Cellular communication is considered one of the most useful inventions of mankind - along with the wheel, electricity, the Internet and the computer. And in just a few decades, this technology has survived whole line revolutions. How wireless communication began, how cells work and what opportunities the new mobile standard will open 5G?

The first use of mobile telephone radio dates back to 1921 when the US Detroit police used one-way dispatch communication in the 2 MHz band to transmit information from a central transmitter to receivers in police cars.

How did the cell phone come about

For the first time, the idea of ​​cellular communication was put forward in 1947 - engineers from Bell Labs Douglas Ring and Ray Young worked on it. However, the real prospects for its implementation began to emerge only by the beginning of the 1970s, when the company's employees developed a working architecture for the cellular communication hardware platform.

So, American engineers suggested placing transmitting stations not in the center, but at the corners of the “cells”, and a little later a technology was invented that allows subscribers to move between these “cells” without interrupting communication. After that, it remains to develop operating equipment for such a technology.

Motorola successfully solved the problem - its engineer Martin Cooper demonstrated the first working prototype of a mobile phone on April 3, 1973. He called the head of the research department of a competitor company right off the street and told him about his own successes.

Motorola's management immediately invested $100 million in the promising project, but the technology entered the commercial market only ten years later. This delay is due to the fact that first it was required to create a global infrastructure base stations cellular communication.

On sale first cellular telephone entered March 6, 1983. It weighed almost 800 grams, could work on a single charge for 30 minutes of talk time and charged for about 10 hours. At the same time, the device cost $ 3,995 - a fabulous amount at that time. Despite this, the mobile phone instantly became popular.

Why is it called cellular

Principle mobile communications simple - the territory in which the connection of subscribers is provided is divided into separate cells or "cells", each of which is served by a base station. At the same time, in each "cell" the subscriber receives identical services, so he himself does not feel the crossing of these virtual boundaries.

Typically, a base station in the form of a pair of iron cabinets with equipment and antennas is placed on a specially built tower, but in the city they are often placed on the roofs of high-rise buildings. On average, each station catches a signal from mobile phones at a distance of up to 35 kilometers.

To improve the quality of service, operators are also installing femtocells - low-power and miniature cellular stations designed to serve a small area. They allow you to dramatically improve coverage in those places where it is needed. Cellular communications in Russia will be combined with space

A mobile phone on the network listens to the air and finds a signal from the base station. In addition to the processor and RAM, a modern SIM card has a unique key sewn into it that allows you to log in to the cellular network. Communication between the phone and the station can be carried out using different protocols - for example, digital DAMPS, CDMA, GSM, UMTS.

Cellular networks of different operators are connected to each other, as well as to the fixed line. telephone network. If the phone leaves the coverage area of ​​the base station, the device establishes communication with others - the connection established by the subscriber is imperceptibly transmitted to other "cells", which ensures continuous communication when moving.

In Russia, three bands are certified for broadcasting - 800 MHz, 1800 MHz and 2600 MHz. The 1800 MHz band is considered the most popular in the world, as it combines high capacitance, long range and high penetrating power. It is in it that most mobile networks now operate.

What mobile communication standards are

The first mobile phones worked with 1G technologies - this is the very first generation of cellular communications, which relied on analog telecommunication standards, the main of which was NMT - Nordic Mobile Telephone. It was intended exclusively for the transmission of voice traffic.

By 1991, the birth of 2G is attributed - the main standard of the new generation has become GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications). This standard is still supported today. Communication in this standard has become digital, it has become possible to encrypt voice traffic and send SMS.

The data transfer rate within GSM did not exceed 9.6 kbps, which made it impossible to transmit video or high-quality sound. The GPRS standard, known as 2.5G, was intended to solve the problem. For the first time, he allowed mobile phone owners to use the Internet.

Another difference with 3G was the assignment of an IP address to each subscriber, which made it possible to turn mobile phones into small computers connected to the Internet. The first commercial 3G network was launched on October 1, 2001 in Japan. In the future, the throughput of the standard has been repeatedly increased.

The most modern standard - communication fourth generation 4G, which is only for high-speed data services. Bandwidth 4G networks are capable of reaching 300 Mbps, which gives the user almost unlimited opportunities to surf the Internet.

Cellular communication of the future

The 4G standard is designed for the continuous transmission of gigabytes of information, it does not even have a channel for voice transmission. Due to extremely efficient multiplexing schemes, downloading a high-definition movie on such a network will take the user 10-15 minutes. However, even its capabilities are already considered limited.

In 2020, the official launch of a new generation of 5G communications is expected, which will allow the transfer of large amounts of data at ultra-high speeds up to 10 Gbps. In addition, the standard will allow you to connect to high speed internet up to 100 billion devices.

It is 5G that will allow the real Internet of Things to appear - billions of devices will exchange information in real time. According to experts, network traffic will soon grow by 400%. For example, cars will be constantly on the global network and receive traffic data.

Low latency will ensure real-time communication between vehicles and infrastructure. A reliable and always-on connection is expected to open the way for the first time to launch fully autonomous vehicles on the roads.

Russian operators are already experimenting with new specifications - for example, Rostelecom is working in this direction. The company signed an agreement on the construction of 5G networks in the Skolkovo innovation center. The implementation of the project is included in the state program "Digital Economy", recently approved by the government.

The Internet via mobile communications has long been no surprise to anyone. Moreover, in some places this is the only way to work more or less decently on the Internet. Cellular operators also felt it - and they sell cellular modems (and even kits with them) - and, moreover, quite inexpensively.
BUT! When selling these modems, operators are counting on inexperienced people (unfortunately, the majority of them) and those who do not understand the principles of radio wave propagation (there are even more of them). In reality, a cellular modem (hereinafter - just a modem) in those conditions when it is needed, works worse than a regular cell phone. I will try to explain why this happens to everyone - and, if possible, popularly.

1. Standing or lying down? How polarization affects reception

Radio waves (like others too) have such a thing as polarization. Roughly speaking, polarization shows in which plane the oscillation occurs. At the lessons of optics, I think everyone saw experiments with a polarizing filter. Turning it, it was easy to see that if the light, for example, is with horizontal polarization, then it does not pass through the "vertically oriented" filter. The same is true with radio waves. And the polarization of radio waves is determined by how the antenna is located. Vertically located emits radio waves of vertical polarization, horizontally located - horizontal.
Classically, the BS in cellular communications emits with vertical polarization. And why - it's easy to guess by the orientation of the phone during a call. In most cases, it is located more or less vertically.
In general, we ourselves can conduct an experiment on how the position of the phone during reception affects the signal level. Take the phone, place it vertically and look at the signal strength. Then in the same place (why - it will be written in paragraph 2) we will turn it horizontally. You will see that in most cases, when horizontal, the signal level will be one (or half) "stick" less. And such a difference in places with poor reception can significantly affect the quality of communication.
And now let's look at the modem - how is it located during operation? Horizontally! The phone, connected by the "blue tooth" with the computer, we can arrange as we like best - even horizontally, even vertically.
Of course, the modem can be connected with a USB extension cable and positioned as we need. But if you try it, you will see that it is much easier to place a phone vertically than a modem.

2. Multipath and weak signal

I think those who carefully watched the signal level in the phone noticed that often the signal level can change very much with small movements in space. Why is this happening?
And the thing is that signals from one (and, moreover, different) BS can come to the phone in different ways (this is called "multipath reception"). And, of course, each beam at each point has its own amplitude and its own phase. And this leads to the fact that the signals of different beams can both add up and subtract in different places.
Here we see that the phone connected via the "blue tooth" also has its advantage. We can drag it around the room and find the place where the signal is strongest. Carrying a computer with a modem is much less convenient, especially since the reception maxima and minima usually "float" in space.
Again, as in the previous example, a USB extension cable can help the modem. But even so, a blue tooth phone is "twice as good" as a USB modem. It's very simple - the length USB cable according to the standard it cannot be more than 5m, while the "blue tooth" category II works at 10m. Of course, you can put a USB hub in the middle and extend the "accessibility radius" to 10m. - but this turns out to be a rather cumbersome design, and it is not always physically possible, and the phone can be located in another room and even on the street for confident reception. And there may not be holes in order to stretch the USB cable.

The article is discussed at the General Forum

Periodically, there are reports that mobile phones are allegedly absolutely safe. Don't believe it! Firstly, there is a latent period for the development of brain tumors from electromagnetic radiation - 10-15 years. Such a period, from the moment of their mass use, has not yet passed. Secondly, the animal experiments that are cited often give ambiguous results. And, thirdly, there is a lot of money behind the companies that produce cell phones, and therefore there will always be a group of researchers that can get the desired result.
However, the most dangerous consequences of microwave radiation from cell phones are brain tumors (usually on the side of the preferred location when talking). The risk of neuroepithelial brain tumors is doubled. In persons who used cell phones for more than 6 years, the frequency of developing another tumor - schwannomas increased by 50%.

How to protect yourself?
when buying a phone, you should be interested in the SAR value;
do not use a cell phone unnecessarily;
at home and in the office, you should use ordinary wired telephones;
use SMS services more often;
use cell phones by children and adolescents under 16 years of age in case of emergency;
do not use a cell phone for pregnant women, starting from the moment the fact of pregnancy is established and during the entire period of pregnancy;
do not use a cell phone for persons suffering from diseases: neurological, including neurasthenia, psychopathy, psychosthenia, neuroses, the clinic of which is characterized by asthenic, obsessive, hysterical disorders, as well as a decrease in mental and physical performance, memory loss, sleep disorders, epilepsy and epileptic syndrome, epileptic predisposition;
while connecting with a subscriber, do not hold the phone near your head. At this time, its output power is maximum,
when using a cell phone, take measures to limit the impact of the electromagnetic field, namely: limit the duration of conversations (duration of a single conversation - up to 3 minutes), maximize the period between two conversations (minimum recommended - 15 minutes), mainly use cell phones with headsets and systems "free hands" ("hands free"), as well as, if possible, use the speakerphone;
during a call, hold the device with three fingers and be sure to lower part. If you hold the phone in your fist, the power of the device increases by about 70% and thus the exposure increases;
change the position of the handset during conversations and during the conversation (left and right);
when living in buildings made of reinforced concrete structures, a conversation on a mobile communication device should be carried out near a large window, on a loggia or balcony;
you should not talk in a car on a cell phone, in tunnels, in metal garages. In a car, use a cell phone with an external antenna, which is best positioned at the geometric center of the roof.
avoid any kind of plates that supposedly protect against radiation.

According to the existing in Belarus and Russia temporary acceptable levels electromagnetic radiation flux density (FP) on mobile phone users should not exceed 100 µW/cm2. It should be noted that under natural conditions the value of the flux density of high-frequency radiation is vanishingly small and amounts to only 10–15 μW/cm2.
According to international requirements, the radiant power of cell phones is measured in units of SAR. SAR (Specific Adsorption Rate) - specific absorbed power, expressed per unit mass of body or tissue. In SI units, SAR is defined in watts per kg (W/kg). Do not confuse this indicator with the nominal power of a cell phone, which is usually indicated in the instructions. Until recently, the upper limit of the SAR value in Europe was considered to be 2 W/kg.

The following gradation of SAR values ​​for mobile phones is generally accepted:
Very low SAR irradiance< 0.2 Вт/кг
Low SAR irradiance of 0.2 to 0.5 W/kg
Average SAR irradiance from 0.5 to 1.0 W/kg
High irradiance SAR > 1.0 W/kg

The SAR value is very difficult to measure. Requires special equipment and phantoms, i.e. imitators of tissues of the human body. There is no single method for measuring SAR in the world. Therefore, the data of this indicator, usually measured in independent centers, can even differ by several times. The most realistic is the measurement of the flux density of electromagnetic radiation (EP) of a cell phone, the calculation of its emissivity, based on the power of the device. It is by these indicators that you can really assess the security of your mobile phone.
So what is the health risk of mobile phones? In the action of any electromagnetic radiation, it is customary to distinguish two effects: thermal and non-thermal (the latter is often referred to as informational).
thermal effect. Explaining its essence does not make much sense. You can observe it if you put the chicken in the microwave and after a while you get a finished dish. Approximately the same effect is exerted by radiation from a cell phone. This is clearly seen in the computer visualization of the electromagnetic field. You can get this video file and view it with a regular player Windows Media. Consider also the fact that the antenna, the main emitter of the phone, is located 3-5 centimeters from your brain, on which the electromagnetic field acts. Naturally, the temperature of individual parts of the brain rises. With a long conversation, this effect can be felt by an increase in the temperature of the auricle. It is estimated that at a SAR value of 4 W/kg for 30 minutes, tissue temperature in a healthy adult rises by 1 degree Celsius. This is an unfavorable effect for any organs that will respond with a violation of their function. By the way, all the rationing of microwave radiation from cell phones, which was and will be discussed, is based only on the thermal effect. Another organ affected by cell phone radiation is the lens of the eye. Due to the performance of its very important functions - maintaining transparency and accommodation, it is poorly supplied with blood and therefore is especially susceptible to the action of electromagnetic radiation. And this affects visual acuity.
Non-thermal or informational effect. Very poorly studied. Its essence is as follows. Mobile phones of the GSM standard carry out the transmission of information by pulses combined into blocks (see the figure below). The block consists of 8 pulses. Each user has only one of the eight pulses at his disposal. The remaining seven belong to the other seven subscribers, who at this moment on this frequency can telephone conversations . The duration of one GSM block is 4.616 milliseconds (ms), so the mobile phone's pulse rate is 1/4.616 ms=216.6 Hz, or rounded 217 Hz. You can get a file with a recording of such a frequency of a mobile phone here. With the generation of every eighth pulse, a proportional release of energy also occurs. If the rated power of the cellular device, according to the instructions, is 2 W, then the power released with each pulse will be: 2/8=0.25 W. That's not all. The blocks of said pulses between the mobile phone and the base station are grouped into multiblocks consisting of 26 repetitions. Therefore, the second frequency that is emitted by a cell phone is the frequency: 217 / 26 = 8.35 Hz. Moreover, some types of mobile devices operating in power saving mode (DTX) are capable of generating a third frequency - 2 Hz. It is in this set of low-frequency radiation that the only danger of mobile communications lies. The fact is that the mentioned frequencies of cellular devices coincide with the frequencies of the natural bioelectrical activity of the human brain, which are recorded on the electroencephalogram (EEG). So the frequency of 217 Hz coincides with the so-called gamma rhythm of the brain, 8.35 Hz with the alpha rhythm, and 2 Hz with the delta rhythm. Consequently, from the outside (from close proximity) signals are transferred to the human brain, which is able to interact with the brain's own bioelectrical activity (for example, by resonance) and thereby disrupt its functions. Such changes are noticeable on the electroencephalogram and do not disappear for a long time after the end of the conversation. It is also very important to note that it is the alpha waves that are extremely individual, directly related to the mental activity of a person and, as they say, are a reflection of the scanning of internal images of consciousness. Abstract thinking is connected precisely with the alpha rhythm of the brain; during sleep, the delta rhythm predominates, and gamma waves - with active human activity. Is the negative impact of pulsating energy sources on the human body real? Doctors know such an example, when exposure to a person with pulsating lighting with a frequency of 15 Hz, which has a latent form of photosensitive epilepsy, led to a seizure. As you now enjoy the habit of some people to place a cell phone near the head of the bed and use it as an alarm clock. The mobile phone does not "sleep" at night, but constantly, even in the call waiting state, works in a pulsating mode.
A study conducted among 11,000 cellular users commissioned by the Norwegian Radiation Protection Board, the National Institute for Working Life (Sweden) and SINTEF Unimed (Norway) also indicates a greater exposure to radiation in young people. The study found that people who used their phone for less than 2 minutes a day complained of discomfort and side effects. Health problems increase if you use your phone for longer. Half of the surveyed subscribers reported that when using cell phones they experience an unpleasant heating in the head area, around the ear. Young people are most at risk. Those under 30 are 3-4 times more likely to experience side effects. Children are especially sensitive to high-frequency radiation from mobile phones.
It should be taken into account that under shielding conditions (a car, reinforced concrete buildings), the density of the electromagnetic radiation flux acting on a person increases many times over.
The main symptoms of cell phone adverse health effects are:
headache;
memory and concentration disorders;
persistent fatigue;
depressive illnesses;
pain and pain in the eyes, dryness of their mucosa;
progressive deterioration of vision;
lability of blood pressure and pulse
(it is shown that after talking on a mobile
telephone arterial pressure may rise
at 5 to 10 mmHg pillar).
Source

The air is always crowded. There are slightly more than fifty FM radio stations in Moscow, but almost every one of the 12 million inhabitants of the capital has a cell phone - a small personal radio. How do millions of switched on mobile phones do not interfere with each other? Read the tooltips on the diagram to find out.

1. An amateur walkie-talkie has 16 channels and “beats” for tens of kilometers. On a common territory, only 16 people with such walkie-talkies can transmit messages without interfering with each other. On a similar square in the city, tens of thousands of people can chat on mobile phones at the same time.

2. Technically, a walkie-talkie and a telephone are different from each other. The radio is much more powerful, but the phone “knows” more channels and works in duplex mode (see point 3).

3. Communicating on the radio, subscribers speak in turn ( half duplex mode ) , hence the peculiar culture of communication: “reception”, “understood you”, “end of communication”. Phone users listen and talk at the same time ( duplex mode ) , occupying two radio channels at once: one for transmission, one for reception.

4. The secret of cellular communication is that most of the distance between subscribers the signal travels by wire, and by radio - only the so-called "last mile".

5. "Cells" are the coverage areas of base stations (antenna complexes). The designation in the form of a hexagon is conditional. It's just that if you draw a circle around each base station, the intersection of these circles forms a figure with six faces.

6. The GSM 1800 standard, which is widespread in cities, provides 374 duplex channels for the entire cellular network. Channels are allocated in steps of 200 kHz (for a conventional FM receiver, the step is 100 kHz: different stations broadcast at 88.2 and 88.3 MHz). Neighboring cells must operate at different frequencies so as not to interfere with each other. In practice, each antenna complex receives from 1 to 16 channels, and this is quite enough: modern technologies allow serving up to eight subscribers even at one frequency.

7. Technology FDMA (Frequency Division Multiple Access) allows you to divide the allocated bandwidth of 200 kHz into eight channels of 25 kHz each - in a small area, reducing the step is not critical. FDMA was used in the past when the audio signal was transmitted in analog form (as in radio).

8. Today audio is digitized, compressed and divided into small packets that multiple phones can transmit and receive from the station in turn. Each is allocated one of eight time intervals (slots). The technology is calledTDMA (the first letter means Time - time) .

9. As soon as you turn on your mobile, it tunes to the service frequency - this is special channel, by which phones communicate with base stations “on official matters”. The station tells the phone the network identifier SID (among other things, it contains the name of the cellular operator). The phone responds with the SIM card parameters (including the unique an identification number MIN) - and registers on the network.

10. The switching center of the cellular network constantly monitors which base stations your phone is in the coverage area of, which of them is approaching and which is moving away from. If you receive a call, the switch will forward it to the tower closest to you. It will tell the phone through the service channel which channel and time slot it should tune to in order to receive the call.

11. High powerful stations with a large radius of action are installed in deserted places. Where there are many subscribers, on the contrary, they use weak antennas, but install them as often as possible so that there are not so many simultaneously working phones at each station. When walking in the center of the city, look around: most likely, an antenna is hiding somewhere nearby.

Yet: and .

Cellular communication has recently become so firmly entrenched in our everyday life that it is difficult to imagine modern society without it. Like many other great inventions mobile phone greatly influenced our lives, and in many of its areas. It's hard to say what the future would be like if it wasn't for this convenient form of communication. Definitely the same as in the movie "Back to the Future 2", where there are flying cars, hoverboards, and more, but no cellular service!

But today in a special report for kak_eto_sdelano there will be a story not about the future, but about how the modern cellular.

In order to learn about the operation of modern cellular communication in the 3G / 4G format, I invited myself to visit the new federal operator Tele2 and spent the whole day with their engineers, who explained to me all the intricacies of data transmission through our mobile phones.

But first, let me tell you a little about the history of the emergence of cellular communications.

The principles of wireless communication were tested almost 70 years ago - the first public mobile radiotelephone appeared in 1946 in St. Louis, USA. In the Soviet Union, a prototype mobile radiotelephone was created in 1957, then scientists from other countries created similar devices with different characteristics, and only in the 70s of the last century in America were determined the modern principles of cellular communication, after which its development began.

Martin Cooper - inventor of the portable cell phone prototype Motorola phone DynaTAC weighing 1.15 kg and measuring 22.5x12.5x3.75 cm

If in Western countries, by the mid-90s of the last century, cellular communications were widespread and used by a large part of the population, then in Russia it only began to appear, and became available to everyone just over 10 years ago.

Bulky brick-shaped mobile phones that worked in the formats of the first and second generations have gone down in history, giving way to smartphones with 3G and 4G, better voice communication and high speed Internet.

Why is it called cellular? Because the territory on which communication is provided is divided into separate cells or cells, in the center of which there are base stations (BS). In each "cell" the subscriber receives the same set of services within certain territorial boundaries. This means that when moving from one "cell" to another, the subscriber does not feel territorial attachment and can freely use communication services.

It is very important that there is continuity of the connection when moving. This is ensured by the so-called handover, in which the connection established by the subscriber is as if picked up by neighboring cells in a relay race, and the subscriber continues to talk or dig in social networks.

The entire network is divided into two subsystems: the base station subsystem and the switching subsystem. Schematically, it looks like this:

In the middle of the "cell", as mentioned above, is the base station, which usually serves three "cells". The radio signal from the base station is radiated through 3 sector antennas, each of which is directed to its own "cell". It happens that several antennas of one base station are directed to one "cell" at once. This is due to the fact that the cellular network operates in several bands (900 and 1800 MHz). In addition, this base station may have equipment of several generations of communication (2G and 3G) at once.

But only the third and fourth generation equipment - 3G / 4G, is installed on Tele2 BS towers, since the company decided to abandon the old formats in favor of new ones, which help to avoid breaks voice communication and provide more stable internet. Regulars of social networks will support me that in our time the speed of the Internet is very important, 100-200 kb / s is no longer enough, as it was a couple of years ago.

The most common location for a BS is a tower or mast built specifically for it. Surely you could see the red and white BS towers somewhere far from residential buildings (in a field, on a hill), or where there are no tall buildings nearby. Like this one, which is visible from my window.

However, in urban areas it is difficult to find a place for a massive structure. Therefore, in large cities, base stations are placed on buildings. Each station picks up a signal from mobile phones at a distance of up to 35 km.

These are antennas, the BS equipment itself is located in the attic, or in a container on the roof, which is a pair of iron cabinets.

Some base stations are located where you would not even guess. Like on the roof of this parking lot.

The BS antenna consists of several sectors, each of which receives / sends a signal in its own direction. If the vertical antenna communicates with phones, then the round one connects the BS to the controller.

Depending on the characteristics, each sector can serve up to 72 calls at the same time. A BS can consist of 6 sectors and serve up to 432 calls, but usually fewer transmitters and sectors are installed at stations. Cellular operators, such as Tele2, prefer to install more BS to improve the quality of communication. As I was told, the most modern equipment is used here: Ericsson base stations, transport network - Alcatel Lucent.

From the subsystem of base stations, the signal is transmitted towards the switching subsystem, where the connection is established with the direction desired by the subscriber. The switching subsystem has a number of databases that store information about subscribers. In addition, this subsystem is responsible for security. To put it simply, the switch is It has the same functions as the female operators, who used to connect you with the subscriber by hand, only now it all happens automatically.

The equipment for this base station is hidden in this iron cabinet.

In addition to conventional towers, there are also mobile variants of base stations placed on trucks. They are very convenient to use during natural Disasters or in crowded places (football stadiums, central squares) during holidays, concerts and various events. But, unfortunately, due to problems in the legislation, they have not yet found wide application.

In order to provide optimal ground level radio coverage, base stations are designed in a special way, therefore, despite a range of 35 km. the signal does not extend to the flight altitude of aircraft. However, some airlines have already begun installing small base stations on their aircraft to provide cellular communications inside the aircraft. Such a BS is connected to the ground cellular network by using satellite channel. The system is complemented by a control panel that allows the crew to turn the system on and off, as well as certain types of services, such as turning off the voice on night flights.

I also looked into the Tele2 office to see how specialists control the quality of cellular communications. If a few years ago such a room would have been hung to the ceiling with monitors showing network data (congestion, network failures, etc.), then over time, the need for such a number of monitors has disappeared.

Technology has evolved over time, and such a small room with a few specialists is enough to monitor the operation of the entire network in Moscow.

A few views from the Tele2 office.

At a meeting of company employees, plans are being discussed to capture the capital) From the beginning of construction to the present day, Tele2 has managed to cover all of Moscow with its network, and is gradually conquering the Moscow region, launching more than 100 base stations weekly. Since I now live in the area, it is very important to me. so that this network comes to my town as soon as possible.

The company plans for 2016 to provide high-speed communications in the metro at all stations, at the beginning of 2016 Tele2 communications are present at 11 stations: 3G / 4G communications at the Borisovo, Delovoy Tsentr, Kotelniki, Lermontovsky Prospekt metro stations , Troparevo, Shipilovskaya, Zyablikovo, 3G: Belorusskaya (Koltsevaya), Spartak, Pyatnitskoye Highway, Zhulebino.

As I said above, Tele2 abandoned the GSM format in favor of third and fourth generation standards - 3G / 4G. This allows you to install 3G / 4G base stations with a higher frequency (for example, inside the Moscow Ring Road, BS stand at a distance of about 500 meters from each other) to provide more stable communication and high speed mobile internet, which was not in the networks of previous formats.

From the company's office, I, in the company of engineers Nikifor and Vladimir, go to one of the points where they need to measure the communication speed. Nikifor stands in front of one of the masts, on which the equipment for communication is installed. If you look closely, you will notice a little further to the left one more such mast, with the equipment of other cellular operators.

Strange as it may seem, but cellular operators often allow their competitors to use their tower structures to accommodate antennas (naturally on mutually beneficial terms). This is because building a tower or mast is expensive, and such an exchange saves a lot of money!

While we were measuring the speed of communication, passers-by grandmothers and uncles asked Nikifor several times if he was a spy)) "Yes, we are jamming Radio Liberty!").

The equipment actually looks unusual, you can assume anything from its appearance.

The company's specialists have a lot of work, given that in Moscow and the region the company has more than 7 thousand employees. base stations: about 5 thousand of them. 3G and about 2 thousand. LTE base stations, and recently the number of BS has increased by about a thousand more.
In just three months, 55% of the total number of new base stations of the operator in the region were put on the air in the Moscow region. AT this moment the company provides high-quality coverage of the territory where more than 90% of the population of Moscow and the Moscow region lives.
By the way, in December, the 3G Tele2 network was recognized as the best in quality among all metropolitan operators.

But I decided to personally check how good Tele2's connection is, so I bought a SIM card in the nearest shopping center on Voikovskaya metro station, with the most simple tariff"Very black" for 299 r (400 sms/minutes and 4 GB). By the way, I had a similar Beeline tariff, which is 100 rubles more expensive.

I checked the speed without moving far from the cash register. Reception - 6.13 mb, transmission - 2.57 mb. Considering that I am standing in the center of a shopping center, this is a good result, Tele2 communication penetrates well through the walls of a large shopping center.

At metro station Tretyakovskaya. Signal reception - 5.82 mb, transmission - 3.22 mb.

And on m. Krasnogvardeiskaya. Reception - 6.22 mb, transmission - 3.77 mb. Measured at the exit of the subway. If we take into account that this is the outskirts of Moscow, it's very decent. I think that the connection is quite acceptable, we can confidently say that it is stable, given that Tele2 appeared in Moscow just a couple of months ago.

There is a stable Tele2 connection in the capital, which is good. I really hope that they will quickly come to the region and I will be able to fully use their connection.

Now you know how cellular communication works!

If you have a production or service that you want to tell our readers about, write to me - Aslan ( [email protected] ) and we will make the most best reportage, which will be seen not only by readers of the community, but also by the site http://ikaketosdelano.ru

Subscribe also to our groups in facebook, vkontakte,classmates and in google+plus, where the most interesting things from the community will be posted, plus materials that are not here and a video about how things work in our world.

Click on the icon and subscribe!