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Electromagnetic Spectrum for Telecommunications

Wireless Media
• Transmission of waves take place in the
electromagnetic (EM) spectrum.
• The electromagnetic spectrum is a collective term;
• Referring to the entire range and scope of frequencies
of electromagnetic radiation and their respective,
associated photon wavelengths

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• The EM extends from below the low frequencies

used for modern radio communication to
gamma radiation at the short-wavelength (high-
frequency) end,
• It covers wavelengths from thousands of
kilometers down to a fraction of the size of an
atom.
• Visible light lies toward the shorter end, with
wavelengths from 400 to 700 nanometres
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• The carrier frequency of the data is expressed in
cycles per second called hertz(Hz).
• Low frequency signals can travel for long distances
through many obstacles -but can not carry a high
bandwidth of data
• High frequency signals can travel for shorter distances
through few obstacles and carry a narrow bandwidth
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Broad categories of wireless media
1.Radio frequency-
• This ranges from10 Khz to 1 Ghz.
• It is broken into many bands including AM, FM, and
VHF bands.
• The Federal communications Commission (FCC)
regulates the assignment of these frequencies.
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• Note: The more the frequency the more is the speed
but less is the range
because high frequencies possess high power which
results in more losses to occur which further inhibits
them to cover a large range
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Frequencies for unregulated use:
• There are a number of unlicensed spectrum bands in a
variety of areas of the radio spectrum.
• These are referred to as ISM bands - Industrial,
Scientific and Medical,
• They carry everything from microwave ovens to radio
communications.
• Many of these bands, including the two used for Wi-Fi
are global allocations, although local restrictions may
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• 902-928Mhz - Cordless phones, remote controls.
• 2.4 or 5 GHz WLAN operating on the same channel
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• Higher frequency microwave is being used for short
point-to-point links between buildings; typically, the
22-GHz-23-GHz band is used.
• The higher microwave frequencies are less useful for
longer distances because of increased attenuation
BUT are quite adequate for shorter distances..
• Loss L can be expressed as follows:
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2. Microwave
• Terrestrial - Used to link networks over long distances
but the two microwave towers must have a line of
sight between them.
• Frequencies in the range of about 1 GHz to 40 GHz are
referred to as microwave frequencies
• The most common bands for long-haul
telecommunications are the 4-GHz to 6-GHz bands
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• where d is the distance and λ is the wavelength, in the
same units.
• Thus, loss varies as the square of the distance. So,
repeaters or amplifiers may be placed farther apart
for microwave systems—10 to 100 km is typical.
• Attenuation is also increased with rainfall.
• The effects of rainfall become especially noticeable
above 10GHz. Another source of impairment is
interference.
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3. Satellite
• A satellite orbits at about 22,300 miles or 35,863 km
• Speed is often 1-10Mbps. above the earth which is an altitude that will cause it
• Microwave is also used for satellite communications. to stay in a fixed position relative to the rotation of
• The signal is normally encrypted for privacy. Two the earth.
nodes may exist. • A communication satellite is, in effect, a microwave
relay station.
• It is used to link two or more ground-based
microwave transmitters/receivers, known as earth
stations, or ground stations.
• The satellite receives transmissions on one frequency
band (uplink), amplifies or repeats the signal, and
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• A single orbiting satellite will operate on a number of

frequency bands, called transponder channels, or
simply transponders.
• A station on the ground will send and receive signals
from the satellite.
• The signal can have propagation delays between 0.5
to 5 seconds due to the distances involved.
• The transmission frequency is normally 11-14GHz with
a transmission speed in the range of 1-10Mbps.

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Applications for satellites: 4. Infrared

• Infrared is just below the visible range of light
• Televisiondistribution between 100Ghz and 1000Thz.
• A light emitting diode (LED) or Laser is used to
• Long-distance telephone transmission emitransmit the signal.
• Private business networks such as VSAT • The signal cannot travel through objects. It is normally
• Global positioning a Point to point communication
• Transmission is between two points and is limited to
line of sight range.
• It is difficult to eavesdrop on the transmission. The
speed is 100Kbps to 16Mbps
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Uses of Infrared Advantages of Using Infrared

The greatest advantages of infrared/devices are:

Infrared emitters and detectors are used in various • No regulations relating to their use
aspects basically in:
• Optical fiber transmission • lower energy consumption
• Various remote control applications such as the TVs, • longer lifetime, improved robustness
CD players, • smaller size and faster switching
• security lights • They also present less risk of injury.
• burglar alarms • Compared with the wireless communication with a
maximum speed of about 100 Mbps, the infrared
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• Infrared systems are secure systems because the
signal will not leave the room.
• Thus, it is the system of choice for deliberations and
business meetings that need to protect discussions
• Because light does not transmit through walls,
multiple systems can be used within a building.
• With the exception of high frequency lights and bright
sunlight, there are few sources of interference with
infrared systems.
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Types of infrared emitting devices
Laser diodes
• Light Amplification by Stimulation of the Emitted
Radiation. Or
Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation
• Used in Optical fiber transmission systems and are
confined in small area
• video recording, optical reading, high-speed laser printing,
atmospheric pollution monitoring.
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Disadvantages of Using Infrared
• It requires both transmitter and receiver to be in line
of sight.
• Devices can not move around while transmission is in
progress.
• Used for very short distance application
• They have low electrical to optical power conversion
efficiency, so this can lead to a high power demand on
the side of the battery source
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Light emitting diodes(LEDs)
• LEDs are based on the semiconductor diode.
• When the diode is forward biased (switched on),
electrons are able to recombine with holes and energy
is released in the form of light.
• This effect is called electroluminescence and the color
of the light is determined by the energy gap of the
semiconductor
• Used illumination and indication.
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5. WiMAX
• WiMAX technology is a broadband wireless data
communications technology based around the IEEE 802.16
standard providing high speed data over a wide area.
• The letters of WiMAX stand for Worldwide Interoperability
for Microwave Access (AXess)
• It is a technology for point to multipoint wireless
networking.
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• With WiMAX, Wi-Fi like data rates are easily
supported, but the issue of interference is lessened.
• WiMAX operates on both licensed and non-licensed
frequencies, providing a regulated environment and
viable economic model for wireless carriers.
• WiMAX can be used for wireless networking in much
the same way as the more common Wi-Fi protocol.
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• WiMAX can provide broadband wireless access (BWA) up
to about 50 km for fixed stations
• WiMAX technology is able to meet the needs of a large
variety of users from those (may be)in rural areas needing
fast access where wired solutions may not be viable
because of the distances and costs involved.
• Additionally it is being used for mobile applications,
providing high speed data to users on the move.
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6. BLUETOOTH
• Bluetooth is a radio (2.4Ghz) data technology that allows a
user to wirelessly connect numerous personal devices to
allow communication between them all.
• Bluetooth achieves what is sometimes referred to as a
Personal Area Network (PAN)
• Allowing you to, for example, have your mobile phone,
hands-free kit and laptop computer all communicating
wirelessly.
• Bluetooth is an industry specification defined by the
Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) 28
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Bluetooth-enabled products Common uses of Bluetooth:

Products containing Bluetooth technology include:
• computers, include:
• headsets, • Use a wireless mouse and keyboard with your PC.
• keyboards and mice, • Use a wireless mobile phone headset while leaving
• printers, handheld computers, your phone in your pocket.
• mobile phones, • Synchronize personal data between your palm
• digital cameras and GPS units computer, your laptop and your mobile phone.
• Etc.. • Copy pictures off your digital camera to your desktop
computer
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Bluetooth built-in security mechanisms: Basic security services:

The Bluetooth system provides for three:
• Shared key between devices 1) Confidentiality – addresses information
• Encryption of data compromise issues from eavesdropping,
• Ability to remain hidden while searching 2) Authentication –addresses the issue of being able
to confirm the authenticity of the identity of devices
with whom we are communicating with, and
3) Authorization – addresses the issue of whether the
device in question is allowed to access the specific
information requested
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SECURITY VULNERABILITIES WITH BLUETOOTH

1)Lack of authentication in Object Exchange (OBEX) Unfortunately, this also allows an attacker to easily gain
• Many mobile phone manufacturers have decided that access to other files and personal information stored
on the phone, such as:
Bluetooth authentication is not necessary in OBEX to
aid easy exchange of business cards from phone to • entire phonebook
phone. • calendar
• (Object exchange (OBEX) is a protocol for the wireless • real-time clock
exchange of data between devices.) • business card
• etc
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2) Deleted paired device still having full access

An attacker may also then: • Some devices leave all credentials after deleting a pairing
• Initiate a phone call which allows the deleted paired device to still connect as
normal.
• Write a phone book entry
• To the user, the device does not appear as “trusted” in a list
• Send an SMS (Short Message Service)/text message of devices, however the attacker may still have full access
via other methods. via Bluetooth.

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• An attacker may quickly take the device from the
owner
• Pair the attacking device, delete the pairing so it is no
longer visible to the owner,
• Return the device and still have full ability to connect
to the owner’s device without their knowledge.
• This is commonly referred to as the backdoor attack.
• The attacker is then free to continue using your device
as if s/he has full access to it.
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SUGGESTED ACTIONS TO SECURE BLUETOOTH
1)Turn it off or disable the Bluetooth adapter.
• If you’re not actively using the Bluetooth connection on
your device or computer.
• It will also considerably reduce battery consumption on
devices such as a phone
2)Ensure you have the latest Bluetooth firmware and
device drivers on all devices
3) Put the device in hidden/invisible mode only to
reduce…….
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3) Discovery of undiscoverable devices
• Tools are available, which allow discovery of hidden or
undiscoverable devices.
• “Hidden” or “undiscoverable” mode may stop your
device from broadcasting its presence,however
• It will still respond to a number of requests, allowing
brute-force discovery of it.
• Note however it may take an unreasonable amount of
time (eg, 11 hours). But still…….
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4) Turn on authentication
• Once Bluetooth authentication is on, devices generally
need to then use a common password to pair with
another device.
5)Turn on encryption if available
• Turning on Bluetooth encryption means that the majority
of data transmitted between the two Bluetooth devices
is encrypted with a common key.
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6)Do not allow auto-acceptance of files

• It is best to always be asked by your device when
accepting a file so that you don’t unwittingly allow a 8)Permanently remove pairings
dangerous file or Trojan to be automatically uploaded. • To ensure there are no “hidden” pairings in your
7)Disable file shares device, it is best to do a factory reset of it.
• If you do not actively share files from the Bluetooth Unfortunately, this may not be convenient.
device to your other devices,
• disable all sharing (read-only and read/write) of files.

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9)Do not pair with unknown devices or give up physical

access to your device
• To alleviate the chances of an attacker pairing with your
device (and then potentially hiding the pairing by
“deleting” it),
10)Do not ever assume you’re “out-of-range”

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