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| If you live or are visiting a foreign country and are willing to shoot a few pictures of mobile phone equipment, then your photo and name credit could be on one of these pages.
International Pictures: Asia | Europe | Middle East | Australia | Central America | South America | Africa | Antarctica
Asian Cellular/Mobile Equipment Pictures
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Japan
In Japan cellular phones are very popular and in urban centres everyone seems to have one glued to their hands. Phones are extremely popular with the younger generation (under 40) and when they are not talking on their phones they are sending email messages, playing games, or even checking their signal strength to make sure that they don't miss a call or email. Most phones are of the flip variety with large TFT colour screens. Some of the newer phones come with little webcams or built-in GPS units. Often people decorate their phones with little icons or figurings that hang off the external antenna. Learn more about the Japanese Cell Phone market.
Japanese phones use a network system that is virtually incompatible with anywhere else in the world, although a few of the newer phones are sold with "World Passport" service (essentially 800 CDMA roaming in North America). There are three main providers: J-Phone (Vodafone), Au (KDDI), and DoMoCo (NTT). Old technology phones (only a few months old) are sold as cheap as ¥1000 (about US$8) and service plans start at about ¥5000 per month, but watch out for lots of hidden charges! |
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Below:
 Typical monopole macro cells. Found throughout the countryside.
 Roof-top cells, usually with lightning arrester on top of cells. These are very common.
 Roof-top microcells. Since cellular phone demands are very high, companies want to make sure that there are virtually no spots without signal. This type of microcell is equal to or in greater density in urban areas compared to the macro cells. The four upright cells are typical, but there are variations where all four cells are mounted on sides of buildings or mounted to cover a certain sector. |
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Malaysia
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Like Japan, Malaysians love their phones and the picture to the left shows just what a selection there is in face plate covers and other accessories to customize your handset. In fact, I even came across a shopping mall in Kuala Lumpur that was seven floors of just cellular phones and accessories.
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A macrocell on a house. These are actually quite common in residential neighbourhoods.
Typical low building install on Penang Island (Palau Penang)
Microcell above a restaurant in Kuala Lumpur. Many street microcells allow coverage in concrete jungle cities. |
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Thailand
Within Bangkok mobile phones are very popular, whereas other areas of Thailand have more limited services and mobiles are not as common. There are three different frequencies in use in Thailand: 800 MHz AMPS (analog) phones, such as the Nokia 252, are very common. Newer GSM phones using either the 900 and/or 1800 MHz bands are popular within Bangkok (models such as Nokia 3210, 5110, 5130, 7110, 8210, 8850; Ericsson T10s, E320s; Motorola T300). Popular tourist destinations such as Phuket and other southern beaches also have GSM towers to accommodate European and Australian travellers, but unfortunately North Americans are stuck using either AMPS or hiring a GSM phone for their travels to Thailand as 1900 MHz GSM is not available.
Phone prices are expensive by Thai standards: a Nokia 5130 could be purchased for 7900 Baht (about C$280, US$185), but airtime was relatively inexpensive at about 10 Baht/min (about C$0.35, US$0.24). A Nokia 8850 was selling for 30900 Baht (C$1100, US$720). Phone accessories such as car chargers, covers, and flashing LEDs are also popular with mall vendors and are extremely cheap.
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Bangkok is a concete jungle and macrocells cannot provide decent coverage with all the buildings and overhead roads. This is one of many microcells found on light standards, outside the Regent Hotel, Ratchadamri St.
In addition to microcells, picocells are also very common in Bangkok. This is one spotted on a wooden hydro pole near the Ratchadamri SkyTrain station.
Typical tower mount macrocells. Taken from a long-tailed boat on my way from Krabi to Rai Leh beach. |
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