personal handyphone system (mobile communications, Japan) (PHS)

Personal Handyphone System(PHS) is a Japanese mobile radio system developed by Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation and also used in other Asian countries.

Conceptually, the PHS system is a short-range system based on wireless local loop(WLL) with a range of about 500 m. The system transmits in the frequency range between 1.1 and 1.5 GHz. It transmits in the frequency range between 1.880 GHz and 1.920 GHz with a relatively low power of 20 mW to 500 mW. This low transmission power can be used because the PHS radio cells are microcells with a relatively small radius. It was developed specifically for urban areas.

The PHS system, whose origins date back to the mid-1990s, offers operating companies the opportunity to provide other mobile services, such as e-mail, Internet access, short message services( SMS) and location-based services( LBS). The data rate is relatively low at 64 kbit/s. The Personal Handyphone System is not a stand-alone mobile communications system, but is based on existing mobile communications systems via which roaming is carried out, although this is very time-consuming.