Wireless Communications

“It is dangerous to put limits on wireless.”

Guglielmo Marconi, 1932

Nobel Prize Winner
Inventor of Radio

ECE 4730: Lecture #1 1

 History
 Wired Communications
 1834  Gauss and Weber build telegraph system in Germany
 1844  Morse connects Baltimore and Washington by telegraph
 1858  First transatlantic telegraph cable laid
 1876  Alexander Bell demonstrates telephone
 1911  New York can telephone Denver
 1918  First telephone carrier system with multi-plexing
 1945  First digital computer (ENIAC)
 1956  First transatlantic telephone cable
 1965  First packet switched computer network (ARPANET)
 1981  IBM personal computer
 1995  World Wide Web
 1998  Internet usage expands exponentially

ECE 4730: Lecture #1 2

 History
 Wireless Communications  Not so “new”
 1899  Marconi sends first radio message across Atlantic
 1905  Hulsmeyer detects ships with radar
 1927  US & Europe telephones linked by HF radio
 1934  AM mobile police radios for public safety widely used
 1935  Armstrong demonstrates FM radio system
 1940  First microwave radar
 1965  First commercial communication satellite
 1968  AT&T proposes cellular phone system to FCC
 1983  FCC allocates spectrum for analog cellular service (AMPS)
 1990  GSM digital cellular service introduced in Europe
 1995  FCC auctions new PCS licenses in U.S. for digital services
 1998  40 million cellular phone users in U.S. (20% of adults)
 2002  62% of U.S. adults own a cell phone
ECE 4730: Lecture #1 3
Cell Phone Useage
1990  8 million
worldwide users
2002  700 million
worldwide users
2005  2.2 Billion!!
2010  4.6 Billion!!
65% of World
Population!!

ECE 4730: Lecture #1 4

 Frequencies
 RF = Radio Frequencies
 1 MHz to 1 GHz
» general classification, not absolute
 50 MHz to 1 GHz
» more widely used definition
 Microwave Frequencies
 1 GHz to 300 GHz  general
 1 GHz to 100 GHz  more widely used
 Trend towards use of higher frequencies
 Greater signal bandwidth (BW)
 Max. BW  10% of fc
 More users and/or higher data rates
 More difficult to design !!  more $$
 Propagation distance  as frequency 
ECE 4730: Lecture #1 5
 Wireless Applications
 Mature
 Appliances
» Garage door opener
» Car alarms
» TV/VCR remote
» Cordless phones
 Communications
» Fixed microwave (point-to-point or LOS)  nearly 20,000 in U.S.!
» Satellite to fixed ground stations (TV, phone, defense, etc.)
» Paging
» 1st generation (1G) analog cellular  AMPS (FM)
» 2nd generation (2G) digital cellular  IS-95, IS-136, GSM
» 3rd generation (3G) digital cellular  UMTS, CDMA2000
» WLAN: Wireless Local Area Networks (WiFi)

ECE 4730: Lecture #1 6

 Wireless Applications
 Becoming Mature
 Mobile computers/email (3G/4G)
 Wireless Local Loop (WLL)
» Local phone service via wireless connection
» Very prominent in non-industrialized nations
» Cheaper to install than wired lines
» Local competition from long-distance carriers in U.S.!
 Satellite to mobile ground units  Land Mobile Satellite
(LMS)
» Constellation of 66 satellites in orbit (plus spares)
» Motorola/Iridium  Bankrupt in 2001! (now Iridium Communications)
 4G Digital Cellular/PCS  LTE
 PCS = Personal Communication Services

ECE 4730: Lecture #1 7

 Wireless Applications
 Long-term trends in mobile communications driven by:
1) Technology
» Integrated Circuits (ICs)  cheaper, smaller, faster, etc.
» RF/microwave circuit fabrication  higher frequencies (MMICs)
» Digital Signal Processing (DSP) chips
» Customized for specific applications (e.g. ASICs)
» Baseband signal processing
» Coding, modulation, encryption, equalization, etc.
2) Governments (e.g. FCC)
» Spectrum allocation
» Public use vs. $$ from auctions
» Regulations
» International standards

ECE 4730: Lecture #1 8

 U.S. Mobile Radio Spectrum

AMPS AMPS PCS PCS

Fig. 11.23
pg. 592

PCS PCS Reallocated to PCS

802.11b Wi-Fi

802.11a Wi-Fi

ECE 4730: Lecture #1 9

 U.S. Mobile Radio Spectrum
 SMR Bands  Specialized Mobile Radio
 Three 20 MHz bands from 800900 MHz
 Large number of private licenses nationwide
 Paging/messaging
 Voice dispatch  taxi, P/F/A
 Data (UPS/Fedex)
 Extended SMR
» Nextel/Motorola partnership  bought by Sprint
» Purchased SMR licenses all over the country
» Nationwide coverage providing digital cellular/data service

ECE 4730: Lecture #1 10

 U.S. Mobile Radio Spectrum
 ISM Bands  Industrial/Scientific/Medical
 902928 MHz and 24002484 MHz
» Unlicensed “garbage” bands
 Anyone can develop application as long as FCC
guidelines are met
» Spread spectrum modulation must be used
» Tx power level < 1 W
 Remote meter reading
 Wireless medical monitors
 Digital cordless telephones
 802.11b IEEE WLAN standard @ 2.4 GHz

ECE 4730: Lecture #1 11

 U.S. Mobile Radio Spectrum
 1st Generation (1G) Cellular Telephone
 AMPS: Advanced Mobile Phone System
 824849 MHz
» Reverse Channel: Xmit from mobile to base station (fixed)
 869894 MHz
» Forward Channel: Xmit from base station to mobile
 FCC mandated duopoly in Major Trading Areas (MTAs)
 MTA = 51 largest U.S. cities
 Two providers/MTA
» e.g. Cellular One + Southwestern Bell Mobile in K.C.
 All MTA providers have upgraded to 2G/3G systems
 1G AMPS still used only sparsely in rural areas
ECE 4730: Lecture #1 12
 U.S. Mobile Radio Spectrum
 Digital PCS Band
 1.851.99 GHz
 FCC Spectrum Auctions 1998 & 2000  $10 Billion!!
» 1st time spectrum sold for $$ in U.S.
 A & B blocks for MTAs
» Duopoly like AMPS
 C, D, E, & F blocks  Basic Trading Areas (BTAs)
» BTA = 492 large rural areas (includes MTAs!)
 2nd Generation (2G) digital cellular phone service + PCS
 PCS = messaging, caller ID, voice mail, email, data, etc.
 Compete with analog cellular and SMR services combined
ECE 4730: Lecture #1 13
 U.S. Mobile Radio Spectrum
 3rd Generation (3G) Cellular Telephone
 AT&T (HSPA)
» 850 & 1900 MHz (AMPS + PCS)
 Verizon (CDMA)
» 800 & 1900 MHz (AMPS + PCS)
 T-Mobile (HSPA)
» 1700 MHz (forward link) & 2100 MHz (reverse link)
 Sprint (CDMA)
» 850 MHz & 1800 MHz (AMPS + PCS)
» New 4G network = 2.5 - 2.7 GHz (reallocated from MMDS)

ECE 4730: Lecture #1 14

 U.S. Mobile Radio Spectrum
 Analog Broadcast TV Frequencies  recent reallocation
 Broadcast TV channels 52-69 relinquished in the switchover to digital
 700 – 800 MHz
 Split into 5 blocks (A-E) by FCC for 3G/4G use
 Auctioned by FCC for $19.6 billion
 Block A (12 MHz)
» 698 – 704 & 728 – 734 MHz
 Block B (12 MHz)
» 704 – 710 & 734 – 740 MHz
 Block C (22 MHz)
» 746 – 757 & 776 – 787 MHz
 Block D (6 MHz)
» 758 – 763 & 788 – 793 MHz
 Block E (10 MHz)
» 722 – 728 MHz

ECE 4730: Lecture #1 15

 U.S. Mobile Radio Spectrum
 UNII  Unlicensed National Information Infrastructure
 Allocated in 1997 for “public use” applications
 5.155.35 GHz & 5.7255.825 GHz
» 300 MHZ of available spectrum
 WLL, wireless internet access, and WLAN applications
 802.11a IEEE WLAN standard
 Only spectrum in U.S. with enough BW to support very high data rate
services (> 20 Mbps)
» High speed WLAN
» Wireless ATM
 Campus or building applications
» High frequency  poor signal propagation & geographic coverage
» Will NOT support cellular phone applications

ECE 4730: Lecture #1 16