There have been a couple of times I had to dial an office on my cell phone and listen to various menu options, but when I press the number of the option I want nothing happens. I wonder if my phone (well, actually my wife’s) is pulse dialing. Or do cell phones have their own dialing that isn’t pulse or DTMF?
Yes. The dialed number is sent as a control channel message when you press the “send” key on the phone.
However, the number keys on the phone normally generate DTMF tones, both to reassure the user that something is happening, and for interoperability with voicemail / banking / whatever systems.
When you say nothing happens, do you mean there’s no “beep” sound when you press a digit in an established call, or that it beeps but isn’t recognized by the equipment you called?
The second…well actually I have the phone on vibrate only so it makes no sounds what-so-ever. But I’m pretty sure when it does have the sound on it beeps. But the equipment on the other end doesn’t recognize that I have pushed a button.