A
wireless digital personal
communications system (or PCS) having a plurality of radio
cell base stations, fixed terminals, and portable
handset terminals, each having a predetermined radio
cell coverage area. The
wireless PCS has a full
digital network interface. The personal
communications system facilitates the
interconnection and switching of PCS call traffic through the
digital network interface and the public switched
telephone network, or any switched network. The personal
communications system has voice / data / image (or any combination thereof) and incoming and outgoing calling capability. The PCS is fully operational and compatible with any and all modulation approaches selected for
wireless communications. The intercell protocol hand-off being provided through
distributed logic which is implemented in
software that is resident in the intelligent portable
handset terminals, in the intelligent fixed terminals, in the intelligent base stations, and in the public switched
telephone network (or any switched network). Alternative embodiments of the present invention include a wireless digital personal communications
system having
authentication means for authenticating a remote device; a wireless digital personal communications
system having a combination of
authentication means for authenticating a remote device and security means for securing
signal and message content between an intelligent
base station and a remote device, the security means including a predetermined
encryption and decryption technique; a wireless digital personal communications
system having dynamic zone grouping of portable
handset terminals or fixed terminals; and a wireless digital personal communications system having
call forwarding for unanswered calls.