Mobile reception

Jerusalem Institute for Israel Studies, www.jiis.org Lately, with the increased use of smartphones, the cellular device is playing a growing part in our lives. Our dependence on cell phones has skyrocketed, with its diversity of uses. Hananel Rosenberg, from the Institute for the Study of New Media, Politics and Society at Ariel University, mentions some of their uses, including news, entertainment, games, calendar, documents, transit times, navigation, social networks, and of course – talking. Ownership rate of cellphones in Israel is high by any standard. According to the Statistical Yearbook of Jerusalem 2016 (to be published on Jerusalem Day), 91 percent of households in Israel had at least one mobile phone in 2014. The percentages for the large cities are slightly higher, with 93%, 96% and 98% in Jerusalem, Haifa and Tel Aviv, respectively. There are no data specifically regarding smartphones, but estimations of ownership rates vary between 64% an 72%. One situation that some of us may relate to, perhaps from army service, is the search for an area with good cellular reception. Lack of reception is common in remote areas, but it might also be experienced in a central area, even in the middle of a town. The common desire for good cellular coverage comes with ambivalence, as the radiation from antennas and devices is a major health concern, mainly with children. According to the Environmental Protection Ministry, as of January 2016, active broadcasting cellular antennas in Israel numbered 8,696. Among the large cities, Tel Aviv had the widest coverage, supplied by 939 antennas. Jerusalem, with a much larger land area, had 673; Haifa had 391; and Rishon Lezion had 228. It may be assumed that the concentration of businesses and the economic strength of Tel Aviv led to the robust cellular coverage. The statistical breakdown according to cellular companies, or carriers, reveals that the three major companies – Partner, Pelephone and Cellcom – had similar shares of the antenna infrastructure: 29%, 28%, and 27%, respectively. Hot Mobile held 15% of the antennas, and Golan Telecom had 1%, virtually only in Tel Aviv. The distribution is somewhat similar in the large cities: In Jerusalem Cellcom holds the largest share of active antennas (29%), with Partner and Pelephone holding 28% and 26% respectively; in Tel Aviv and Haifa, Partner holds a bit of a wider share, with 32% and 31% respectively; Cellcom and Pelephone hold 28% and 25% of Haifa's antennas, respectively, and those two companies hold 24% each of Tel Aviv's antennas.

Mobile reception

The statistical breakdown according to cellular companies, or carriers, reveals that the three major companies had similar shares of the antenna infrastructure.

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Mobile reception

The statistical breakdown according to cellular companies, or carriers, reveals that the three major companies had similar shares of the antenna infrastructure.

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