CMTS is an acronym for Cellular Mobile Telephone System. The most common CMTS telephone operates at 800 - 900 MHz through several transmitter sites that are link to a central computer that controls the transfer coordination. Each of these sites is called a "cell", hence the name cell phone. The name derives from the honeycomb shpe that they have and may cover a distance of up to six miles or more each in every direction.

Each individual cell can handle up to 45 different voice channels operating at different trnasmitting and receiving frequencies when sending information from one cell to another.

All cells of a particular cell phone company are related to a Mobile Telepone Switching Office (MTSO). These offices track and coordinate cell phones through the unique cell phone ID assigned to each in its service area. This unique cell phone ID is the Electronic Security Number (ESN). Unlike the cell phone's number, the ESN is a permanent ID engraved into the equipment's EPROM (memory chip), in the telephone's chassis.

Cell phones around the world:

Austria and Germany: Handy

China: da ge da (big brother)

Finland: kanny (extension of the hand)

France: le portable, le mobile

Greece: kinito (movable)

Australia: mobile

Israel: pelephone (wonder phone)

Italy: telefonino (little phone)

Japan: keitai (portable)

Turkey: cep (pocket)