PERSONAL COMMUNICATIONS NETWORKS BRIDGING THE GAP BETWEEN CELLULAR AND CORDLESS PHONES

Today's cellular radiotelephone systems currently serve some 12 million subscribers but at average costs of $70/month for service, cellular remains a business, not a consumer, service. On the other hand, cordless phones are already a consumer product in over 40% of U.S. households and annual sales of new cordless phones are already greater than sales of regular corded phones. Personal Communications Networks (PCN) providing Personal Communications Services (PCS) are designed to bridge the gap between expensive public cellular and private cordless services. In this paper we will explore PCN/PCS topics including: a definition of the service, identification of the underlying technologies, and discussion of tradeoffs between the technologies.