Do cell phones use satellites for non international calls?

Answer 1

No, cell phones transmit and receive from land based base stations usually no more than 5 miles away.The signals are then routed via underground fiber optic network to the base station nearest to the recipient.The call is retransmitted through the air to the cell phone. If the phone is on a train or a moving car the signal strength is monitored until the next cell asks the current cell to hand the call over to the new base station. Mind numbingly complex!