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49

n t he 70s fixed-t o-fixed


microwave links were developed and deployed. Wireless local
loop (WLL) systems could also have been implemented in the
70s in U.S. rural areas, but were not. The cost justifications at
that time for WLL were:
For t he Near Ter m Using the radio link for WLL was
t he solut ion because t he cost of laying a long wire cable t o
connect to a remote point was very high.
For the Long Term Using the wire link was the solution.
Although the cost of laying a long wire cable was high in the
beginning, adding more users along t he wire link lat er on
would drive the cost per user down as the years went by. Nev-
ertheless, when the network layout reached its limit, WLL was
the solution.
For an Ur ban Situation In New York City, laying addi-
tional wire cables was very costly. Therefore, WLL was the
solution.
In the meantime, in the 70s Advanced Mobile Phone Sys-
tem (AMPS) was developed and could have been applied in
wireless local loop systems to gain two advantages:
It could have been easier to acquire the spectrum from the
FCC for WLL in the 70s.
WLL services could have been deployed first; then we could
have gone into cellular markets using bundled services, that
is, providing wireless local loop and cellular together using
the same spectrum and operating the same wireless com-
munication network. By taking this approach, both wireless
local loop and cellular operations would have taken place
in the 70s.
Since telephone companies did not take advantage of this
opportunity in the 70s, wireless operators were busy developing
cellular systems in the 80s. Now, in the 90s, we are starting to
look at the domestic and international markets for WLL.
Th e Advan t age of W LL
Since a WLL system is a fixed-to-fixed link system without the
wireline connected, as shown in Fig. 1, the advantages are:
WLL can eliminate many problems and be cost inherent in
many areas and many countries.
WLL can shorten the time to deploy a telephone network.
WLL can easily be moved around to accommodate new changes.
WLL is a quick start for startup telephone systems.
The attributes of a WLL system (Fig. 1) are as follows:
Coverage increase: the path loss is based on free space loss.
Capacity increases: the required WLL carrierl-to-interference
ratio, (C/I)
WLL
, is much lower than the required (C/I)
cellular
.
High-gain directional antennas can be used. Thus, the inter-
fer ence decr eases and t he fr equency r euse dist ance is
reduced (i.e., capacity increases).
Con cep t s of D ep l oyi n g
W i r el ess Syst em s
Th e Gen er al Key Dr i ver s of
Depl oyi n g a W i r el ess Syst em
The gener al key dr iver s of deploying a WLL syst em ar e
capacity, coverage, and quality. However, the three key drivers
are relat ed among t hemselves. Wit h an allocat ed spect ral
band as a given, then:
capacity (quality)
1
coverage (quality)
1
and they are all a function of C/I.
How t o M easu r e Spect r u m Ef f i ci en cy
To evaluate the spectrum efficiency in frequency reuse sys-
tems such as cellular, personal communication services (PCS),
and WLL, we may use the radio capacity formula to express
radio capacity m as follows:
m = M/K (1)
where M is the total number of channels in 1 MHz and K is
the frequency reuse factor. K can be expressed as follows:
(2)
where D is the distance between two co-channel cells, and R is
the radius of the cell.
In frequency-division mult iple access (FDMA) or t ime-
K
D
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IEEE Personal Communications February 1998 1070-9916/97/$10.00 1998 IEEE
I
Spectrum and Technol ogy of a
Wi rel ess Local Loop System
Wi l l i am C. Y. Lee, Ai r Touch Communi cat i ons, I nc.
Abstract
This article shows that the wireless local loop (WLL) may not necessarily provide more capacity than mobile cellular systems if an FDMA or
TDMA system is used. CDMA has proven to have higher capacity than the other multiple access schemes due to the nature of CDMA systems.
In industrial countries, the requirements of WLL are quality and service features. In developed countries, the requirement is a low-cost high-
capacity system, even if voice quality must be sacrificed. Therefore, the system design aspects are different.
IEEE Personal Communications February 1998 50
division multiple access (TDMA), the value of M is given, but
the value of K is a function of C/I.
I n code division mult iple access syst ems ( CDMA) , D
always equals 2R; thus, K is a constant, K = 1.33 from Eq. 2,
but M is a function of C/I. Both K in FDMA (or TDMA) and
M in CDMA expressed as a function of C/I will be shown in
this article.
Th e Th r ee Key Dr i ver s Rel at ed t o C/I
The three key drivers (capacity, coverage, and quality) can be
expressed as a function of C/I.
Qua l i ty, Q, is proportional to C/I:
Ra di o ca pa ci ty, m, is inversed proportional to C/I:
(3)
Cover a ge, R, is inversed proportional to C/I:
(4)
Con si d er a t i on of
D ep l oyi n g a W LL Syst em
Im pact of t h e Requ i r ed C/I
The required C/I in each system is determined from the accept-
ed voice quality or corresponds to the specific frame error rate.
The required C/I of a WLL system under a nonfading fixed-to-
fixed condition is always less than the required C/I of a cellu-
lar system under a mobile radio multipath fading condition.
(5)
It shows that the WLL system can tolerate more Gaussian-
like interference than the Rayleigh-like interference of the
cellular system. Therefore, the frequency reuse distance for
WLL is supposedly shorter than for cellular if the propagation
path losses for both systems are the same.
Im pact of t h e Pr opagat i on Pat h Loss
Cov e r a g e I n cr e a se s i n W LL The cover age of a WLL is
based on a fixed-to-fixed propagation. The path loss of the
fixed-t o-fixed pr opagat ion in a WLL is based on 20
dB/decade. However, the path loss of mobile radio propaga-
tion (fixed-to-mobile) is based on 40 dB/decade, which shows
high excessive loss. Therefore, the same wireless communica-
tion system can cover more area for WLL services than for
mobile radio services.
Capaci t y Decr eases i n WLL ( if FDMA or TDMA is
used). Based on the path loss of 20 dB/decade for WLL and
40 dB/decade for cellular, the formula of C/I and K of both
systems can be obtained as follows:
WLL Systems
Under a condition of six interferers (Fig. 2)
(6)
Substituting Eq. 6 into Eq. 2 yields
(7)
Under a condition of one interferer (Fig. 3)
K
D
R
C
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w
w w
1
1 1
1
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quality is improving
capacity or coverage is increasing
s Figur e 1. The scenario of a WLL system.
Nonf adi ng
f i xed-t o-f i xed
radi o l i nk
Di rect i onal
ant enna beam
s Figur e 2. Six interferers (co-channel cells) model for frequency
reuse (wireless systems).
f
1
f
1
f
1
f
1
f
1
f
1
D
f
1
R
s Figur e 3. Single interference from co-channel sites in WLL
using directional antennas at both ends.
Co-channel si t es
R
f
1
D
f
1
IEEE Personal Communications February 1998 51
(8)
and
(9)
Cellular Systems Always under a condition of six interfer-
ers (Fig. 1),
(10)
Substituting Eq. 9 into Eq. 2 yields
(11)
Capacity Compar ison The ratio of K
W
/K
C
can be used to
compare the capacity of two systems; if
(12)
the capacity of WLL is greater than that of cellular.
The ratio of K
W
1
/K
C
under a condition of six interferers is
(13)
The rat io of K
W
2
/K
c
under t wo different condit ions, one
interferer for WLL and six interferers for cellular, is
(14)
Equations 13 and 14 are plotted in Fig. 4 with a variable a
(15)
where a is always greater than that shown in Eq. 5.
Assume that the required (C/I)
W
of WLL is 6 dB or more;
then several observations can be stated from Fig. 4 as follows:
The region in which WLL capacity is greater than cellular
capacity is below the line of
A WLL system under the condition of six interferers cannot
have a capacity greater than that of cellular.
The WLL system under the condition of one interferer can
most likely have a capacity greater than that of cellular.
When t he value a becomes gr eat er , t he r at io of K
W
/K
C
increases.
Capaci t y Is In depen den t of t h e
Pr opagat i on Pat h Loss i f CDM A Is Used
In a CDMA system, every cell operates the same radio chan-
nels; therefore, D = 2R has been stated previously and K is a
constant, K = 1.33. However, M is known and is a function of
C/I. The following deviation shows that the propagation path
loss does not impact capacity use. The scenario in Fig. 5, with
the mobile unit at position A, would be the worst case. The
home cell site and two close-in interference sites I
1
and I
2
are
at the same distance R from the mobile unit. The C/I at posi-
tion A can be expressed as
(16)
where I is the total interference, I
s
the self-interference, and I
a
the adjacent interference. E
b
is the energy per bit and I
0
the
interference power per hertz. B is the allocated spectrum band,
R the transmit rate per second. In Eq. 16, E
b
/I
0
and B/R are given.
I n W LL syst em s, the 20 dB/dec loss is used, that is, R
2
with a
transmit power at the base (Fig. 5). We assume that the domi-
nant adjacent interferers are from I
1
and I
2
.
(17)
where
I
S
= (M
W
1) P
t
R
2
I
a
= I
1
+ I
2
+
1
= 2M
w
P
t
R
2
+
1
2M
W
P
t
R
2
Then from Eq. 17, the total number of traffic channels is
(18)
M
C
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2
2
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s Figur e 4. Comparison of the ratio and the radio capacities


between WLL and cellular.
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
0.6
0.7
0.8
0.9
1.0
(C/I)
W
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Case A - bot h syst ems have si x i nt erf erers
Case B - cel l ul ar has si x i nt erf erers but WLL has one
K
W
K
C
K W
1
K C
K W
2
K C
Regi on w here WLL
capaci t y i s great er
t han cel l ul ar
a
=
1
5
.8
(1
2
d
B
)
a
=
1
0
(1
0
d
B
)
a
=
6
.3
(8
d
B
)
a
=
4
(6
d
B
)
a
=
2
(3
d
B
)
a
=
1
(0
d
B
)
a
=
1
5
.8
(1
2
d
B
)
a
=
1
0
(1
0
d
B
)
a
=
6
.3
(8
d
B
)
a
=
4
(6
d
B
)
a
=
2
(3
d
B
)
a
=
1
(0
d
B
)
IEEE Personal Communications February 1998 52
I n cel l u l a r sy st em s, t he 40 dB/dec loss is used, t hat is, R
4
with a transmit power P
t
the cell site (Fig. 5).
(19)
where
I
s
= (M
c
1) P
t
R
4
I
a
= 2M
c
P
t
R
4
+
2
2M
c
P
t
R
4
Then from Eq. 19, the total number of traffic channels is
(20)
Ca p a ci t y Com p a r i son Comparing Eq. 18 with Eq. 20, the
two formulas, one based on a path loss of 20dB/dec, one on a
path loss of 40dB/dec, are identical. It shows that in CDMA
systems different propagation path losses do not affect the
radio capacity formula. Since (C/I)
c
> (C/I)
W
is always true in
Eq. 5, then
M
W
> M
c
(21)
Therefore, Eq. 21 is always true in CDMA systems.
Ca l cu l a t i on of t h e
Ca p a ci t y of W LL Syst em s
We may compar e t he capacit y of CDMA wit h t hat of
FDMA or TDMA. The C/I can be obtained from Eq. 16.
Let us make some assumptions.
In CDMA systems (consider an s-sector cell with voice
activity cycle)
B
c
= 1.23 MHz
R = 9.6 kb/s
s = number of sectors = 3
= voice activity cycle = 0.4
M
w
= (s/) M
W
= the total channels
Then C/I from Eq. 16 becomes
(22)
Substituting Eq. 22 into Eq. 18, then into Eq. 1, the total
channels per cell is
(23)
I n FD M A or TD M A Systems
B
c
= total spectrum = 1.23 MHz
B
c
= channel bandwidth or equivalent = 25 kHz
then
M = B
t
/B
c
= 49 channels
Under a condition of six interferers
Substituting Eq. 7 into Eq. 1 yields
(24)
Under a condition of one interferer
Substitute Eq. 9 into Eq. 1 yields
(25)
Com p a r i n g t h e Ca p a ci t y of CD M A w i t h t h a t of FD M A or
T D M A i n W LL Sy st em s The capacit y of CDMA, m
w
in
Eq. 23, the capacity of FDMA or TDMA, m
w
1
in Eq. 24 under
a condition of six interferers and the capacity of FDMA or
TDMA, m
w
2
in Eq. 25 under a condition of one interferer are
plotted in Fig. 6. Assume that the required E
b
/I
0
of CDMA is
equal t o t he required (C/I)
w
of FDMA or TDMA; t hen we
may conclude t hat t he capacit y of CDMA is always larger
than that of FDMA or TDMA. Also, the capacity of FDMA
or TDMA with one interferer is always greater than that with
six interferers.
Com pa r i n g t h e Ca pa ci t y of W LL w i t h t h e Ca pa ci t y of Cel l u -
l a r U si ng CD M A We have shown that the capacity formulas
for both systems are identical by comparing Eq. 18 with Eq.
20. Therefore, Eq. 23 can be used for both systems with a set
of given assumptions.
m
M
K C
I
C
I
w
w
w w
2
2
2 2
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3
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4
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s Figur e 5. CDMA system and its interference.


f 1
f 1
f 1
f 1
f 1
f 1
f 1
f 1
f 1
f 1
f 1
A
I
C
P
t
Home
I
4
I
3
I
2
I
5
I
1
s Figur e 6. Trading voice quality with capacity in WLL system.
10
N
o
.

o
f

c
h
a
n
n
e
l
s

/

c
e
l
l

/

1
.
2
3

M
H
z
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
E
b
/I
0
f or CDM A
C/I f or FDM A or TDM A
1
200
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
(i n dB)
F
D
M
A

o
r

T
D
M
A

f
o
r

e
q
u
i
v
a
l
e
n
t

b
a
n
d
w
i
t
h

o
f
3
0

k
H
z

u
s
i
n
g

d
i
r
e
c
t
i
o
n
a
l

a
n
t
e
n
n
a
s
C
D
M
A

f
o
r

b
a
n
d
w
i
d
t
h

o
f

1
.
2
3

M
H
z
Voi ce qual i t y decreases
Capaci t y i ncreases
IEEE Personal Communications February 1998 53
We further make a reasonable assumption that
Eb/I
0
= 5dB for WLL
and
E
b
/I0 = 8dB for cellular
Then
and
Comparing and m
w
and m
c
, we may conclude t hat t he
capacity of WLL is double the capacity of cellular.
Ad va n t a g e of I m p l em en t a t i on
Due to the nature of the wireless communication medium and
of WLL syst ems, t her e ar e advant ages in implement ing a
WLL system:
The coverage of WLL is larger due to its low propagation
path loss (i.e., 20 dB/dec).
The capacity of WLL can be larger than the capacity of cel-
lular if the number of interferers in WLL can be reduced
by multibeam directional antennas.
Interference decrease: In a WLL, the frequency reuse dis-
t ance can be furt her reduced because t he WLL fixed-t o-
fixed link uses directional antennas on both ends so that the
interference area becomes small. Reducing the frequency
r euse dist ance mor e means t hat t he capacit y is fur t her
increased.
In a WLL, no handoffs occur because it is a fixed-to-fixed
link. Furt hermore, t he air link from each building t o t he
cell site can customarily be installed to reduce the interfer-
ence. This link remains unchanged after installation, and
the design of a WLL system is much simpler.
Since the WLL signal channel is a Gaussian noise channel
or strong Rician channel (not a Rayleigh fading channel),
no int erleaving of t he dat a st ream is needed. Thus, dat a
compression schemes and quadrature amplitude modula-
tion (QAM) can be applied efficiently to generate a high
rate throughout, although the radio transmission rate is as
low as 14.4 kb/s.
D ep l oym en t of a W LL Syst em f or
I n d u st r i a l i z ed Cou n t r i es
The WLL system will be developed differently and will serve
in different markets, as described in this section.
Th e Requ i r em en t s
The requirement of a WLL syst em for t hose subscribers in
industrialized countries is good voice quality. This require-
ment is needed t o compet e wit h t he service from wireline
telephones.
The requirements of WLL systems for the system opera-
tors in industrial countries are high capacity and large cover-
age. How can we meet these two requirements and still lower
the cost of deploying a WLL system and utilize the spectrum
efficiently? This is a big challenge.
Since the three key drivers voice quality, coverage, and
capacity are always competing among themselves, we may
have to determine an acceptable voice quality level first, and
choose a wireless communication system that can provide high
capacity and large coverage. The bottom line is to calculate
the deployment cost per line and justify the potential of the
business in that area.
W h y CDM A f or W i r el ess Local Loop?
The CDMA system can be used for high capacity because the
frequency reuse factor K approaches one. All of the cell sites
use the same radio channel. In deployment of WLL-CDMA,
power control or adjustment is used to reduce near-far inter -
ference. This power control will be set at the beginning of the
service, according t o all t he fixed-t o-fixed links, and leave
them untouched until the environment changes. No frequency
planning is needed. The CDMA system uses up its processing
gain for increasing capacity. Of course, due to the nature of a
WLL environment, a high gain directional antenna can be used
to further reduce the adjacent interference. One 1.25 MHz
radio channel can provide 40 traffic channels for mobile radio,
but 77 traffic channels for WLL under the same conditions.
How t o Bu i l d a W LL Syst em i n
In du st r i al i zed Cou n t r i es
CDMA can be used as a bundled service system. CDMA has
been chosen to be a standard system for cellular, PCS, and mobile
satellite (Globalstar) already. Therefore, it is a natural trend to
have WLL using CDMA because CDMA would then become
a bundled service system; providing cellular and PCS services in
urban and densely populated areas, and providing WLL and
mobile satellite services in rural areas. They can all use CDMA.
They share the same integrated network so that the investment
cost will be much lower. These bundled services can also even
out traffic density across the whole network; with cellular and
PCS operating in urban areas, and WLL and mobile satellite
ser vices oper at ing heavily out side ur ban ar eas. The same
CDMA phone can be used for all the bundled services.
D ep l oym en t of W LL Syst em s i n
D evel op ed Cou n t r i es
Th e Requ i r em en t s
The radio capacity of WLL systems is a key issue. Voice quality
is not an issue in WLL systems in developed countries, in that a
customer who might not have a phone in this case already has
one, which adds great value. Because of this, a high level of
spectrum efficiency can be reached as long as voice quality
can be sacrificed. This means that physical system capacity is
not a problem. System capacity versus voice quality is illustrat-
ed in Fig. 6. I n CDMA, when t he syst ems r equir ed E
b
/I
o
(energy per bit /int erference per hert z) is reduced (i.e., t he
voice qualit y decreases), t he radio capacit y in t erms of t he
number of traffic channels per cell increases; the calculation is
based on a CDMA radio channel of 1.23 MHz.
Cost Con si der at i on s
Cost is a major issue in WLL systems in developed countries.
Most people have to justify a telephone by the cost they can
afford. Therefore, the business plan has to drive the cost down.
We have coined a new term, customer payment-to-investment
ratio (C/I) in WLL, distinguished from the regular acronym for
the carrier-to-interference ratio (C/I), which is a system design
parameter. C/I is a business planning parameter, where:
C: customer payment in dollars in X months
I: investment (including capital, operation, and maintenance)
in dollars per line over X months
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IEEE Personal Communications February 1998 54
In a WLL syst em in a developed count ry, C is very low.
Therefore, you need t o have an I value t hat is much lower
than C in order to make a profit. This is a big challenge.
How t o Bu i l d a W LL Syst em In Devel oped Cou n t r i es
On th e Equ i pm en t Si de The cost of each piece of customer
premises equipment (CPE) needs t o be lower. This means
that a WLL has to:
Use an existing cellular system The same phone can be
used in both WLL and cellular. This will lower the cost by
sharing the same wireless communication network.
Develop a low-cost WLL system with low-cost CPE and with
the capability to upgrade the system in the future In devel-
oped countries, the markets for WLL are huge; therefore, it
may be justified to choose a low-cost system solely for WLL.
In a WLL system, the standard is not an issue. The WLL
links ar e fixed, not moving; t her efor e, t he CPE does not
require any standard.
I n the Technol ogy Ar ea In order to lower the cost of equip-
ment per line, we may have to have more users share one line.
The following examples can reduce the cost:
Use multiplexing on one radio. We can use frequency-divi-
sion mult iplexing ( FDM) or t ime-division mult iplexing
( TDM) on one r adio t o incr ease t alk channels, but of
course the voice quality may be reduced.
Use t he part y line feat ure for t hose subscribers who are
willing share one subscribed line.
Con cl u si on
The WLL always provides large coverage but not necessarily
mor e capacit y t han mobile cellular syst ems if FDMA or
TDMA is used. The WLL always provides more capacity than
t he cellular syst em if CDMA is used. In WLL syst ems, t he
capacity of CDMA is always greater than that of FDMA or
TDMA. Using CDMA schemes, t he capacit y of WLL is
roughly double that of cellular. The requirements of WLL sys-
tems for industrial countries are the quality and service fea-
tures. It is wise to choose a bundled services system to share
the same wireless communication network in order to lower
operational cost and offer the subscriber, in the meantime,
only a single handset to please the customers.
The WLL system of the future, in developed countries, is a
low-cost system, even if voice quality has to be sacrificed. Of
course, to adapt an existing cellular system, which can have both
services, mobile cellular and WLL, share the same spectrum is
possible. Many suggestions to lower the cost by developing low-
cost WLL systems have also been addressed. WLL is a future
business for both industrialized and developed countries.
Ref er en ces
[ 1] W. C. Y. Lee, Mob i l e Cel l ul ar Tel ecommuni cat i on Syst ems, Anal og and
Di gi t al , M cGraw -Hi l l , 1995.
[ 2] W. C. Y. Lee, M o b i l e Co mmu n i cat i o n s Desi g n Fu n d amen t al s, Wi l ey &
Sons, 1993.
[ 3] W. C. Y. Lee, The Wi r el ess Local Loop In t he Fut ur e, Tel ep hony, Oct .
23, 1995, pp. 3638.
Bi ogr aph y
WILLIAM C. Y. LEE [ F] r ecei ved hi s Ph.D. f r om Ohi o St at e Uni ver si t y i n 1963 i n
elect rical engineering. Chief Scient ist and Vice President of St rat egic Technology
at Ai r Touch Communi cat i ons, Inc., he j oi ned t he company (f or mer l y PacTel
Mobi l e Compani es) i n Apri l 1985 t o devel op i mprovement s t o syst em perf or -
mance and capacit y. Prior t o joining AirTouch Communicat ions, he w orked f or
ITT Def ence Communicat ions Division (ITTDCD) engineering milit ary mobile pro -
j ect s. Pr evi ous t o ITT, he w as emp l oyed at Bel l Lab or at or i es, f r om 1964 t o
1979, w here he st udi ed w ave propagat i on i n an ani st ropi c medi um, ant enna
t heor y, mobi l e r adi o pr opagat i on and syst ems, mi l l i met er and opt i cal w ave
pr opagat i on, sw i t chi ng syst ems, and sat el l i t e communi cat i ons. He w as t he
f ounder and co-chair of CTIA s subcommit t ee f or Advanced Radio Technologies
in 1987 and w as involved in digit al cellular st andard set t ing. He assist ed in and
support ed pursuing t he CDMA syst em f or cellular, and he also int roduced t he
CDMA syst em t o Korea where it lat er became t he nat ional st andard syst em. He
i nvent ed and pat ent ed a new mi crocel l syst em i n 1990 t hat reduced t he f re-
quency reuse f act or f rom K = 7 t o K = 3 and i ncreased radi o capaci t y by 2.5
t imes over t he convent ional microcell. His UHF mobile radio propagat ion model
is know n as t he Lee Model. He conduct s t hree t hree-day courses sponsored by
George Washingt on Universit y. He is a Radio Club of America Fellow and a dis-
t inguished alumnus of t he Ohio St at e Universit y. He has received t he IEEE VTS
Avant Garde Aw ard, t he Bel l Laborat ori es Dedi cat ed Servi ce Aw ard, and t he
ITTDCD Technical Cont ribut ion Aw ard. He has w rit t en more t han 200 t echnical
papers and t hree t ext books. Most recent ly in 1998, he revised his book Mobile
Communicat ions Engineering (McGraw-Hill).

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