PlantWeb University – Wireless 205

Cellular Networks
15 minutes

In this course:
1 Overview
2 Why cellular?

3 CDMA and TDMA

4 GSM

5 GSM frequencies

6 GPRS

7 Cellular vs satellite

8 Summary

? Quiz

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Overview

Cellular technology is one of several different wireless technologies

that can be used in process automation. Understanding its key aspects
can help you recognize opportunities for applying the technology to
meet your business needs – and then evaluate and choose the right
wireless solution for your application.

Most of us are familiar with cellular networks. Cell phones enable us to

communicate on the move by automatically transferring our call from
one antenna to another as we travel between network "cells." Whether
you consider them good or bad things, cell phones and Blackberries make it easier to stay in
touch from almost any location through the use of wireless technology.

You may not be as familiar with wireless cellular applications in the process-automation industry.
But some of the same technologies that keep you in touch with your family or co-workers can also
communicate asset-monitoring data – particularly from geographically dispersed applications that
make wired connections impractical.

Cellular technology is typically best applied to remote inventory monitoring and some chart
recorder replacement applications. These are applications where no local host is available for
data collection.

The catch is that there are many different cellular technologies, and some are better suited to
process-industry applications than others. This course will help you understand the key
differences and relationships between common cellular technologies, so you'll know what
vendors and others mean when they start using terms like CDMA, TDMA, GSM, and GPRS.
 Hint:

As you go through the topics in this course, watch for answers to these questions:
What are the leading cellular communication technologies?
Which technology is used most?
Which is best suited for remote data collection?

Why cellular?

In the process automation world, cellular technology can use existing public cell-phone networks
to collect measurement data from remote or geographically dispersed assets, such as inventory
storage tanks at customer sites. This can provide a more complete, more up-to-date, and more
affordable picture of asset status than traditional methods, such as sending a person to each site
to collect the data by inspection.

For example, a cellular radio could transmit tank level measurements from a remote site to the
nearest cell-phone tower. From there the information travels over public data networks (such as
phone system or the Internet) to a data server. It's stored there until an authorized person uses a
highly secure web interface to retrieve and display information about the tanks – much as you
might use a PC to access your bank-account information over the Internet.

Cellular technology helps make accessing remote asset data easy and affordable.

It's also common to record pressure, level, or temperature measurements in remote areas using
pen-chart recorders and paper charts. With this traditional technology, someone has to go to the
remote site periodically – maybe once a day or once a week – to collect the chart, visually
interpret the data, and install a new paper wheel. Between these visits, no one knows what the
measurement is.

In addition, any performance issues with the chart recorder often go undetected until it is
physically inspected during the next site visit – which may be weeks away. Chart recorders also
fall short on capabilities often desired by operations, such as data quality and multivariable
tracking.

With a cellular link between the remote site and a central server, however, the old chart recorder
can be replaced with a cellular radio-equipped measurement instrument. The instrument sends
the measurement data back for collection and analysis – in real time, if needed. And no one has
to drive out to replace the paper chart.

The automated chart recorders included in some wireless monitoring solutions increase labor
productivity by using this information to automatically provide data interpolation with trending, as
well as making it easier for you to spot performance issues.

You may have noticed that these examples are about collecting periodic measurement data – not
controlling the process. That's because current cellular technology can't cost-effectively support
the continuous high-speed communications needed in control applications.

For remote assets that are monitored infrequently, however, wireless cellular technology can be
an ideal solution.

Two other PlantWeb University Courses – Reducing remote inventory logistic costs and
Automated pressure chart recorders – cover these applications in detail. For now, let's look at
the different types of cellular technology.

CDMA and TDMA

Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) and Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) are two
methods for carrying many communications within the same stream of digital data.

Imagine you're at a party with many conversations going on at once. Without a way to isolate the
"transmission" from the person who's talking to you from all the other conversations,
communication can be difficult or impossible.

CDMA solves this problem by having each conversation use a different language, or code. Two
people conducting a conversation in French, for example, won't be distracted by a nearby
conversation in Chinese.

The TDMA approach, on the other hand, is to have each person speak briefly, and then the next
person – in effect, dividing time into small slices and assigning each slice to a conversation
message.

This simple analogy doesn't reflect the complexity of actual CDMA and TDMA cellular
technologies, but the principles are the same.

Although CDMA was used in some early cell phone systems, in many areas it is being replaced
by TDMA. TDMA is by far the most common cellular technology in the world, and it is well suited
for transmitting rich measurement data over existing telecommunication networks.

We'll focus on the most common form of TDMA network, called GSM, and on GSM's data-
transfer technology, GPRS.
GSM

Global System for Mobile Communications, or GSM, is the most popular cellular technology
today. This digital, TDMA-based technology was first widely used in Europe but now serves more
than 78 percent of the global market.

In the U.S., major cellular-service providers such as Cingular and T-Mobile have deployed GSM
very rapidly to create a substantial network. Examples in other world areas include Vodafone,
Orange, and China Mobile.

GSM frequencies

Although GSM is used throughout most of the world, different areas use different frequency
bands. That's why you hear about dual-band, tri-band, or quad-band phones for use in multiple
world areas.

GSM operates at different frequencies in different regions – such as 850 and 1900 MHz in the
U.S. and 900 and 1800 MHz in Europe.

Because so much cellular infrastructure has already been deployed using these different
frequencies, and because of conflicts in existing frequency assignments, the world may never
adopt a single GSM frequency. Cellular solutions that will be used in multiple world areas should
therefore include multi-band capabilities.

GPRS

General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) – available as part of a GSM network – is the world's most
popular wireless data service.

Based on Internet protocols, GPRS works by layering "packets" of digital data on top of the
digitized voice signal used for GSM cell-phone calls. The service-provider's cell towers must be
equipped to handle the GPRS data. Typically, there is a very strong correlation between GSM
and GPRS coverage areas.

GPRS supports a wide range of business and consumer applications. For example, it's used to
transmit e-mail messages to Blackberries – and data for remote asset monitoring.
Cellular vs satellite

Satellite communications can also be used for monitoring geographically dispersed assets, but
there are drawbacks compared to cellular technology:

Data transmission by satellite is significantly more expensive.

There are no current standards for satellite communications.
Use of satellite communications for such applications is growing much more slowly than use of
cellular technology, so satellite technology doesn't offer the same economies of scale as cellular
technology.

Especially because of the high cost, satellite communications should generally be reserved for
specialized low-bandwidth applications where cellular coverage may not be available, such as
maritime and mobile asset tracking in isolated areas.

Summary

In this course, you've learned that...

With the right technology, the same public cellular networks we use for wireless phone calls can also
be used for applications like remote inventory tank monitoring and automated pressure chart
recording.
TDMA can carry both voice and data on the same network.
The most widely used cellular technology is GSM, and GPRS – which is available as part of a GSM
network – is the most popular wireless data service.
The high cost of satellite communications is one reason cellular technology is usually the preferred
choice for data monitoring applications.