The mobile or cellular telephone system exploded in the mid 80's and quickly became associated with the upwardly mobile (sometimes referred to as the `yuppy') culture. Used almost exclusively by business due to high call charges, these telephones are now commonplace in many executive briefcases and car dashboards.
The mobile telephone network operates independently of, and in conjunction with, conventional telephone lines and exchanges, depending upon whether a call is mobile to mobile or mobile to conventional.
The signals transmitted and received by a mobile phone are microwaves. These signals are received by relay (transmit/receive) stations sited at strategic locations throughout the country. The signals are then passed to another station to be transmitted to a second mobile telephone or `patched' into conventional exchanges if the destination is a conventional telephone.
The major disadvantage of the mobile telephone system lies in the fact that in remote areas the user may not be within range of a relay station, rendering their telephone inoperative until they travel out of this `blind spot'!
