions of the Russian Federation.

The encoding used by Tele2 is 900. But the same code is used by 16 other Russian operators of different calibers in terms of capacity and regional coverage - Antares, Arkhangelsk Mobile Networks", "Ekaterinburg-2000", "Kemerovo Mobile Communications", "Sky-1800", etc.

"Tele2" is the largest of the companies that use the prefix 900: "T2 Mobile" - these are 17 regions and 3,140,000 numbers (the region is determined by the digits of the subscriber number), "Tele2-Omsk" - 3 regions (Jewish Autonomous Region, Omsk Region and Chukotka Autonomous Okrug) and 210,000 numbers, Tele2-St. Petersburg - 1 million numbers for 4 regions (Vologda region, Karelia, Pskov region, Leningrad region and St. Petersburg).

Best rates

Ratings of companies providing cellular communication services are compiled not only taking into account the number of subscribers and the scope of the coverage area, but also the list of services provided by the company and the tariffs established for each item or the entire package.

Advertising campaigns of the four leading providers (MTS, Megafon, Tele2, Beeline) are aimed at attracting subscribers, therefore TV commercials vying with each other to prove that the tariffs of one or another company are the most favorable. Telecom operators' tariffs dynamically reflect company strategy, consumer preferences and industry trends. At the same time, they operate in parallel archived tariffs until the subscriber switches to a new price offer.

Budget rates

It’s not difficult to get lost in such variety, but there is no universal tariff plan. It is more convenient and cheaper for subscribers to purchase a range of services - tariff packages that combine, for example, voice communications, SMS and mobile Internet. In addition to the services included in the package, you need to study the limits on them (GB, free minutes, number of SMS) and determine the needs of the subscriber (mobile Internet, calls to home network, roaming, etc.).

I have been following new developments in the field for many years now. mobile technologies. Previously, this was my hobby, but now it has grown into a professional blog, where I am happy to share the information I have accumulated with you. All instructions, life hacks, selections best programs and tariff plans I checked personally on myself.

The most common type of mobile communication today is cellular communication. Cellular communication services are provided to subscribers by operator companies.

A network of base stations provides wireless communication to a cell phone.

Each station provides access to the network in a limited area, the area and configuration of which depends on the terrain and other parameters. The overlapping coverage areas create a honeycomb-like structure; The term “cellular communication” comes from this image. When a subscriber moves, his phone is served by one or another base station, and the switching (cell change) occurs automatically, completely unnoticed by the subscriber, and does not in any way affect the quality of communication. This approach allows, using low-power radio signals, to cover large areas with a mobile communications network, which provides this type of communication, in addition to efficiency, also high level environmental friendliness

The operator company not only technically provides mobile communications, but also enters into economic relationships with subscribers who purchase from it a certain set of basic and additional services. Since there are quite a lot of types of services, prices for them are combined into sets called tariff plans. The cost of services provided to each subscriber is calculated by the billing system (a hardware and software system that keeps records of the services provided to the subscriber).

The operator's billing system interacts with similar systems of other companies, for example, those providing roaming services to the subscriber (the ability to use mobile communications in other cities and countries). The subscriber makes all mutual payments for mobile communications, including in roaming, with his operator, which is a single settlement center for him.

Roaming is access to mobile communication services outside the coverage area of ​​the “home” operator’s network with which the subscriber has a contract.

While roaming, the subscriber usually retains his phone number, continues to use his cell phone, making and receiving calls in the same way as on his home network. All actions necessary for this, including inter-operator traffic exchange and attracting the resources of other communication companies (for example, providing transcontinental communications) as necessary, are carried out automatically and do not require additional actions from the subscriber. If the home and guest networks provide communication services in different standards, roaming is still possible: the subscriber can be given a different device for the duration of the trip, while maintaining his phone number and automatically routing calls.

History of cellular communications.

Work on the creation of civilian mobile communication systems began in the 1970s. By this time, the development of conventional telephone networks in European countries had reached such a level that the next step in the evolution of communications could only be the availability of telephone communications anywhere and everywhere.

Networks based on the first civilian cellular standard, NMT-450, appeared in 1981. Although the name of the standard is an abbreviation of the words Nordic Mobile Telephony (“mobile telephony of the Nordic countries”), the first cellular network on the planet was deployed in Saudi Arabia. In Sweden, Norway, Finland (and other Nordic countries), NMT networks went live several months later.

Two years later - in 1983 - the first network of the AMPS (Advanced Mobile Phone Service) standard, created at the Bell Laboratories research center, was launched in the United States.

The NMT and AMPS standards, which are generally considered to be the first generation of cellular communication systems, provided for data transmission in analog form, which did not allow for the proper level of noise immunity and protection from unauthorized connections. Subsequently, they developed improvements through the use of digital technologies modifications, for example, DAMPS (the first letter of the abbreviation owes its appearance to the word Digital).

The second generation standards (the so-called 2G) - GSM, IS-95, IMT-MC-450, etc., initially created on the basis of digital technologies, exceeded the first generation standards in sound quality and security, and also, as it turned out later, in the underlying to the standard of development potential.

Already in 1982, the European Conference of Postal and Telecommunications Administrations (CEPT) created a group to develop a common standard for digital cellular communications. The brainchild of this group was GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications).

The first GSM network was launched in Germany in 1992. Today, GSM is the dominant cellular communication standard both in Russia and throughout the world. In 2004, in our country, GSM networks served over 90% of cellular subscribers; in the world GSM was used by 72% of subscribers.

Several frequency ranges are allocated for the operation of GSM standard equipment - they are indicated by numbers in the names. In the European region, GSM 900 and GSM 1800 are mainly used, in America - GSM 950 and GSM 1900 (at the time the standard was approved in the USA, the “European” frequencies there were occupied by other services).

The popularity of the GSM standard was ensured by its significant features for subscribers:

– protection from interference, interception and “doubles”;

- Availability large number additional services;

– the ability, in the presence of “add-ons” (such as GPRS, EDGE, etc.), to provide data transmission at high speeds;

– presence on the market of a large number of telephones operating in GSM networks;

– simplicity of the procedure for changing one device to another.

In development cellular networks The GSM standard has acquired expansion capabilities due to some “add-ons” over the existing infrastructure, providing high-speed data transfer. GSM networks supporting GPRS (General Packet Radio Service) are called 2.5G, and GSM networks supporting EDGE (Enhanced Data rates for Global Evolution) are sometimes called 2.75G networks.

In the late 1990s in Japan and South Korea third generation networks (3G) appeared. The main difference between the standards on which 3G networks are built and their predecessors is the expanded capabilities of high-speed data transmission, which allows the implementation of new services in such networks, in particular, video telephony. In 2002–2003, the first commercial 3G networks began operating in some Western European countries.

Although 3G networks currently exist only in a number of regions of the world, work is already underway in the engineering laboratories of the largest companies to create cellular communication standards fourth generation. The focus here is not only on further increasing the data transfer speed, but also on increasing the efficiency of use bandwidth frequency ranges allocated for mobile communications so that a large number of subscribers located in a limited area can access services (which is especially important for megacities).

Other mobile communication systems.

In addition to cellular communications, today there are other civil communication systems that also provide mobile communications via radio channels, but are built on different technical principles and are aimed at other subscriber terminals. They are less common than cellular communications, but are used when using cellular phones is difficult, impossible or economically unviable.

The DECT microcellular communication standard, which is used for communications in a limited area, is becoming increasingly popular. A DECT base station is capable of providing handsets (up to 8 of them can be serviced simultaneously) with each other, call forwarding, and access to the public telephone network. The potential of the DECT standard makes it possible to provide mobile communications within urban neighborhoods, individual companies or apartments. They turn out to be optimal in regions with low-rise buildings, whose subscribers only need voice communication and can do without mobile data and other additional services.

In satellite telephony, base stations are located on satellites in low-Earth orbits. Satellites provide communications where the deployment of a conventional cellular network is impossible or unprofitable (at sea, in vast sparsely populated areas of tundra, deserts, etc.).

Trunking networks, which provide subscriber terminals (they are usually called not telephones, but radio stations) with communication within a certain territory, are systems of base stations (repeaters) that transmit radio signals from one terminal to another when they are significantly removed from each other. Since trunking networks usually provide communication to department employees (Ministry of Internal Affairs, Ministry of Emergency Situations, “ Ambulance", etc.) or at technological sites big size(along highways, at construction sites, on the territory of factories, etc.), then trunking terminals do not have entertainment capabilities and design refinements in design.

Wearable radios communicate with each other directly, without intermediate communication systems. Mobile communications of this type are preferred by both government (police, fire department etc.) and departmental structures (for communications within a warehouse complex, parking lot or construction site), as well as private individuals (mushroom pickers, hunter-fishermen or tourists), in situations where it is easier and cheaper to use pocket radios for communication with each other than cell phones (for example, in remote areas where there is no cell phone coverage).

Paging communication ensures the receipt of short messages to subscriber terminals - pagers. Currently, paging communications are practically not used in civil communications; due to their limitations, they are pushed into the field of highly specialized solutions (for example, they are used to notify personnel in large medical institutions, transmit data to electronic information boards, etc.).

Since 2004, a new subtype of mobile communication has become increasingly widespread, providing the possibility of high-speed data transmission over a radio channel (in most cases, the Wi-Fi protocol is used for this). Areas with Wi-Fi coverage available for public use (paid or free) are called hotspots. In this case, the subscriber terminals are computers - both laptops and PDAs. They can also provide two-way voice communication over the Internet, but this feature is used extremely rarely; the connection is mainly used to access the most common Internet services - e-mail, websites, instant messaging systems (for example, ICQ), etc.

Where is mobile communications going?

In developed regions, the main direction of development of mobile communications for the near future is convergence: providing subscriber terminals with automatic switching from one network to another in order to most effectively use the capabilities of all communication systems. Automatic switching, for example, from GSM to DECT (and vice versa), from satellite communications to terrestrial communications, will allow subscribers to save money and improve the quality of communications, and when providing wireless transmission data - between GPRS, EDGE, Wi-Fi and other standards, many of which (for example, WiMAX) are just waiting in the wings.

The place of mobile communications in the global economy.

Communications are the most dynamically developing sector of the world economy. But mobile communications, even compared to other areas of telecom, are developing at a faster pace.

Back in 2003, the total number of mobile phones on the planet exceeded the number of landline devices connected to public wired networks. In some countries, the number of mobile subscribers already exceeded the number of inhabitants in 2004. This means that some people used more than one “mobile”—for example, two cell phones with different carriers, or a voice phone and a wireless modem for mobile access in Internet. In addition, more and more modules wireless communication was required to ensure technological communications (in these cases, the subscribers are not people, but specialized computers).

Currently, cellular operators provide full coverage of the territory of all economically developed regions of the planet, but the extensive development of networks continues. New base stations are installed to improve reception in places where the existing network for some reason cannot provide stable reception (for example, in long tunnels, in metro areas, etc.). In addition, cellular networks are gradually penetrating into low-income regions. The development of mobile communication technologies, accompanied by a sharp reduction in the cost of equipment and services, makes cellular services accessible to an increasing number of people on the planet.

The production of cell phones is one of the most dynamically developing areas of the high technology industry.

The mobile phone servicing industry is also growing rapidly, offering accessories for personalizing devices: from original calls (ringtones) to key fobs, graphic screensavers, body stickers, replacement panels, cases and cords for wearing the device.

Types of phones.

Cellular (mobile) phone is a subscriber terminal operating in a cellular network. In fact, each cell phone is a specialized computer that is focused primarily on providing (in the coverage area of ​​a home or guest network) voice communication subscribers, but also supports text and multimedia messaging, is equipped with a modem and a simplified interface. Modern mobile phones provide voice and data transmission in digital form.

The earlier division of devices into “inexpensive”, “functional”, “business” and “fashion” models is increasingly losing meaning - business devices are acquiring the features of image models and entertainment functions as a result of the use of accessories cheap phones become image-bearing, and image-based ones quickly grow in functionality.

The miniaturization of tubes, which peaked in 1999–2000, was completed for quite objective reasons: the devices reached optimal size, their further reduction makes it inconvenient to press buttons, read text on the screen, etc. But the cell phone has become a real object of art: to be developed appearance devices attract leading designers, and owners are given ample opportunities to personalize their devices themselves.

Currently, manufacturers are paying Special attention functionality of mobile phones, and as the main one (increases the time battery life, screens are being improved, etc.), as well as their additional capabilities (digital cameras, voice recorders, MP3 players and other “related” devices are built into the devices).

Almost all modern devices, with the exception of some models in the lower price range, allow you to download programs. Most devices can run Java applications; the number of phones using operating systems inherited from PDAs or ported from them is increasing: Symbian, Windows Mobile for Smartphones, etc. Phones with built-in operating systems called smartphones (from the combination English words“smart” and “phone” - “smart phone”).

Today communicators can also be used as subscriber terminals - pocket computers, equipped with a module supporting GSM/GPRS, and sometimes EDGE and third generation standards.

Non-voice services of cellular networks.

Cellular network subscribers have access to a whole range of non-voice services, the “range” of which depends on the capabilities of a particular phone and the range of offers of the operator company. The list of services in your home network may differ from the list of services available in roaming.

Services can be communication (providing various forms of communication with other people), informational (for example, reporting weather forecasts or market quotes), providing access to the Internet, commercial (for paying for various goods and services from phones), entertainment ( mobile games, quizzes, casinos and lotteries) and others (this includes, for example, mobile positioning). Today, more and more services are appearing that are “at the intersection”, for example, most games and lotteries are paid, games using mobile positioning technologies are appearing, etc.

Almost all operators and most modern devices support the following services:

– SMS – Short Message Service – transmission of short text messages;

– MMS – Multimedia Messaging Service – transmission of multimedia messages: photos, videos, etc.;

– automatic roaming;

– identification of the calling subscriber number;

– ordering and receiving various means of personalization directly via cellular communication channels;

– access to the Internet and view specialized (WAP) sites;

– downloading ringtones, pictures, information materials from specialized resources;

– data transfer using the built-in modem (it can be carried out using various protocols depending on what technologies a particular device supports).

Mobile communications in Russia.

There were no civilian mobile communication systems in the USSR. With some stretch, one can call the Altai mobile telephony system “civilian”, built on the basis of the MRT-1327 standard, which at the turn of the 1970s and 80s was created to provide communications to representatives of the party, state and economic leadership. "Altai" is successfully operated to this day. Of course, it cannot compete with cellular networks, but it is used to solve some highly specialized problems: providing communications to mobile units of city emergency services, installing telephones in summer cafes, etc.

The first commercial cellular networks built according to the NMT standard were created in Russia in the fall of 1991. The pioneers of mobile telephony in our country were Delta Telecom (St. Petersburg) and Moscow Cellular Communications. The first call on a cell phone was made on September 9, 1991 in St. Petersburg: Anatoly Sobchak, then the mayor of the city, called his colleague, the mayor of New York.

In July 1992, the first calls were made on the BeeLine AMPS network.

The first Russian GSM network, created by MTS, began connecting subscribers in July 1994.

In 2005, there were three federal cellular operators in Russia providing services in the GSM standard: MTS, BeeLine and MegaFon. The range and quality of telecommunications services they offer, as well as their prices, are approximately the same. By 2005, the number of base stations in the networks of leading metropolitan operators in Moscow and the immediate Moscow region was about 3000, and the coverage area exceeded the area of ​​most European countries. In addition to them, numerous local operators exist and work quite effectively - as subsidiary structures " big three", as well as independent companies.

Operators are actively developing the market, increasing the coverage of their networks and popularizing mobile communications among a wide variety of segments of the population. If in the mid-1990s a cell phone was available only to representatives of the wealthiest segments of the population, today almost everyone can use mobile communications. Russian operators implement in their networks latest services and offer services built on their basis, often even ahead of most European companies. Currently, all three federal GSM operators are preparing for the deployment of commercial third-generation networks.

In addition to the GSM networks of federal and local cellular operators in Russia, networks of other standards continue to be used: DAMPS, IS-95, NMT-450, DECT and IMT-MC-450. The latter standard has federal status, and networks built on its basis (for example, SkyLink) are developing very actively. However, neither in terms of coverage area nor in the number of subscribers served, networks of all standards other than GSM cannot create noticeable competition for the leading three federal operators.

Literature:

Malyarevsky A., Olevskaya N. Your mobile phone(popular tutorial). M, "Peter", 2004
Zakirov Z.G., Nadeev A.F., Faizullin R.R. Cellular communication standard GSM. Current state, transition to third generation networks(“MTS Library”). M., “Eco-Trends”, 2004
Popov V.I. Basics of GSM cellular communications(“Engineering Encyclopedia of Fuel and Energy Complex”). M., “Eco-Trends”, 2005

It is hardly possible today to find a person who has never used a cell phone. But does everyone understand how cellular communications work? How does what we have all become accustomed to work and work? Are signals from base stations transmitted through wires or does it all work somehow differently? Or maybe all cellular communications function only through radio waves? We will try to answer these and other questions in our article, leaving the description of the GSM standard outside its scope.

At the moment when a person tries to make a call from his mobile phone, or when they start calling him, the phone is connected via radio waves to one of the base stations (the most accessible), to one of its antennas. Base stations can be seen here and there, looking at the houses of our cities, at the roofs and facades of industrial buildings, at high-rise buildings, and finally at the red and white masts specially erected for stations (especially along highways).

These stations look like rectangular boxes gray, from which various antennas protrude in different directions (usually up to 12 antennas). The antennas here work for both reception and transmission, and they belong to the cellular operator. The base station antennas are directed in all possible directions (sectors) to provide “network coverage” to subscribers from all directions at a distance of up to 35 kilometers.

The antenna of one sector is able to service up to 72 calls simultaneously, and if there are 12 antennas, then imagine: 864 calls can, in principle, be serviced by one large base station at the same time! Although they are usually limited to 432 channels (72*6). Each antenna is connected by cable to the control unit of the base station. And blocks of several base stations (each station serves its own part of the territory) are connected to the controller. Up to 15 base stations are connected to one controller.

The base station is, in principle, capable of operating on three bands: the 900 MHz signal penetrates better inside buildings and structures and spreads further, which is why given range often used in villages and fields; a signal at a frequency of 1800 MHz does not travel that far, but more transmitters are installed in one sector, so such stations are installed more often in cities; finally 2100 MHz is a 3G network.

Of course, there may be several controllers in a populated area or region, so the controllers, in turn, are connected by cables to the switch. The purpose of the switch is to connect the networks of mobile operators with each other and with city lines of regular telephone communication, long-distance communication and international communications. If the network is small, then one switch is enough; if it is large, two or more switches are used. The switches are connected to each other by wires.

In the process of moving a person talking on a mobile phone along the street, for example: he walks, drives public transport, or travels in a personal car - his phone should not lose the network for a moment, you cannot interrupt the conversation.

Continuity of communication is obtained due to the ability of a network of base stations to very quickly switch a subscriber from one antenna to another as he moves from the coverage area of ​​one antenna to the coverage area of ​​another (from cell to cell). The subscriber himself does not notice how he ceases to be connected to one base station and is already connected to another, how he switches from antenna to antenna, from station to station, from controller to controller...

At the same time, the switch provides optimal load distribution across a multi-level network design to reduce the likelihood of equipment failure. A multi-level network is built like this: cell phone - base station - controller - switch.

Let's say we make a call, and the signal has already reached the switchboard. The switch transmits our call to the destination subscriber - to the city network, to the international or long-distance communication network, or to the network of another mobile operator. All this happens very quickly using high-speed fiber optic cable channels.

Next, our call goes to the switch, which is located on the side of the recipient of the call (the one we called). The “receiving” switch already has data about where the called subscriber is located, in what network coverage area: which controller, which base station. And so, a network survey begins from the base station, the recipient is located, and a call is received on his phone.

The entire chain of events described, from the moment the number is dialed to the moment the call is heard on the receiving end, usually lasts no more than 3 seconds. So today we can call anywhere in the world.

Andrey Povny