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  • What are the different types of phones and connections used to date?


    Interested in knowing the evolution and current information about phones and connections? Want to know how to select the best one and having the best features? On this Ask Expert page you can read the answers for your query.

    Many of us know about Landline and mobile phones but there are other types of telephones used by people but some are not known to many. I came to know about WLL (Wireless in Local Loop) telephone connections. I would like our experts to throw more light on the subject and tell us more about:
    a) What are the different types of phones and connections used to date?
    b) What is the difference between WLL and mobile phone connection?
    c) How to select the best one suitable for our use?
    d) What are the different features available on these phones?
    e) What is the latest technology used in phones these days?
    f) Any other additional details on the subject?
  • Answers

    4 Answers found.
  • a) What are the different types of phones and connections used to date?

    Earlier to Newer Telephones:
    1. Candlestick
    2. Desktop Rotary
    3. Touch Tone
    4. Wall Touch Tone
    5. Cordless Phone
    6. Mobile (Cell Phone)
    7. iPhone
    8. Satelite Mobile

    Connections:
    1G - Analog cellular
    2G - Digital cellular
    3G - Mobile Broadband
    4G - Native IP networks
    5G - Cellular Mobile Communications

    b) What is the difference between WLL and mobile phone connection?

    Wireless Local Loop (WLL) connects wireless connections to the PSTL using wireless technology makes a circuit between wireless users and exchange. And CDMA is a technology that transmits wireless calls by assigning the codes and many users can share the same frequency. GSM is a digital cellular communication technology accepted globally. And EDGE is an extraordinary step if GSN for faster data transmission.

    c) How to select the best one suitable for our use?

    The choosing of best will depend on your handset (Cell phone) and service provider. For example, if you have a cell phone that supports 3G then to get higher 4G then you need to get a new supported cellphone and the service provider that provides 4G service.

    d) What are the different features available on these phones?

    Application processor (CMOS system on a chip), Flash memory, Cellular modem, RF transceiver, Phone camera image sensor, Power Management Circuit, Bluetooth, WiFi, USB, Cameras (Front and Rear), Infrared, Memory Card Reader, GPS Navigation, Personal Digital Assistant, etc.

    e) What is the latest technology used in phones these days?

    iPhone mobile technology is an advanced technology. 5G is the best technology but the networks are still limited in speed and availability across the country,

    f) Any other additional details on the subject?

    Voice Over LTE (VoLTE) is a latest technology in cell phones for HD calling.

  • a) What are the different types of phones and connections used to date?
    The broad category is two- Landline and Mobile phone.
    The landline is one which is connected by cables to the nearest telephone Exchange. Earlier it was not easy or fast to telephone a person staying outside our phone exchange area. The facility to do was STD -Subscriber Trunk Dialling. It was very complicated and w have to first book a STD and then wait, The exchange will intimate us when connection is established and we can talk to the other person. The exchange person can hear what we talks if needed. The voice quality was so bad that we may need the help of the exchange person to convey the talk from one side to the other. It took waiting many hours also to get an STD call connected. But things changed and now we can dial any required number call and talk to that that person.
    Landlines were 'immobile'-they could not b carried from one place to another as they are connected by cable.
    WLL- Wireless in Local Loop was a slightly modified version of the landline with some application of wireless technology. .There is no cable connection between our phone set and the local exchange. Our phone is connected to the local exchange by wireless. However all our calls get routed through the local exchange. It was possible to carry our WLL phone to any place within the range and area of the local exchange. So WLL was a hybrid mobile-landline.
    Mobile phone- (Cell Phone)- It is totally wireless and needs a SIM to be functional. The device can be carried anywhere in the 'Circle' and many other places if the 'Roaming' facility is enabled. As of now roaming is enabled by default by almost all operators. This is feasible because mobile is always in connection with nearest 'Cell'.
    SIM -based landline: This did not become much popular. They were movable and carry-able and improvement on WLL. This was mostly working in CDMA. As CDMA itself was discontinued, SIM based landlines also discontinued.
    b) What is the difference between WLL and mobile phone connection?
    WLL is landline with wireless connection from exchange to device and can be moved to any place within local exchange area if range and jurisdiction permits it.
    Mobile phone functions only with a SIM card and can be taken anywhere within the Roaming permitted and facilitated circles.
    c) How to select the best one suitable for our use?
    Now there is not much choice. Almost all operators have discontinued WLL facility and only very few are continuing landline phones. They are also on the decline as new connections are not issued by most existing operators.
    d) What are the different features available on these phones?
    Landline- Only voice call.
    WLL -voice call plus data to some extent and condition. So text message and some other facility were possible.
    Mobile phone-Voice call, text message & data, that enabled audio and video,
    Smart phones- Phone plus data.So use as a phone and a computer.
    e) What is the latest technology used in phones these days?
    In India it is 4G facility that is available. But 5 G is being tested in many countries in the world.
    f) Any other additional details on the subject?
    There are many details but most of these are technical details not needed for a general context.
    Landlines were having rotary dials first, and then came button press dials. Mobile phones first came as feature phones with button keys and black and white display. There used to be projecting antenna also. Then they developed into smart phones with touch, multi colour display and various other developments and improvements –still going on.

  • Initially, we have only landlines. Those days only the phones which come under a particular exchange are having connectivity and they can talk to each other directly without going through the exchange. They are called local calls. But if you want to talk to any person whose phone connection is not from your exchange, you have to book a call by ringing your exchange. The operator will book a call and once he gets connected to the other number he will connect you to another number. It was taking a long time and also there was no clarity in the voice. In 1988 when I was staying in a town near to Hyderabad, to talk to my father I had to book a call and wait for 2 to 3 hours to get the call. Then STD came. STD facility is optional if you want you can take or you need not take. With this, it has become easy to connect long-distance people also directly dialling from our landline and the clarity was good. No waiting time. Then International calls ISTD came and we were able to contact internationally also directly without any delay. Those days it was a revolution. These phones are connected through cables and fixed in a location. Then came WLL phones. These phones were sending signals via Radio Signals. Its usual range is 30–35 km, You can carry this phone with you within that range and you can use. Each phone was given a code and if somebody calls you, the call will be received by the exchange and they will transmit to you using the code given to you. But the use is limited and it has become obsolete. Then the revolution in communication systems came and cell phones were introduced.GSM and CDMA are two types of mobile networks. GSM cell phones will have a SIM card slot. You can change the SIM card but CDMA cell phones do not use SIM cards. Again GSM type there are two types.
    They are 1. Feature Phone and 2. Smartphone. In smartphones again two types based in terms of OS inside. They are iOS and Android.
    In these two varieties, many companies are making different handsets and there are many service providers. You can see many companies manufacturing different varieties of smartphones which are compatibility to 5G also.
    The choice is yours. GSM phones and smartphones. These two are fixed. I hope no choice. But which company phone you select, what features you want in that is the individual choice and paying capacity.

    drrao
    always confident

  • Telephone communication has evolved significantly from the first working phone invented by Alexander Graham Bell in the year 1876. From that humble device it has today reached the heights of mobile phone technology and there were many developments in between which flourished for quite long before new inventions were made finally reaching the present stage. This area is still developing with fast pace and more progress is on the anvil. Let us come to the query wise answers -

    a) Historically, the first telephone was based on propagation of sound in strings. It did not have anything related to electricity. Children's telephone toys were made based on this by connecting two paper cups or metal cans with a string and two people could talk to each other for some distance determined by the length of the string. British physicist Robert had the credit of making one such acoustic string phone in 1667.
    Before invention of the telephone, electrical telegraph was invented in the year 1816 using electrical battery power which further improved to electromagnetic telegraph in the year 1832. Samuel Morse of USA also developed a similar system in the year1837 and introduced the famous morse code for communication. These things worked through hard wires.
    After invention of landline telephone by Graham Bell in the year 1876, there was a phenomenal growth in telephone industry. Then there came the concept and idea of telephone exchange in 1876 by a Hungarian engineer Tivadar Puskas.
    Thereafter came the hand-held, portable, two-way radio transceiver developed during the Second World War. They became much popular and after that were used in the industries also for various purposes to basically communicate with each other in the industrial environment especially the hazardous and isolated ones.
    This was followed by the development in inventing mobile phone. The initial mobile phones were bulky and people carried them in car. So, they were called as car phones also. In 1983, Motorola introduced DynaTAC 8000x in the market which was considered a true mobile phone as it was small enough to carry.

    b) After the popularisation of landline, where connection were given through hard wires extended to one's house, there came a need of local loops (LL) where some landline phones can be kept in a sub group and can function through the common connection. This was a costly proposition as hardwiring all those houses with copper wire (which was the preferred connecting medium at that time). Later, with wireless technology available it paved way for Wireless Local Loop (WLL) where through a common line a group of subscribers can be connected. On the other hand in mobile phone each connection is individually connected through the telephone company (telecom operator) to which one has subscribed.

    c) So far landline was thought to be the most robust of all. With developments in the mobile technology that is not the situation now. Mobile connection is as sturdy as a landline and moreover it is portable. So, definitely going for mobile is advised. Now a days some telecom operators are offering landline cum mobile telephony and that also appears as a good options especially for those subscribers who have more members in the house using phone and internet data. These companies are offering good data packages along with call time.

    d) There was a time when landline had a number of features and mobile was in its infancy. Now mobile has also come up in all respect and I do not think that feature wise we can differentiate between them. However, on a comparative note mobile has more features and affordable also.

    e) A lot of development is going on in the mobile technology and new features are being invented time to time. Some of the emerging technologies are foldable mobile phones, high RAM and high storage are also being added, and high resolution cameras are included. Unlocking the phone by tapping at any place on the screen, quick charging etc are already introduced. We can expect more in the coming times.

    Knowledge is power.


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