Keeping cell phone signals in check

Last Update: 11/16/2009 4:57 pm

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Keep cell phone signals in check

WICHITA, Kansas – Ever wonder how cell phone companies test their networks? Well it’s actually not too far off a popular TV commercial.

The white Chevy Tahoe blends into traffic so well it is nearly invisible. You would never know the plain SUV is worth more than a Ferrari.

“I think the going rate for one is probably $350,000 to $400,000,” said LeRoy Brown, a Verizon Wireless technician.

The options that separate this truck from the rest of the heard are hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of electronics packed into the back. Verizon Wireless operates a fleet of the hi-tech vehicles to test its network all across the country.

“This is just a way to collect data. The truck is a big data receptacle. We take that information to make the network better. It's a big, glorified, rolling cell phone -- well maybe many cell phones,” said Brenda Hill with Verizon Wireless.

Let's face it -- the phone part of a cell phone is just one thing the device does. You can browse the Internet, download music, text your friends, update your Facebook and check your Twitter. But if there is no signal, that electronic umbilical cord becomes a very expensive paperweight.

To check that signal, they use a conversation that sounds like complete gibberish but it allows the computers to check the clarity of each signal and it’s more effective than saying “can you hear me now?”

“They came up with a series of tones that occurs on a cellular telephone call,” said Brown. “It doesn't sound like any conversation I've ever heard but I believe it is comprised of all the different syllables, different inflection. It uses a male and female voice.”

Basically, if the network can clearly transmit and receive the phrases then all of the important stuff you have to talk about should sound just fine.

The Verizon technicians really rack up the road time. In one month, each unit will travel between 3,000 and 5,000 miles, logging data and tracking population and usage patterns across its network.

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