A NEW type of antenna for cellphone handsets could slash the number of base station masts needed for the upcoming 3G mobile phone network. Finding sites for these masts is a major headache for the cellphone networks.
Cellphone base stations usually transmit a large number of signals simultaneously, each one intended for a different phone. So each phone within each cell has to pick out the call destined for it amid the welter of interfering signals. The stronger each individual signal is, the harder this is to do. But make the signals too weak and the antenna won’t be able…
