Overview

A lot has happened in the cellular world since its original introduction in 1984. In 1984 when cellular communications became the hot button in the industry, all systems used analog radio transmissions. Many reasons were used to justify the cellular networks. These included very limited service areas, where you just could not get service where you wanted or needed it. Poor transmission haunted the operators because of the nature of the radio systems at the time. Users experienced excessive call setup delays. Heavy demand and limited channels were some of the most common problems in an operating area.

Analog cellular radio systems used Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA), which is an analog technique designed to support multiple users in an area with a limited number of frequencies. Analog radio systems use analog input, such as voice communications. Because these systems were designed around voice applications, no one had any thought of the future transmission of data, fax, packet data, and so on from a vehicle.

Back then, no one was sure what the acceptance rate would be. Currently, there are over 100 million cellular users in the United States. Approximately 100 to 150,000 new users sign up every month, yet 2001 2002 saw some significant slowdowns in the overall new subscriptions. Estimates are that four of five new telephones sold today are wireless telephones. Therefore, acceptance has become a nonissue. The new problem is not one of acceptance, but of retaining users. The churn ratio has been as high...