TV Signals through Cell Towers

[Random]

Anyone ever consider that, not just for cellphones with their tiny screens, but for a cellular television unit?

[craigwatanabe]

Re: TV Signals through Cell Towers

There are only so many users that can occupy a particular cell site at any given time. With Cell TV you'd have users "parked" there for hours on end making it difficult for others to use their cell phones.

[Random]

Re: TV Signals through Cell Towers

Didn't realize those towers can handle limited amount of signal use.

So, does Wi-Fi IP uses a different type of towers (albeit in limited place)?

[68-eldo]

Re: TV Signals through Cell Towers

If I understand it correctly the old analog cell phones occupied two channels, one for send and one for receive. With a limited number of channels on a given tower only a relative few phones can use a tower at once. The digital phones send and receive using digitally compressed signals in packets. Each packet is addressed to a specific device by Electronic Serial Number (ESN). Several digital phones can use the same channel. But poor signal strength means lost packets that must be resent which in turn means fewer phones can use the channel.

Broadcast signals like that used for TV are just spewed out with no address. Unlike the cell phone that will process only the packets addressed to it any TV can receive and process the signal. Also the TV does not send any info back to the transmitter.

This does not mean that a cell tower can not send out TV signals, but why? It is a different signal for a different purpose. Maybe with the demise of the analog TV signal this might become more viable, but that would depend on the frequency of the signal and how much it would interfere with the cell service.

[craigwatanabe]

Re: TV Signals through Cell Towers

Didn't realize those towers can handle limited amount of signal use.

So, does Wi-Fi IP uses a different type of towers (albeit in limited place)?

WiFi is something totally different using antennas directly from the routers or access points emitting them.