Mobile phone operator

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A mobile phone operator, wireless provider, or carrier is a mobile telecommunications company that provides wireless Internet GSM services for mobile device users. The operator gives a SIM card to the customer who inserts it into the mobile device to gain access to the service.

Contents

There are two types of mobile operators:

As of May 2016 (and for years before), the world's largest individual mobile operator by subscribers is China Mobile with over 835 million mobile subscribers. [1] [2] Over 50 mobile operators have over 10 million subscribers each, and over 150 mobile operators had at least one million subscribers by the end of 2009. [3] In February 2010, there were 4.6 billion mobile subscribers, a number that is estimated to grow. Total mobile‐cellular subscriptions reached almost 6 billion by end 2011, corresponding to a global penetration of 86% .

History

Prior to 1973, cellular mobile device technology was limited to devices installed in cars and other vehicles. [4] The first fully automated telephone calling system for vehicles was launched in Sweden in 1960, called MTA (mobile telephone system A). Calls from the car were direct dial, whereas incoming calls required an operator to determine which base station the device was currently at. In 1962, an upgraded version called Mobile System B (MTB) was introduced. In 1971, the MTD version was launched, opening for several different brands of equipment and gaining commercial success. [5] [6] The network remained open until 1983 and still had 600 customers when it closed.

In 1958, development began on a similar service in the USSR, the Altay system for motorists. [7] In 1963, the service started in Moscow, and by 1970, was deployed in 30 cities across the USSR. Versions of the Altay system are still in use today as a trunking system in some parts of Russia.

In 1959 a private telephone company located in Brewster, Kansas, US, the S&T Telephone Company, (still in business today) with the use of Motorola radio telephone equipment and a private tower facility, offered to the public cellular telephone services in that local area of NW Kansas.

In 1966, Bulgaria presented the pocket mobile automatic telephone RAT-0,5 combined with a base station RATZ-10 (RATC-10) on Interorgtechnika-66 international exhibition. One base station, connected to one telephone wire line, could serve up to six customers.[ citation needed ]

One of the first successful public commercial mobile phone networks was the ARP network in Finland, launched in 1971.

On April 3, 1973, Martin Cooper, a Motorola researcher and executive, made the first analog mobile phone call using a heavy prototype model. He called Dr. Joel S. Engel of Bell Labs. [8]

The first commercially automated cellular network (the 1G generation) was launched in Japan by NTT in 1979. The initial launch network covered the full metropolitan area of Tokyo's over 20 million inhabitants with a cellular network of 23 base stations. Within five years, the NTT network had been expanded to cover the whole population of Japan and became the first nationwide 1G network. Several other countries also launched 1G networks in the early 1980s including the UK, Mexico and Canada.

In the 1990s, the 'second generation' (2G) mobile phone systems emerged, primarily using the GSM standard. In 1991, the first GSM network (Radiolinja) launched in Finland.

American and Canadian wireless providers tend to subsidize phones for consumers but tend to require 2 or 3-year contracts, while Asian and European providers sell the phone at full cost while the monthly fees charged are lower. [9]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Advanced Mobile Phone System</span> Analog mobile phone system standard

Advanced Mobile Phone System (AMPS) was an analog mobile phone system standard originally developed by Bell Labs and later modified in a cooperative effort between Bell Labs and Motorola. It was officially introduced in the Americas on October 13, 1983, and was deployed in many other countries too, including Israel in 1986, Australia in 1987, Singapore in 1988, and Pakistan in 1990. It was the primary analog mobile phone system in North America through the 1980s and into the 2000s. As of February 18, 2008, carriers in the United States were no longer required to support AMPS and companies such as AT&T and Verizon Communications have discontinued this service permanently. AMPS was discontinued in Australia in September 2000, in India by October 2004, in Israel by January 2010, and Brazil by 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SMS</span> Text messaging service component

Short Message Service, commonly abbreviated as SMS, is a text messaging service component of most telephone, Internet and mobile device systems. It uses standardized communication protocols that let mobile phones exchange short text messages. Additionally, an intermediary service can facilitate a text-to-voice conversion to be sent to landlines.

The Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) is a third generation mobile cellular system for networks based on the GSM standard. Developed and maintained by the 3GPP, UMTS is a component of the International Telecommunication Union IMT-2000 standard set and compares with the CDMA2000 standard set for networks based on the competing cdmaOne technology. UMTS uses wideband code-division multiple access (W-CDMA) radio access technology to offer greater spectral efficiency and bandwidth to mobile network operators.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roaming</span> Wireless telecommunication term

Roaming is a wireless telecommunication term typically used with mobile devices, such as mobile phones. It refers to a mobile phone being used outside the range of its native network and connecting to another available cell network.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">3G</span> Third generation of wireless mobile telecommunications technology

3G is the third generation of wireless mobile telecommunications technology. It is the upgrade to 2G, 2.5G, GPRS and 2.75G Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution networks, offering faster data transfer, and better voice quality. This network was superseded by 4G, and later by 5G. This network is based on a set of standards used for mobile devices and mobile telecommunications services and networks that comply with the International Mobile Telecommunications-2000 (IMT-2000) specifications set by the International Telecommunication Union. 3G is used in wireless voice telephony, mobile Internet access, fixed wireless Internet access, video calls and mobile TV.

A mobile network operator (MNO), also known as a mobile network provider, wireless service provider, wireless carrier, mobile network carrier, or cellular company, is a telecommunications provider of services that sells, delivers and maintains mobile telephony services to an end user.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mobile virtual network operator</span> Wireless telecom service reseller

A mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) is a wireless communications services provider that does not own the wireless network infrastructure over which it provides services to its customers. An MVNO enters into a business agreement with a mobile network operator to obtain bulk access to network services at wholesale rates, then sets retail prices independently. An MVNO may use its own customer service, billing support systems, marketing, and sales personnel, or it could employ the services of a mobile virtual network enabler (MVNE).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cellular network</span> Communication network

A cellular network or mobile network is a telecommunications network where the link to and from end nodes is wireless and the network is distributed over land areas called cells, each served by at least one fixed-location transceiver. These base stations provide the cell with the network coverage which can be used for transmission of voice, data, and other types of content. A cell typically uses a different set of frequencies from neighboring cells, to avoid interference and provide guaranteed service quality within each cell.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Car phone</span> Telephone intended to be used in a car

A car phone is a mobile radio telephone specifically designed for and fitted into an automobile. This service originated with the Bell System and was first used in St. Louis, Missouri, United States, on June 17, 1946.

Rogers Wireless Inc. is a Canadian wireless telephone company headquartered in Toronto, providing service nationally throughout Canada. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Rogers Communications. The company had revenues of just under $15.1 billion in 2018. Rogers Wireless is the largest wireless carrier in Canada, with 13.7 million subscribers as of Q2 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mobile telephony</span> Provision of telephone services to phones

Mobile telephony is the provision of telephone services to mobile phones rather than fixed-location phones. Telephony is supposed to specifically point to a voice-only service or connection, though sometimes the line may blur.

1G refers to the first generation of cellular network (wireless) technology. These are mobile telecommunications standards that were introduced in the 1980s and were superseded by 2G. The main difference between these two mobile cellular generations is that the audio transmissions of 1G networks were analog, while 2G networks were entirely digital.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of mobile phones</span> Mobile communication devices

The history of mobile phones covers mobile communication devices that connect wirelessly to the public switched telephone network.

The Personal Handy-phone System (PHS), also marketed as the Personal Communication Telephone (PCT) in Thailand, and the Personal Access System (PAS) and commercially branded as Xiaolingtong in Mainland China, was a mobile network system operating in the 1880–1930 MHz frequency band, used mainly in Japan, China, Taiwan, and some other Asian countries and regions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ice Wireless</span> Northern Canadian telecommunications company

Ice Wireless is a Canadian mobile network operator and telecommunications company that provides 4G/LTE mobility services, mobile broadband Internet, and fixed line telephone in Canada's northern territories: Yukon, the Northwest Territories, Nunavut, and Nunavik, Quebec. The company's corporate headquarters are located in Markham, Ontario.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wi-Fi calling</span> Protocol that extends mobile voice, data and multimedia applications over IP networks

Wi-Fi calling, also called VoWiFi, refers to mobile phone voice calls and data that are made over IP networks using Wi-Fi, instead of the cell towers provided by cellular networks. Using this feature, compatible handsets are able to route regular cellular calls through a wireless LAN (Wi-Fi) network with broadband Internet, while seamlessly change connections between the two where necessary. This feature makes use of the Generic Access Network (GAN) protocol, also known as Unlicensed Mobile Access (UMA).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Femtocell</span> Small, low-power cellular base station

In telecommunications, a femtocell is a small, low-power cellular base station, typically designed for use in a home or small business. A broader term which is more widespread in the industry is small cell, with femtocell as a subset. It typically connects to the service provider's network via the Internet through a wired broadband link ; current designs typically support four to eight simultaneously active mobile phones in a residential setting depending on version number and femtocell hardware, and eight to sixteen mobile phones in enterprise settings. A femtocell allows service providers to extend service coverage indoors or at the cell edge, especially where access would otherwise be limited or unavailable. Although much attention is focused on WCDMA, the concept is applicable to all standards, including GSM, CDMA2000, TD-SCDMA, WiMAX and LTE solutions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mobile phone signal</span> Signal strength received by a phone from a network

A mobile phone signal is the signal strength received by a mobile phone from a cellular network. Depending on various factors, such as proximity to a tower, any obstructions such as buildings or trees, etc. this signal strength will vary. Most mobile devices use a set of bars of increasing height to display the approximate strength of this received signal to the mobile phone user. Traditionally five bars are used.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mobile phone</span> Portable device to make telephone calls using a radio link

A mobile phone or cell phone is a portable telephone that can make and receive calls over a radio frequency link while the user is moving within a telephone service area, as opposed to a fixed-location phone. The radio frequency link establishes a connection to the switching systems of a mobile phone operator, which provides access to the public switched telephone network (PSTN). Modern mobile telephone services use a cellular network architecture, and therefore mobile telephones are called cellphones in North America. In addition to telephony, digital mobile phones support a variety of other services, such as text messaging, multimedia messaging, email, Internet access, short-range wireless communications, satellite access, business applications, payments, multimedia playback and streaming, digital photography, and video games. Mobile phones offering only basic capabilities are known as feature phones ; mobile phones that offer greatly advanced computing capabilities are referred to as smartphones.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mobile phone industry in Japan</span>

The Japanese mobile phone industry is one of the most advanced in the world. As of March, 2022 there were 199.99 million mobile contracts in Japan according to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications. This is 158 percent of Japan's total population.

References

  1. ↑ Operation Data – Customer Numbers Archived October 16, 2012, at the Wayback Machine China Mobile Official Site
  2. ↑ Tania Branigan (January 11, 2010). "State owned China Mobile is world's biggest mobile phone operator". Guardian News and Media Limited. Archived from the original on September 9, 2013. Retrieved December 17, 2011.
  3. ↑ Source: wireless intelligence
  4. ↑ See Amos Joel patent 3,663,762.
  5. ↑ "Mingtao Shi, Technology base of mobile cellular operators in Germany and China, page 55". Archived from the original on July 15, 2023. Retrieved March 15, 2023.
  6. ↑ Facts about the Mobile. A Journey through Time Archived August 24, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
  7. ↑ "The first Russian mobile phone". Archived from the original on February 17, 2010. Retrieved December 17, 2011.
  8. ↑ Shiels, Maggie (April 21, 2003). "BBC interview with Martin Cooper". BBC News. Archived from the original on February 26, 2009. Retrieved December 17, 2011.
  9. ↑ "Is the end of the $0 phone coming?". Archived from the original on September 10, 2012.
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