A mobile network tower presumably uses tons of power to pump radio waves capable of reaching my phone, but how does my phone – with its comparably tiny power source – manage to send a response all the way back?

Question

A mobile network tower presumably uses tons of power to pump radio waves capable of reaching my phone, but how does my phone – with its comparably tiny power source – manage to send a response all the way back?

In: Technology

Answer 1

Think of radio frequencies like light. Your phone sends a VERY specific color of “light”. When you send that through just the right filter so you ONLY see that specific color, most of the electromagnetic noise i.e. other lights shining everywhere, can be ignored, and the tower can pick up extremely weak signals.

In fact your phone is also very sensitive in this way, and you might be surprised how little power a cell tower uses to transmit. It’s more than your phone, but on a scale of a wifi router up to radio station you can pick up from hundreds of miles away – a cell tower is much closer to your wifi router.