How cell towers work

When a person makes a cell phone call, a signal is sent from the phone’s antenna to the cell tower’s antenna. The cell tower responds to this signal by assigning it an available RF channel. Transmission and reception of these radio signals transfer the voice information to the tower. Next, the voice signals are sent to a switching centre, which transfers the call to its destination.

Cell tower antennas need to be located high enough so they can adequately cover the area. They usually range in height from 150-270 feet.

The energy from a cell phone antenna, like that of other telecommunication antennas, is directed toward the horizon, with some downward scatter. The cell tower antennas use higher power levels than other types of land-mobile antennas, but much lower levels than radio and television broadcast stations.

The power density decreases with increasing distance from the antenna. As a result, the level of exposure to radio waves at ground level is very low compared to the level close to the antenna.