Path: utzoo!telecom-request Date: Mon, 29 Apr 91 7:38:23 CDT From: Rich Zellich Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom Subject: Microcells: Test Underway in St. Louis Message-ID: Organization: TELECOM Digest Sender: Telecom@eecs.nwu.edu Approved: Telecom@eecs.nwu.edu X-Submissions-To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu X-Administrivia-To: telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 11, Issue 317, Message 7 of 13 Lines: 49 Extract from the Business Plus "magazine" insert in the Mon, Apr 29 {St. Louis Post-Dispatch}: _New_Cellular_Telephone_Service_To_Get_Test_Here_ By Jerri Stroud Of the Post-Dispatch Staff Southwestern Bell Mobile Systems, AT&T and Southwestern Bell-Technology Resources Inc. will test one of the newest technologies for expanding telephone service next month at a conference in St. Louis. The technology, called microcells, helps provide service in densely populated aread and inside buildings, where cellular radio waves often weaken. Essentially, it's a way to subdivide cells, the building blocks of a cellular telephone system. Each cell in a cellular telephone system has a radio tower that transmits signals from phones within the cell to a central switch and back again. As a user travels through the area, calls are handed off from one cell to another. The cellular structure allows celular companies to use radio frequencies over and over again. Cells can be subdivided as usage grows. Next month's demonstration will be part of the Vehicular Technology Conference sponsored by the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers. The conference runs May 19-22 at the Sheraton Westport Plaza. The event will be the first public demonstration of a microcell system unveiled by AT&T in January, the companies said. The new technology will allow cells with a radius as small as a few hundred feet. Most cells now are four to 20 miles in diameter. With current technology, cells need a large outdoor tower and a small building or underground vault to house electronic parts. Microcells are suitcase-sized packages that can be installed inside or outside a building, said AT&T spokeswoman Barbara Mierisch. AT&T expects to offer microcells commercially early next year. Southwestern Bell Mobile Systems expects to use microcells to provide better coverage for cellular users in high-density aread, such as airports, sports complexes or downtown buildings, said Walter Patterson, a spokesman for the Dallas-based subsidiary.