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In Papa’s view of the world, individual mobile phones might
become the next generation of cell towers.With mobile phones
already being nearly omnipresent, additional towers would not
have to be built if mobile phones could be engineered to receive
and transmit nearby calls. Wireless telecommunications giant
Qualcomm is already experimenting with technology that by-
passes cell towers and allows cell phones within about 1,600 feet
(500 m) to communicate with one another.With foreign partners
Deutsche Telekom and Huawei, Qualcomm conducted a test of
this system, known as LTE Direct, and hopes to roll it out soon.
If one inventor’s idea comes to life, cell phones not only will connect people and
networks, but also will provide power to each other wirelessly.
Engineering and Information Technology
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