[BC] cell phone hash

[Rockwell Smith]

>
> Doesn't illumination impose a software overhead even though the site is
> not in communication with the phone? With phones on the surface this
> contention only (in most cases) happens briefly with one adjacent cell,
> but if illuminated from above, I'd think you'd have a bunch of cells
> chattering back and forth trying to decide which one had the best signal
> and would therefore be the communicating link.
>


I have not noticed this as much recently, but then again, I'm using
newer phones.  This happened back in the 3-watt bag-phone days...

>From one of our mountain-top TX sites, cell communication has always
been a mess.  Plenty of signal, but placing calls would take forever,
calls were missed, or didn't come in at all.  It turns out we "saw" too
many cell sites.  Software may be better now, but apparently the
"hand-off" only looked to adjacent cells....   not cells further
out..  Here is the strange event.  I called the main office from the
TX site.  The call when it went throug sounded funny, and when the
receptionist answered, I could still hear a line ringing.  She
said "hold on, the other lines are ringing".  As it turns out
I had rung in on 3 lines at the same time.  My call must have
been picked up by multiple sites, far enough removed from each other
that they didn't acknowledge the other sites also had the call....

This was 6 or 7 years ago, and I'm sure software is better now.

-- Rockwell