Introduction

Overview of the Advance of Wireless Technology

Example : Global cellular network
• Started as a replacement to the wired telephone
• Early generations offered voice and limited data
• Current third and fourth generation systems
• Voice
• Texting
• Social networking
• Mobile apps
• Mobile Web
• Mobile commerce
• Video streaming
• Growth
• 11 million users in 1990
• Over 7 billion today
• Mobile devices
• Convenient
• Location aware
• Only economical form of communications in some places
 Example :
Satellite Communication Services
• Provide the backbone infrastructure for underlying communication
services.
• In communication system, satellite is essentially a radio wave repeater, that
is deployed in aerospace
• In navigation system, a set of satellite provides positioning service : GPS,
GLONASS

Transceiver
station

Satellite
transceiver
station Satellite telephone
 Example :
Satellite Communication Services
• Fixed Satellite Service
• Point to point communication between satellite terminal at
specific fixed points around the globe
• Make use of geostationary satellite

• Broadcast Satellite Service

• Point to multipoint
• Intended for direct reception by the general public

• Mobile Satellite Service

• Provide wireless communication around the globe
Example :
Wireless Technology in Navigation
• In maritime transportation
• Very High Frequency (VHF) radio with Digital Selective
Channel
• Global Maritime Distress Safety System
• VHF Radio, Inmarsat, NAVTEX, INMARSAT
• Automatic Identification System (AIS)
• In aviation
• HF and VHF radio
• VHF Omni Directional Radio Range (VOR) with DME (Distance
Measuring Equipment) and Instrument Landing System
• In navigation :
- GPS, weather radar
Wireless Technology in Communication :
Future Trend
• Machine-to-machine communications
• 100-fold increase in the number of devices
• Type of communication would involve many short messages
• Control applications will have real-time delay requirements
• Much more stringent than for human interaction
• Much more stringent than for human interaction
• Future networks
• 1000-fold increase in data traffic by 2020
• 5G – Not defined but envisioned by 2020
Wireless Technology in Communication :
Future Trend
• LTE-Advanced and gigabit Wi-Fi now being deployed
• Machine-to-machine communications
• The “Internet of Things”, Devices interact with each other

• Healthcare, disaster recovery, energy savings, security and surveillance,

environmental awareness, education, manufacturing, and many others
• Information dissemination

• Data mining and decision support

- Automated adaptation and control
• Home sensors collaborate with home appliances, HVAC systems, lighting
systems, electric vehicle charging stations, and utility companies.
- Eventually could interact in their own forms of social networking
FUNDAMENTAL :
Essential Concepts in
Communication and Network
Communication and Networking

• Data Communication : transmission of information in a

reliable and efficient manner from origin endpoint to
destination endpoint.
• Networking : Interconnecting communicating devices.
• To the context of the class, interconnection between
communicating devices takes place wirelessly using radio-
wave
 Block Diagram of Communication Process

• Tasks during communication process

Noise

Source Channel Destination

Information Encoding Transmission Receiving Decoding Information

Communication Task
• Information : Meaningful stream of data
• Encoding : Transform the information into another
format that would be needed :
• To comply with subsequent process of information
• To enhance the feature of the information
• Error checking and correction
• To reduce the size of the information
• To security purpose
• Decoding : Reverse process of encoding
• Transmission : Putting the information into channel
• Receiving : Capturing the information from the channel
Communication Network
• Based on its geographic extent and
scope, communication network can
be seen as, local, metropolitan, and
wide area network (abbreviated as
LAN, MAN, and WAN respectively)

• When a transmission of data is

needed beyond the scope of local
area, data would traverse through a
network of intermediate switching
devices
• Switching devices are not
concerned with the content of the
data
• These devices in communication
are also referred to as nodes
• Collection of nodes forms a
network
FUNDAMENTAL :
Wireless Channel at Glance
Wireless Media : Electromagnetic Wave

• The most viable, widely use media for wireless transmission

in this world. Also commonly being called as radio wave

• Electric field+ Magnetic Field = Electromagnetic wave

• Not an invention or investigation by a single person/scientist
• Some of them are : Michael Faraday, H.C Oersted, Joseph Henry,
Ampere
• Magnetic field and electric field have strong correlation in
nature.

• However, J.C Maxwell is the profound scientist who built

theoretical basis for electromagnetic wave on 1873
• Known as Maxwell equations
Radio Frequency Spectrum
Radio Frequency Spectrum

• For the purpose of this class, electromagnetic wave can be

illustrated as an oscillating magnitude of electric and
magnetic field radiated from the source
• Oscillating  Cycles per unit time, or Hz
• General Range Classification :
• Microwave frequency range
• 1 GHz to 40 GHz
• Directional beams possible
• Suitable for point-to-point transmission
• Used for satellite communications
• Radio frequency range
• 30 MHz to 1 GHz
• Suitable for omnidirectional applications
• Infrared frequency range
• Roughly, 3x1011 to 2x1014 Hz
• Useful in local point-to-point multipoint applications within confined areas
Challenges in Wireless Communication

• Wireless is convenient and less expensive, but not perfect

• Limitations and political and technical difficulties inhibit
wireless technologies
• Wireless channel
- Line-of-sight is best but not required
- Signals can still be received
• Transmission through objects
• Reflections off of objects
• Scattering of signals
• Diffraction around edges of objects
Challenges in Wireless Communication

• Wireless channel Impairment

• Reflections can cause multiple copies of the signal to arrive
• At different times and attenuations
• Creates the problem of multipath fading
• Signals add together to degrade the final signal
• Noise
• Signals and noise also add together to degrade the final signal
• Doppler spread caused by movement
• Movement can cause frequency shift at receiver
• Now, as wireless network become highly dense, frequency
spectrum allocation turns out to be an issue
FUNDAMENTAL :
Communication Transmission

Learning Objectives :
• Distinguish between digital and analog information source
• Discuss the characteristics of analog and digital waveforms
• Roles of frequency and frequency component in a signal
• Identify the factors that affect channel capacity
Signal
• Signal : Physical properties of transmission media as representation of
data.
• Data – a value that convey meaning, or information
• Analog signal - signal intensity varies in a smooth fashion over time and
may be propagated over a variety of media,
• No breaks or discontinuities in the signal
• Examples of media:
• Electric current through copper wire media (twisted pair and coaxial cable)
• Light over fiber optic cable
• Radio wave in atmosphere or space
• In nature, electromagnetic wave is an analog signal

• Digital signal - signal intensity maintains a constant level for some

period of time and then changes to another constant level
• Transmission - communication of data by the propagation and
processing of signals
Signal

• Digital signal - signal intensity maintains a constant

level for some period of time and then changes to
another constant level
• Less susceptible to noise interference
• Suffer more from attenuation

• Transmission - communication of data by the

propagation and processing of signals
Analog and Digital Waveforms of electric voltage
 Signal
• Is it digital or analog signal?

Magnitude

time
• This is a multilevel digital signal
• Unless otherwise mentioned, digital signal in this course refers to two
level (binary) digital signal
Data
• Analog data
• Continuous values of a physical quantity in some interval of time :
voice, video
• Digital data
• Discrete values of a physical quantity over some interval of time

Data (Analog/Digital) Signal Signal

processing
Voltage
Electrical Signal over time

Time
Human voice waveform
Data

 Human heart pulse wave form : Analog or digital data?

Signal and Data Combination

• Digital data, digital signal

• Equipment for encoding is less expensive than digital-to-
analog equipment
• Analog data, digital signal
• Conversion permits use of modern digital transmission and
switching equipment
• Digital data, analog signal
• Some transmission media will only propagate analog signals
• Examples include optical fiber and satellite
• Analog data, analog signal
• Analog data easily converted to analog signal
Signal and Data Combination