These days, nearly everyone owns a cell phone. They're
commonplace. Many have replaced their local phones (land line)
with cell phones. There are millions of them in use in the
world, and the number is likely to grow. Surprisingly, few
people really understand how cell phone technology even works. A
cell phone operates much like a fancy radio, transmitting and
receiving information over airwaves, conveniently removing the
need for wires or cables. Unlike radios, however, cell phones do
not directly communicate with each other. Instead, they
communicate through a common base station that consists of a
radio tower and other equipment that ties it into a much larger
communications system. A cellular phone system is essentially
comprised of a large hexagonal grid. The grid is broken down
into smaller pieces, called cells. Each cell is typically around
10 square miles in size and has its own local base station that
serves cellular users within its reach. Within each cell,
cellular phones use low-power transmitters