Directions in cellular telephony and implications for power systems

To say that the market for cellular telephony is growing would be an understatement, to say the least. There were approximately 90 million worldwide subscribers in 1995, and it is estimated that there will be over 500 million subscribers by the end of 2000. For the last three years, the number of worldwide subscribers has risen 30 percent per year. Not only has the number of subscribers risen, minutes of use per subscriber is also sharply rising. As users start to rely on their wireless phone as their main means of communication, demand on wireless systems can be expected to continue to increase. It is expected that the future will see a demand for wireless data services, as well as many applications requiring very small cells with low power consumption, and low cost. This paper explores the past, present, and future of cellular telecommunications and implications for power devices and systems