Mobile and Wireless

Communications
Lecture 1 (Introduction)
27th feb, 2014

Institute of Space Technology

What is wireless communication?

`

Transmitting/ receiving voice and data using

electromagnetic waves in open space
`
`
`

The information from sender to receiver is carried over a well

defined frequency band (channel)
Each channel has a fixed ferquency band (bandwidth) and
capcity (bit rate)
Different channels can be used to transmit information in
parallel, independent to each other

Types of wireless communciations

`

Mobile
`

Portable
`
`

Cellular phones (GSM/ cdma 2000.1x)

IEEE 802.11b (WiFi)
IEEE 802.15.3 (UWB)

Fixed
`

IEEE 802.16 (WirelessMAN)

Typical frequencies
`
`
`
`
`
`
`

FM radio
TV broadcast
GSM Phones
GPS
PCS Phones
Blutooth
WiFi

~ 88 MHz
~ 200 MHz
~ 900 MHz
~ 1.2 GHz
~ 1.8 GHz
~ 2.4 GHz
~ 2.4 GHz

Overview of Mobile Communications

`
`
`

Wireless/mobile communications is the fastest growing

segment of the communications industry.
Cellular systems have experienced exponential growth
over the last decade.
Cellular phones have become a critical business tool and
part of everyday life in most developed countries, and are
rapidly replacing wireline systems in many developing
countries.

History
`
`

The first wireless networks were developed in the preindustrial age.

These systems transmitted information over line-ofsight distances (later extended by telescopes) using
smoke signals, torch signaling, flashing mirrors, signal
flares, or semaphore flags.
Early communication networks were replaced first by the
telegraph network (invented by Samuel Morse in
1838) and later by the telephone.
In 1895, Marconi demonstrated the first radio
transmission.

Continued
`
`
`
`

Early radio systems transmitted analog signals.

Today most radio systems transmit digital signals
composed of binary bits.
A digital radio can transmit a continuous bit stream or it
can group the bits into packets.
The latter type of radio is called a packet radio and is
characterized by bursty transmissions

Continued
`
`

The first network based on packet radio, ALOHANET,

was developed at the University of Hawaii in 1971.
ALOHANET incorporated the first set of protocols for
channel access and routing in packet radio systems, and
many of the underlying principles in these protocols are
still in use today.
Lead to Ethernet and eventually WLANS

Pre cellular History

`
`

`
`

The most successful application of wireless networking

has been the cellular telephone system.
The roots of this system began in 1915, when wireless
voice transmission between New York and San Francisco
was first established.
1946: First public mobile telephone service was
introduced in 25 cities across the United States.
The equipment was expensive at $2,000
`

More than the price of a typical new car (at that time).

Continued
`

These initial systems used a single central transmitter to

cover an entire metropolitan area.
`
`
`

1976: (30 yrs after the introduction of the service in 1946),

`
`

`
`

High-powered transmitter & Large tower

Inefficient!
FM
the New York system (10M people) could only support 543 paying
customers.
3,700 on the waiting list

The mobile units weighed about 10 kilograms and put out a

steady 20-25 watts.
The central transmitters that communicate with the mobile
units broadcast 200 to 250 watts.

Continued
`

`
`

The central station could reliably communicate with the

mobile units up to a radius of approximately 25 miles (50
km).
Beyond that, up to a radius of 60 to 100 miles, the signal
was too weak for consistent service, but strong enough
to interfere with any other mobile radio system.
As a result, the central transmitters had to be at least 100
miles apart, leaving a 50 mile blank space between them.
So a customer could use the sporadic and unreliable
service only within the confines of one area.

Why wireless communication?

`

Freedom from wires

`
`
`

No cost of installing wires or re wiring

No bunches of wires running here and there
Instantaneous communications without physical connection
setup e.g. Bluetoth, WiFi etc

Global Coverage
`

Communication can reach where wiring is infeasible or costly

e.g. rural areas, old buildings, battlefield, vehicles, outer space
(through communicaton satellite)

Continued
`

Stay connected
`
`

Roaming allows flexibility to stay connected anywhere and any

time
Rapidly growing market attests to public need for mobility and
uninterrupted access

Flexibility
`
`

Services reaches you wherever you go (mobility) e.g. you dont

have to go to lab for using internet
Connect to multiple devices simultaneously (no physical
connection required)

Continued
`
`

Incraesing dependence on telecommunication services for

business and personal reasons
Consumers and business are willing to pay for it

Challenges
`

Efficient hardware
`
`

Effiicent use of finite radio spectrum

`

Low power transmitter & receiver

Low power signal processing tools
Cellular ffrequency re use, medium access control, protocols
etc

Integrated services
`
`

Voice, data, multimedia over a single network

Service differentiation, priorities, resource sharing

Continued
`

Network support for user mobility

`

`
`
`
`
`
`

Location identification, hand over etc

Maintaining quality of service over unreliable links

Connectivity and coverage
Cost efficiency
Multipath Fading
Stronger channel codes for high probability of data
corruption
Need for stronger security mechanism

The Electromagnet Spectrum

Types of wireless transmissions

`

Radio transmission
`
`
`
`

Easily generated, Omni directionally travel long distances, easily

penetrate buildings
Relatively low bandwidth for data communication
Tightly licensed by government
Weather dependent

Microwave transmission
`
`
`
`

Widely used for point to point communication because their small

wavelength allows antennas to direct them in narrow beams.
Better information carrying capacity than the radio spectrum below
it.
Dont pass through buildings well
Limited to line of sight propagation

Continued
`

Infrared and millimeter waves

`
`
`

Widely used for short range communication

Unable to pass through solid objects
Used for indoor wireless LANs, not for outdoor

Light-wave transmission
`
`
`
`
`
`

Unguided optical signal, such as laser

Connect two LANs in two buildings via laser mounted on their
roofs
Unidirectional, easy to install, doesnt require license
Unable to penetrate rain or thick fog
For communication between spacecraft, including elements of a
satellite constellation.
Offer high data rate, low error rate, full duplex operation

Mobile Communication
`

Mobile communication is a communication network that

does not involve cable or wire connection between two
entities. The current mobile communications technologies
are Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM),
and Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA).

Wi-Fi, IEEE 802.11

`

`
`

Wi-Fi, used as a synonym for WLAN, is a popular

technology that allows an electronic device to exchange
data or connect to the internet wirelessly using radio
waves.
In actual, Wi-Fi is any WLAN product that is based on
the IEEE 802.11 standards.
Now commonly referred to as Wi-Fi, the 802.11
standards define a through-the-air interface between a
wireless client and an access point or between two or
more wireless clients. All 802.11 Wi-Fi standards use the
unlicensed radio spectrum.

UWB, IEEE 802.15.3

`

802.15.3 is the IEEE standard for a high-data-rate WPAN designed to

provide sufficient quality of service for the real-time distribution of
content such as video and music. It is ideally suited for a home
multimedia wireless network. The original standard uses a traditional
carrier-based 2.4-GHz radio as the physical transmission layer.
UWB is a radio technology which may be used at a very low energy
level for short-range, high-bandwidth communications using a large
portion of the radio spectrum. Similar to spread spectrum, UWB
communications transmit in a manner which does not interfere with
conventional narrowband and carrier wave used in the same frequency
band.
One of the most exciting characteristics of UWB is that its
bandwidth is over 110 Mbps (up to 480 Mbps) which can satisfy
most of the multimedia applications such as audio and video delivery
in home networking and it can also act as a wireless cable
replacement of high speed serial bus

IEEE 802.16 (WirelessMAN)

`

IEEE 802.16 is a series of wireless broadband standards.

Wireless broadband is technology that provides highspeed wireless internet access or computer networking access
over a wide area. According to the 802.16 standard, broadband
means "having instantaneous bandwidths greater than
1MHz and supporting data artes greater than about 1.5 M
bits/s.
Although the 802.16 family of standards is officially called
WirelessMAN in IEEE, it has been commercialized under the
name WiMAX (from "Worldwide Interoperability for
Microwave Access") by the WiMAX Forum industry alliance.
The Forum promotes and certifies compatibility and
interoperability of products based on the IEEE 802.16
standards.

PCS
`
`

`
`

PCS is a wireless phone service that emphasizes personal service,

and it was developed especially for extensive mobility.
Both systems operate through a network of cells spread throughout
each geographic area. Areas are divided into cells that use different
frequencies, so that the user can be traveling -- passing through
different cells on the communications network -- and get
continuous phone connectivity.
PCS also includes other services in the same package, such as caller
ID, email and paging.
The PCS phone service was designed from the start with mobility in
mind. The cells that the network runs on are smaller, with more
antennas covering each area.
PCS is based on TDMA technology, which is usually the default
option for cell phones. Connecting at the 1900-MHz TDMA
frequency is usually tried first; phones that support multiple modes
will always try digital mode before analog.

Differenec between WiFi and WiMax

`
`

Wi-Fi is based on IEEE 802.11 standard where as WiMAX is

based on IEEE 802.16. However, both are IEEE standards.
Wi-Fi typically provides local network access for around a few
hundred feet with speeds of up to 54 Mbps, a single WiMAX
antenna is expected to have a range of up to 40 miles with
speeds of 70 Mbps or more. As such, WiMAX can bring the
underlying Internet connection needed to service localWi-Fi
networks.
Wi-Fi is intended for LAN applications, users scale from one
to tens with one subscriber for each Consumer Premises
Equipments (CPE) device. Fixed channel sizes (20MHz).
WiMAX is designed to efficiently support from one to
hundreds of CPEs, with unlimited subscribers behind each CPE.
Flexible channel sizes from 1.5MHz to 20MHz.

Difference between wireless and mobile

`
`

Wireless does not necessarily means mobile, it simply

menas without wire. It can or cant be mobile.
Mobile whereas is a wireless connection between two
systems and it allows movement or mobility in them.

References
`
`
`
`
`
`
`

`
`
`
`
`
`

http://www.arrownac.com/solutions-applications/machine-to-machine/files/atd-wifi.pdf
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wi-Fi
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IEEE_802.11
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IEEE_802.11b-1999
http://focus.ti.com/pdfs/vf/bband/coexistence.pdf
http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/110298/UWB_Bluetooth_and_IEEE_802.15.3
Jin-Shyan Lee,Yu-Wei Su, and Chung-Chou Shen, a comparative study of wireless protocols:
Bluetooth, UWB, ZigBee, and Wi-Fi, Annual Conference of the IEEE Industrial Electronics
Society, 2007
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IEEE_802.16
http://www.tutorialspoint.com/wimax/wimax_wifi_comparison.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microwave_transmission
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extremely_high_frequency
http://comptutorkg2pg.blogspot.com/2011/01/unguided-transmission-wireless-light.html
Aniruddha Rangnekar and Krishna M. Sivalingam, multiple channel scheduling in UWB based
IEEE 802.15.3 networks, Proceedings of the First International Conference on Broadband
Networks, 2004