1.   Mobile phone calls have to be routed through a cell site, and telephones search for the nearest site with available capacity.

2.   And if the wind gets strong enough and knocks down a few cell sites, then things will be even worse.

3.   As a practical matter, the minimum size of a cell site is one mile in diameter.

4.   A cell site was swamped, said one person.

5.   A fill-in stick is a single antenna while a full cell site requires several antennas and space inside the building for equipment, he noted.

6.   A wireless phone works by transmitting and receiving radio signals to and from the nearest cell site.

7.   Building out cell sites to handle the usage costs money, and the carriers pass those costs along to customers.

8.   But a tower can hold many cell sites from different companies.

9.   Cellular companies are examining technology that will let them locate callers using special networks at cell sites.

10.   Coverage will improve as Pacific Bell adds new cell sites.