The ubiquitous cell phone has revolutionized the way people communicate. Communication has become more efficient, and way more accessible. Gone are the days of searching for a pay phone, and then searching for those evasive quarters. Cell phones have evolved from a large, one-dimensional device to its present multi dimensional, small form. They keep millions of people in touch with business, family and friends. In addition, they are proven to be very valuable during times of emergency. Contemporary cell phones perform many functions, access to the Internet, access to streaming data, video cameras, and entertainment. They are clearly a great way to communicate, and in some cases are replacing traditional telephones.

In 1843 Michael Faraday did a series of experiments that ultimately lead to the underlining principals of today’s cell phones. By 1947, a crude mobile phone was developed, and in 1977 cell phones went public. The city of Chicago was where the first service was started with around 2000 subscribers. The term cell phone originated from the use of many base stations to divide service areas into multiple cells. These multiple cells allowed for a wider range of coverage, and a greater call volume. The 1980′s saw a genuine proliferation of cell phone use, and by the 1990s analog signals were being replaced by digital signals.

Like televisions, computers, and all other electrical devices, mobile phones emit electromagnetic radiation. The fear was that these devices were being held to close to an individual’s head, and this radiation could cause some form of brain cancer. In a 1999 study, investigators at the Orebro Medical Centre in Sweden compared the past mobile phone use of 209 Swedish brain tumor patients and 425 healthy people. The study found no mobile phone/brain cancer link in virtually all respects, cancer researcher John E. Moulder, Ph.D., says. All the available scientific evidence does not show that any health problems are associated with using wireless phones in adults, children, and teenagers. In spite of this, prudent precautions should be exercised. These include taking measures to move the cell phone antenna at least eight inches away from your head by using hands-free sets, remote earpieces and microphones, or installing radiation shields for hand held phones.

In spite of the unbelievable demand for cell phones, it took cellular phone service 37 years total to become commercially accessible in the US, according to the Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association. Today there are more than 60 million customers with cell phones, in spite of the fact that wireless service was just developed nearly 50 years ago. The cellular business was a $3 million market 25 years ago and has grown exponentially to close to a $30 billion per year industry, and projections far exceed those numbers.

Jay B Stockman is a contributing editor for Online Cell Phone Resources Visit http://cheapcellphoneonline.com/ for more information.

Understanding how your cellular minutes work is one of the most confusing and least understood aspects of any wireless communications plan. It’s not surprising that this lack of understanding is what leads to shockingly high phone bill surprises. So if you want to prevent getting one it’s important to have a basic understanding of how they work.

You basic cell phone plans come with a monthly allotment of anytime minutes, and usually free or night and/or weekend minutes. When you make a call the thing to understand is the phone company is going to use the most expensive minutes first. For example let’s say your plan has 200 minutes per month. During the first week of the month all of your calls are made during the day using what are known as peak minutes. You make 120 minutes worth of calls. For the remainder of the month you make 200 minutes worth of calls but they are all at night during the time when your carrier offers free calling. You’ve used 320 minutes worth of calling time for the month. However to your wireless provider you used 200 of your anytime minutes, and they gave you 120 minutes of free night time calling.

Many people make the assumption they only used 120 minutes of calling time and have 80 minutes left unused, which is incorrect. This incorrect assumption can compound itself if the customers has a rollover plan and assumes 80 minutes are “going into the bank”. For this calling period however there will be no overage charges.

Lets look at another example. During the first three weeks of the month you make 200 minutes worth of calls at night during the free calling period. The the last week in the month you make 120 minutes of calls during the day or peak hours. You made 320 minutes worth of calls but the 200 were at night and were free and the 120 is less than the 200 so there will be no overage charges right? Well if you thought like that you’ll be pretty surprised with the overage charges that came on your next bill. Your wireless provider used your 200 anytime minutes during the first three weeks when you were calling at night. So when you made the 120 minutes of calls the last week of the month they were all peak overage minutes. Overage minutes are always billed at higher cost than regular minutes which makes the problem worse.

The key point to understand is the wireless provider is always going to use the most expensive minutes first. In fact it’s impossible to use “free night and weekend minutes” until you have gone through all of your anytime minutes first. Understanding exactly how your wireless minutes work can help you plan out how to avoid overage charges at the end of the month

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Josephine Mills publishes telecommunications articles on http://www.cellular-advisor.com where she
discusses a wide variety of topics related to Cell Phones and other wireless communication subjects.