AMPS – Advanced Mobile Phone Service

By: Diane Shired, CTM

Meaning of AMPS – "Advanced Mobile Phone Service", is an analog technology that uses an 800MHz cellular band. Developed at Bell Labs and transferred to the regional Bell operating companies at the time of the divestiture in 1984, AMPS was put on the market in the 1980’s and is the worldwide cellular standard. Analog is no longer considered advanced, however, the seamless cellular switching technology AMPS is the original mobile. It was a first-generation technology using FDMA, this meant that each cell site would transmit on different frequencies. AMPS, the most widely used cellular system in the United States has a frequency of ranges between 800 to 900MHz allocated by the FCC.

AMPS analog services have been constantly updated with digital cellular services known as D-AMPS. AMPS is quickly being phased out and taken over by more advanced digital technologies, because more energy is needed to make and monitor calls from the cell phone. Providers rather use the digital technologies because it let them put several callers onto one channel.

In the wireless telephony, cellular derives from an area that is cover by a signal received from a transmitter which is called a cell (thus, the cell phone). User can move from one cell area to another without being notice.

Other Related Definitions:

“At one time, this system might well have been "advanced" compared to earlier methods. The original 800 Mhz analog cellular system introduced in North America in the early 1980s, now it's pretty much technically obsolete. However, even though it's been replaced by newer digital technology, in some rural areas from the US to Australia to Turkmenistan, it still might be the only mobile signal to be had. I often carry a pre-paid AMPS phone as a backup for non GSM-areas. An enhanced version called N-AMPS (Narrowband AMPS) offers some digital phone-like features such as text messaging. Most of the US now uses E-AMPS, for enhanced AMPS. Every country in the Western Hemisphere has 800 AMPS service, as well as American Samoa, Angola, China, South Korea, Lebanon, Nauru, Northern Mariana Islands, Solomon Islands, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Western Samoa” [ Telestial Wireless Solutions, Mobile Phone Guide]

“In 1978, AT&T conducted FCC-authorized field trials in Chicago and Newark, N.J. Four years later, the FCC granted commercial licenses to an AT&T subsidiary, Advanced Mobile Phone Service Inc. (AMPS). AMPS was then divided among the local companies as part of the planning for divestiture. Illinois Bell opened the first commercial cellular system in October 1983. AT&T re-entered the cellular business by acquiring McCaw Cellular in 1994, the same year that President Clinton awarded Frenkiel and Engel the National Medal of Technology. Today, AT&T Wireless (AWS) operates one of the largest digital wireless networks in North America. With more than 17 million subscribers, including partnerships and affiliates, and revenues exceeding $10 billion, AT&T Wireless is committed to being among the first to deliver the next generation of wireless products and services. AWS offers customers high-quality wireless communications services, whether mobile or fixed, voice or data, to businesses or consumers, in the United States and internationally.” [ Cellular Solutions, AT&T]

“The Advanced Mobile Phone Service (AMPS) technology perfected in 1983 in the USA was sold under licence to other parts of the world. In the UK, AMPS was developed into a somewhat more sophisticated system called TACS - Total Access Control System. The advantages of TACS were that it allowed for higher numbers of subscribers and enabled transmitters to use lower power and achieve more effective re-use of frequencies. TACS allowed direct dialling by and to users, and the mobile phones were connected to smaller, low-powered base stations so more calls could be made using the same number of frequencies.” [ BT, Connected Earth]

Related Links:

Learning Center - Mobile Communications
GCN - Good wireless pick depends on service
Focus on Internet News & Data (FIND) - e-Infrastructure

Technical Resources:

Matrix of Worldwide Wireless Telecommunication Standard Characteristics
Wireless and DSP Backgrounder, Andrew W. Davis
PCWorld, How to Buy a Cell Phone

Products and Solutions:

MOBILEDIA
Cellular Telephone Basics: AMPS and Beyond
How Cell Phones Work - AMPS

Blogs, News, Feeds, Discussion Lists:

Find narrowband advanced mobile phone service - information
History of Cellular Phones
Q&A with Dr Mike Gauba: Q1 - i-mode and 3G skeptic

Books About:

185 Wireless Secrets: Unleash the Power of PDAs, Cell Phones and Wireless Networks - by Jack McCullough
Mobile Media and Applications, From Concept to Cash : Successful Service Creation and Launch - by Christoffer Andersson, Staffan Ljung, Daniel Freeman, Andy Johnston, Ian James
Mobile VPN : Delivering Advanced Services in Next Generation Wireless Systems - by Alex Shneyderman, Alessio Casati
Symbian OS C++ for Mobile Phones : Programming with Extended Functionality and Advanced Features - by Richard Harrison
Map-based Mobile Services : Theories, Methods and Implementations - by Liqiu Meng, Alexander, Tumasch Reichenbacher

See Also:

Other AMPS Related Resources

 

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