Wireless Communication

Module 1

Introduction to Wireless
Communication Systems
Syllabus : Module 1 Part 1
● Generations: 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G.

● Wireless LAN

● Bluetooth and Personal Area networks

● Broadband Wireless Access -- WiMAX Technology.

● Wireless Spectrum allocation, Standards.

 Introduction to Wireless Mobile Communication
Wireless communication is basically transmitting and receiving voice and data using electromagnetic waves in open
space
The most common wireless technologies use radio waves.
Advantages of Wireless Communication
● Cost effectiveness
● Flexibility
● Convenience
● Speed
● Accessibility
● Constant connectivity
Disadvantages of Wireless Communication
● An unauthorized person can easily capture the wireless signals which spread through the air.
● It is very important to secure the wireless network so that the information cannot be misused by
unauthorized users
Components of Communication System

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 Spectrum
● The word spectrum refers to a collection of various types of electromagnetic radiations of

different wavelengths

● The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) allocates spectrum frequencies for the

use of various countries

● India’s National Frequency Allocation plan allocate spectrum for India

 Family of wireless networks

● PAN – Personal Area Network (<10m)

● LAN- Local Area Network (<150m)

● MAN- Metropolitan Area Network (<5Km)

● WAN- Wide Area Network (<15Km)

● RAN- Regional Area Network (<100Km) 6

Family of wireless networks

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 Evolution of mobile radio communication
● 1895- JC Bose demonstrates wireless operation @60 GHz
● 1901- Transatlantic radio transmission by Marconi
● 1934- Federal Communications Commission was founded
FCC is an independent agency of the United States government created by statute to regulate
interstate communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable.
194 Municipal radio systems and 58 state police stations adopted AM mobile communication
system for public safety in the U.S.
● 1935- Edwin Armstrong demonstrated FM for the first time.
● 1974- FCC allocates 40 MHz spectrum for cellular
● 1978- Adv. Mobile Phone System (AMPS) trials (BELL LABS)
●
1981- (1G) Nordic Mobile Telephone (NMT 450)

1991- (2G) Introduction of GSM and DAMPS (IS- 54)

1993- IS-95 CDMA Specification

2002-03 (3G) Commercial deployment of WCDMA, CDMA2000,EDGE

2007- 3.5 G deployment and development of 4G

2011- Introduction of 4G systems

Growth of mobile users
 India Wireless Situation

● Cellular market going steadily

● March 2014 – crossed 930 M subscriptions

● May 2015- crossed 1B subscriptions

● Broadband target

● Need sustained rate of >512 KBps

● 98% of telephone subscribers using wireless

● >95% of internet subscriptions uses wireless

● Wireless will be the dominant access mode

● Market share of smartphone is increasing

India’s National Frequency Allocation plan
● 0-87.5 MHz is used for marine and aeronautical navigation, short and medium
wave radio, amateur (ham) radio and cordless phones.
● 87.5-108 MHz is used for FM radio broadcasts
● 109- 173 MHz Used for Satellite communication, aeronautical navigation and
outdoor broadcast vans
● 174-230 MHz not allocated.
● 230—450 MHz Used for Satellite communication, aeronautical navigation
and outdoor broadcast vans
● 450- 585 MHz Not allocated.
● 585-698 MHz Used for TV broadcast
● 698-806 MHz Not allocated.
● 806-960 MHz Used by GSM and CDMA mobile services
● 960-1710 MHz Aeronautical and space communication
● 1710- 1930 MHz Used for GSM mobile services
● 1930-2010 MHz Used by defence forces
● 2010-2025 MHz Not allocated
● 2025-2110 MHz Satellite and space communications
● 2110-2170 MHz Not allocated
● 2170-2300 MHz Satellite and space communications
● 2300-2400 MHz not allocated.
● 2400- 2483.5 MHz Used for Wi-Fi and Bluetooth short range services
● 2483.5-3300 MHz Space communications
● 3300-3600 MHz not allocated.
● 3600-10000 MHz Space research, radio navigation
 Different communication channel

● Simplex Channel

● Half Duplex Channel

● Full Duplex Channel

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 Multiple Access Techniques

● Frequency division multiple-access (FDMA)

● Time division multiple-access (TDMA)

● Code division multiple-access (CDMA)

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 Mobile Radio Telephony in the US

1946: The first public mobile telephone service was introduced in 25 major
American cities
⚫ Single high powered transmitter & Large tower
⚫ 120 KHz of RF in Half Duplex mode.

1950: FCC doubled the channels by cutting BW to half, ie 60KHz

1960: FM bandwidth cut into 30KHz
Also in the 1950s and 1960s, automatic channel trunking was introduced and
implemented under the label IMTS (Improved Mobile Telephone Services)

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 Mobile Radio Telephony in the US
● With IMTS(IMPROVED MOBILE TELEPHONE SERVICE) telephone
companies began to offer
○ Full duplex
○ Auto trunking
○ Auto dial
● IMTS quickly saturated in major markets
● Waiting lists increased due to lack of channels
● During 1950’s and 1960’s, AT&T Bell Laboratories and other
telecommunication companies in the world developed the theory and
techniques of cellular radio telephony.
● (AT&T-American telephone and telegraph)
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 Mobile Radio Telephony in the US

● 1968: AT&T proposed cellular mobile system concept to the FCC.

● 1983: FCC allocated 666 duplex channels(40MHz of spectrum in 800 MHz band,
each channel have one way bandwidth of 30KHz)for the US Advanced Mobile Phone
Sytem(AMPS)

● Each city only allowed two cellular radio system providers.

● 1989: FCC granted additional 166(10MHz) channels to US cellular service providers

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 Mobile Radio Telephony in the US

Frequency spectrum allocation for the US Cellular radio service

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 Mobile Radio Telephony in the US
1991: US Digital Cellular (USDC) system hardware is installed in major US cities.

○ Three users in same 30KHz

○ Digital modulation

○ Speech coding

○ TDMA

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 Mobile Radio Telephony in the US

● Qualcomm developed CDMA

● Telecommunication Industries Association (TIA) standardized– IS-95 (1.25MHz)

● 1995: US government auctioned 1800/1900 MHz bandwidth to the wireless service providers

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 Various terms used in Mobile telephony
● Mobile Station (MS)

● Mobile Equipment (ME)

● Subscriber Identity Module (SIM)−

● Base Station (BS)

● Base Transceiver Station (BTS)

● Mobile Switching Center (MSC)

Channels

● Forward Control Channel(FCC)

● Reverse Channel(RC)

● Voice Channel(VC)

● Handoff

● Roamer

● Transceiver
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 Terminology
Mobile: A radio terminal attached to a high speed mobile platform (e.g., a cell phone
in a fast moving vehicle).

Portable: A radio terminal that can be hand held and used by someone at walking
speed (e.g., a cordless telephone)

Subscriber: A mobile or a portable user

Base stations: Fixed antenna units with which the subscribers communicate. Base
stations are connected to a commercial power source and a back bone network
 Terminology
● Cells: The area of coverage is divided into cells. Each cell has a base station located at its
centre or an edge

● Control Channel: Radio channels used for transmission of call setup, call request and call
initiation

● Forward channel (downlink): Radio channel used for transmission of information from
the base station to mobile

● Reverse channel (Uplink): Radio channel used for transmission of information from the
mobile to the base station.
● Handoff: The process of transferring the mobile station from
one channel or base station to another.
● Page: A brief message that is broadcast over the entire service
area by many base stations at the same time.
● Mobile Switching centre(MSC): Switching centre which
coordinates the routing of calls in a large service area. In a
cellular radio system, the MSC connects the cellular base
stations to the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN)
● Transceiver: A device capable of transmitting and receiving
radio signals.
 Control and Traffic channels
● Control channels are used to set up the calls
● Traffic channels are used to send the data.
Forward voice channel (FVC): voice transmission from base station to mobile
Reverse voice channel (RVC) : voice transmission from mobile to base station
Forward control channels (FCC): initiating mobile call from base station to mobile
Reverse control channel (RCC): initiating mobile call from mobile to base station.

❑ Control channels are also called setup channels because they are only involved in setting
up a call and moving it to an unused voice channel.
 Frequency Division Duplex(FDD)

● Both the base station and the subscriber unit transmit and receive
signals simultaneously

● At the base station two separate transmit and receive antennas are
used

● At the subscriber unit only a single antenna is used both for

transmission and reception. A device called duplexer is used to
enable the same antenna for transmission and reception
simultaneously.
 Time Division Duplex(TDD)
● Uses the fact that it is possible to share a single radio channel in time

● A portion of time is used to transmit from the BS to the MS and the remaining
time is used to transmit from the MS to the BS.

● Only possible with digital transmission formats and digital modulation (very
sensitive to timing)

● Used only for indoor or small area application where the propagation delay are
small.
 Examples of mobile radio systems
● Paging Systems
● Cordless Telephone System
● Cellular Telephone System

○ 1G

○ 2G

○ 3G

○ 4G

○ 5G

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 Paging Systems
• Conventional paging system send brief messages to a subscriber
• Modern paging system: news headline, stock quotations, faxes, etc.
• Simultaneously broadcast paging message from each base station
(simulcasting)
• Large transmission power to cover wide area.
 Cordless Telephone System
• Cordless telephone systems are full duplex communication systems.
• First generation cordless phone
– in-home use
– communication to dedicated base unit
– few tens of meters
• Second generation cordless phone
– outdoor
– combine with paging system
– few hundred meters per station
 Cellular Telephone Systems
• Provide connection to the PSTN for any user location within the radio range
of the system.
• Characteristic
– Large number of users
– Large Geographic area
– Limited frequency spectrum
– Reuse of the radio frequency by the concept of “cell’’.
• Basic cellular system: mobile stations, base stations, and mobile switching
center.
 Generations: 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G.

◼ First Generation
◼ 2.5G
◼ Analog Systems ◼ Digital Systems
◼ Analog Modulation, mostly FM ◼ Voice+Low-data rate Data

◼ AMPS ◼ Voice Traffic ◼ Third Generation

◼ FDMA/FDD multiple access ◼ Digital

◼ Second Generation (2G) ◼ Voice + High data rate DATA

◼ Digital Systems ◼ Multimedia Transmission also

◼ Digital Modulation ◼ Fourth Generation

◼ Voice Traffic ◼ Fifth Generation

◼ TDMA/FDD and CDMA/FDD multiple access

 1G (First Generation)
• 1G (First Generation) is the name given to the first generation
of mobile telephone networks.
• The First generation of wireless telecommunication
technology is known as 1G was introduced in 1980

• FDMA (Frequency Division Multiple Access).

• Analog system.
• Basic mobility.
• Frequency typically 150MHz & above
1G Technology

1G refers to the first generation of wireless mobile communication where analog signals were used to

transmit data. It was introduced in the US in early 1980s and designed exclusively for voice

communication. Some characteristics of 1G communication are −

● Speeds up to 2.4 kbps

● Poor voice quality

● Large phones with limited battery life

● No data security
• Advance Mobile Phone Service (AMPS)-United States

• Total Access Communication System (TACS) / Extended Total Access Communication

System (ETACS)-UK

• Nordic Mobile Telephone-450 (NMT-450) -Austria, Belgium

• Nordic Mobile Telephone-900 (NMT-900)-Cyprus, Denmark

• C-NETZ (C-NETZ in German refers to C Network which was the first cellular wireless
telephone network in Germany) -Germany, Portugal and South Africa.

• Radiocom2000 was employed in France.

• Radio Telephone Mobile System (RTMS) was employed in Italy

• Nippon Telephone and Telegraph (NTT) was first employed in Japan and later NTACS
(Narrowband Total Access Communications System) and JTACS (Japanese Total Access
Communication System) were also employed.
 DRAWBACKS OF 1G

❑ Poor voice quality

❑ Poor battery life

❑ Large phone size

❑ No security

❑ Frequent call drops

❑ Limited capacity and poor handoff reliability.

 2G (Second Generation)

● The second-generation (2G) systems, the successors of 1G systems, are digital [i.e., they

convert speech into digital code (a series of pulses) which results in a clearer signal]

● Digital data can be compressed and multiplexed much more effectively than analog voice

encodings.

● A 2G system is called personal communications services (PCS) in the marketing literature.

● There are several 2G standards followed in various parts of the world. Some of them are global

system for mobile communications (GSM) in Europe, digital-AMPS (DAMPS) in United States,

and personal digital cellular (PDC) in Japan.

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2G Technology

2G refers to the second generation of mobile telephony which used digital signals for the first time. It was
launched in Finland in 1991 and used GSM technology. Some prominent characteristics of 2G communication
are −

● Data speeds up to 64 kbps

● Text and multimedia messaging possible
● Better quality than 1G

When GPRS technology was introduced, it enabled web browsing, e-mail services and fast upload/download
speeds. 2G with GPRS is also referred as 2.5G, a step short of next mobile generation.
 Family of 2G Systems

● GSM

● CDMA

● GPRS

● EDGE

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❑ An interim stage that is taken between 2G and
● 3G that is 2.5G

❑ Features includes:-
o Phone calls/ Fax
o Voice mail
o Send/Receive e-mail messages
o web browsing
o camera phones
o speed: 64-144 kb/sec
o Time to download a 3 min MP3 song: 6-9 min

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 Global system for Mobile
Communication (GSM)
GSM is an extremely popular 2G system, which is fully digital, used across over 100
countries
It uses TDMA.
There are four variants of GSM:
• Operating around 900 MHz [This first variant reuses the spectrum intended for
Europe's analog total access communication system (TACS)]
• Operating around 1,800 MHz [licensed in Europe specifically for GSM. This variant is
sometimes called digital communications network (DCN)]
• Operating around 1,900 MHz (used in United States for several different digital 43
networks)
• Operating around 450 MHz (latest variant for replacing aging analog networks based
on NMT system)
▪Apart from voice service, GSM also offers a variety of data services.
▪The modulation scheme used in GSM is Gaussian minimum shift keying
 Global system for Mobile
Communication (GSM)
The downlink (BS-MT) channels are allotted 935-960 MHz, and the uplink
(MT-BS) channels are on 890-915 MHz
The uplink "frame" of eight slots is shifted by a delay of three slots from the
downlink frame, so that the MT does not have to send and receive at
the same time.

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General Packet Radio Service (GPRS)

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 Enhanced Data for Global Evolution (EDGE)
• EDGE uses 8PSK as opposed to GMSK as a modulation
scheme. Essentially squeezing in more data in the
available bandwidth.
• Data rates closer to 3G. Intended to be used by operators
who don’t have a 3G license but wish to deliver higher
data rates.
• Requires all the radio cards in the existing GSM/GPRS
network to be replaced.
• Expensive solution to obtain similar data rates to the
lowest expected 3G performance. 47
 3G GENERATION
● Large capacity and broadband capabilities.

• Allows the transmission of 384kbps for mobile systems and up to 2Mbps.

•Increased spectrum efficiency –5MHz–

A greater number of users that can be simultaneously supported by a radio frequency bandwidth.
-

• High data rates at lower incremental cost than 2G.

• Global roaming

❑ New radio spectrum to relieve overcrowding in existing systems.

❑ More bandwidth , security & reliability.

❑ Inter-portability between services providers.
❑ High data rates.
❑ Rich multimedia services.
❑ Always online devices.

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3G Technology

Third generation (3G) of mobile telephony began with the start of the new millennium and offered major advancement
over previous generations. Some of the characteristics of this generation are −

Data speeds of 144 kbps to 2 Mbps

High speed web browsing

Running web based applications like video conferencing, multimedia e-mails, etc.

Fast and easy transfer of audio and video files

 Family of 2G Systems
TECHNOLOGY DATA RATES
2G GSM 10Kbps
2G CDMA 10Kbps
2.5G GPRS 50Kbps
2.5G EDGE 200Kbps
 Family of 3G Systems
3G WCDMA/UMTS 384Kbps
3G CDMA 2000 384Kbps
3.5G HSDPA/HSUPA 5-30 Mbps
3.5G 1X EVDO 5-30 Mbps
RIV A,B,C

WCDMA- Wideband CDMA

UMTS- Universal Mobile Telecommunication standard
HSDPA- High Speed Downlink Packet Access
EVDO- Evolution Data Optimized

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 Family of 4G Systems

4G LTE 100-200Mbps
4G Wi MAX 100-200Mbps

● LTE – Long Term Evolution

● WiMax- Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave
Access

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 Applications
TECHNOLOGY DATA RATE APPLICATIONS
2G 10-100Kbps Voice+ Basic Data
2.5G
3G 300Kbps-30Mbps Voice, High speed Data ,Video
3.5G calling
4G >100Mbps Online Gaming
Video conferencing
HDTV
 Disadvantages of 3G

❑ Numerous differences in the licensing terms.

❑ It is a challenge to build the necessary
❑ infrastructure for 3G
❑ Expense of 3G phones .
❑ Lack of buy-in by 2G mobile users for the new 3G
wireless services.

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 Features of 4G:

•Faster and more reliable.

100 Mb/s (802.11g wireless = 54Mb/s, 3G = 2Mb/s)
•Lower cost than previous generations
•Multi-standard wireless system.
–Bluetooth, Wired, Wireless (802.11x)
•Ad Hoc Networking.
•IPv6 Core.
•OFDM used instead of CDMA.
•Potentially IEEE standard 802.11
Potentially IEEE standards 802.11

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4G Technology

Keeping up the trend of a new mobile generation every decade, fourth generation (4G) of mobile communication was
introduced in 2011. Its major characteristics are −

Speeds of 100 Mbps to 1 Gbps

Mobile web access

High definition mobile TV

Cloud computing

IP telephony
❑ For the customer
❑ Video streaming , TV broadcast
❑ Video calls , video clips- news , music , sports
❑ Enhanced gaming , chat , location services…
❑ For Business
❑ High speed Tele-working / VPN access
❑ Sales force automation
❑ Video conferencing
❑ Real-time financial information

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3G VS 4G

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● ADVANTAGES OF 4G
❑ High usability: anytime, anywhere and with any technology.
❑ Support for multimedia services at low transmission cost.
❑ Higher bandwidth , tight network security.
❑ DISADVANTAGES OF 4G

❑ The equipment required to implement a next generation network is still very expensive.
❑ Carriers and providers have to plan carefully to make sure that expenses are kept
realistic

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 5G
• High Speed, High Capacity

• 5G technology providing large broadcasting of data in Gbps .

• Multi - Media Newspapers, watch T.V programs with the clarity

as to that of an HD Quality.

• Faster data transmission that of the

previous generations.

• Large Phone Memory, Dialing Speed,

clarity in Audio/Video.

• Support interactive multimedia , voice,

streaming video, Internet and other

• 5G is More Effective and More Attractive.

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4G cellular network

4G is referred as the 4th Generation to the cellular network technology which flourished over 3G. It has the
International Telecommunication Union (ITU) in International Mobile Telecommunications (IMT) Advanced. This
comprises IP telephony, Gaming services, high-definition mobile TV, video calling, Television in 3D etc.

5G cellular network

5Gs are the wireless network technologies which includes the millimetre wave bands that offer high performance,
improved speed and coverage and reliability.

Differences

Now let us see the differences between 4G and 5G cellular networks step wise as given below:
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Wireless Local Area Networks (WLANs)
● In 1997 the FCC allocated 300 MHz of unlicensed spectrum in the Industrial Scientific and
Medical (ISM) bands of 5.150–5.350 GHz and 5.725–5.825 GHz for the express purpose of
supporting low-power license-free spread spectrum data communication.
● This allocation is called the Unlicensed National Information Infrastructure (UNII) band. The
IEEE 802.11 Wireless LAN working group was founded in 1987 to begin standardization of
spread spectrum WLANs for use in the ISM bands.
● Figure 2.10 illustrates the evolution of IEEE 802.11 Wireless LAN standards, which also include
infrared communications.
● Figure 2.10 shows how both frequency hopping and direct sequence approaches were used in the
original IEEE 802.11 standard (2 Mbps user throughput), but as of late 2001 only direct
sequence spread spectrum (DS-SS) modems had thus far been standardized for high rate (11
Mbps) user data rates within IEEE 802.11.
Figure 2.10. Overview of the IEEE 802.11 Wireless LAN standard
● The DS-SS IEEE 802.11b standard has been named Wi-Fi by the Wireless Ethernet

Compatibility Alliance (WECA), a group that promotes adoption of 802.11b DS-SS WLAN

equipment and interoperability between vendors.

● IEEE 802.11g is developing Complementary Code Keying Orthogonal Frequency Division

Multiplexing (CCK-OFDM) standards in both the 2.4 GHz (802.11b) and 5 GHz (802.11a)

bands, and will support roaming capabilities and dual-band use for public WLAN networks,

while supporting backward compatibility with 802.11b technology

● The frequency-hopping spread spectrum (FH-SS) proponents of IEEE 802.11 have formed the

HomeRF standard that supports frequency hopping equipment.

● It is worth noting that both DS and FH types of WLANs must operate in the same unlicensed

bands that contain cordless phones, baby monitors, Bluetooth devices, and other WLAN users.
● All WLANs are manufactured to operate on any one of the specified channels and are

assigned to a particular channel by the network operator when the WLAN system is

first installed.

● The channelization scheme used by the network installer becomes very important for a

high density WLAN installation, since neighboring access points must be separated

from one another in frequency to avoid interference and significantly degraded

performance.
● In Europe in the mid 1990s, the High Performance Radio Local Area Network (HIPERLAN)

standard was developed to provide a similar capability to IEEE 802.11. HIPERLAN was

intended to provide individual wireless LANs for computer communications and used the 5.2

GHz and the 17.1 GHz frequency bands.

● HIPERLAN provides asynchronous user data rates of between 1 to 20 Mbps, as well as time

bounded messaging at rates of 64 kbps to 2.048 Mbps. HIPERLAN was designed to operate

up to vehicle speeds of 35 km/hr, and typically provided 20 Mbps throughput at 50 m range.

● In 1997, Europe’s ETSI established a standardization committee for Broadband Radio Access

Networks (BRANs).

● The goal of BRAN is to develop a family of broadband WLAN-type protocols that allow user

interoperability, covering both short range (e.g., WLAN) and long range (e.g., fixed wireless)

networking.

● HIPERLAN/2 has emerged as the next generation European WLAN standard and will provide

up to 54 Mbps of user data to a variety of networks, including the ATM backbone, IP based

networks, and the UMTS core.

Bluetooth and Personal Area Networks (PANs)
● Bluetooth is an open standard that has been embraced by over 1,000 manufacturers of

electronic appliances.

● It provides an ad-hoc approach for enabling various devices to communicate with one another

within a nominal 10 meter range.

● Named after King Harald Bluetooth, the 10th century Viking who united Denmark and

Norway, the Bluetooth standard aims to unify the connectivity chores of appliances within the

personal workspace of an individual.

● Bluetooth operates in the 2.4 GHz ISM Band (2400–2483.5 MHz) and uses a frequency hopping
TDD scheme for each radio channel.
● Each Bluetooth radio channel has a 1 MHz bandwidth and hops at a rate of approximately 1600 hops
per second.
● Transmissions are performed in 625 microsecond slots with a single packet transmitted over a single
slot.
● For long data transmissions, particular users may occupy multiple slots using the same transmission
frequency, thus slowing the instantaneous hopping rate to below 1600 hops/second.
● The frequency hopping scheme of each Bluetooth user is determined from a cyclic code of length 227
– 1, and each user has a channel symbol rate of 1 Mbps using GFSK modulation.
● The standard has been designed to support operation in very high interference levels and relies on a
number of forward error control (FEC) coding and automatic repeat request (ARQ) schemes to
support a raw channel bit error rate (BER) of about 10^(–3).
● Different countries have allocated various channels for Bluetooth operation. In the US

and most of Europe, the FHSS 2.4 GHz ISM band is available for Bluetooth use.

● A detailed list of states is defined in the Bluetooth standard to support a wide range of

applications, appliances, and potential uses of the Personal Area Network.

● Audio, text, data, and even video is contemplated in the Bluetooth standard [Tra01].

● Figure 2.17provides a depiction of the Bluetooth concept where a gateway to the

Internet via IEEE 802.11b is shown as a conceptual possibility.

● The IEEE 802.15 standards committee has been formed to provide an international forum for

developing Bluetooth and other PANs that interconnect pocket PCs, personal digital assistants

(PDAs), cellphones, light projectors, and other appliances [Bra00].

● With the rapid proliferation of wearable computers, such as PDAs, cellphones, smart cards,

and position location devices, PANs may provide the connection to an entire new era of

remote retrieval and monitoring of the world around us.

Broadband Wireless Access -- WiMAX Technology.
● WiMAX is one of the hottest broadband wireless technologies around today. WiMAX systems are expected to
deliver broadband access services to residential and enterprise customers in an economical way.
● Loosely, WiMax is a standardized wireless version of Ethernet intended primarily as an alternative to wire
technologies (such as Cable Modems, DSL and T1/E1 links) to provide broadband access to customer premises.
● More strictly, WiMAX is an industry trade organization formed by leading communications, component, and
equipment companies to promote and certify compatibility and interoperability of broadband wireless access
equipment that conforms to the IEEE 802.16 and ETSI HIPERMAN standards.
● WiMAX would operate similar to WiFi, but at higher speeds over greater distances and for a greater number of
users. WiMAX has the ability to provide service even in areas that are difficult for wired infrastructure to reach
and the ability to overcome the physical limitations of traditional wired infrastructure.
● WiMAX was formed in April 2001, in anticipation of the publication of the original 10-66 GHz IEEE 802.16
specifications. WiMAX is to 802.16 as the WiFi Alliance is to 802.11.
WiMAX is

● Acronym for Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access.

● Based on Wireless MAN technology.

● A wireless technology optimized for the delivery of IP centric services over a wide area.

● A scalable wireless platform for constructing alternative and complementary broadband networks.

● A certification that denotes interoperability of equipment built to the IEEE 802.16 or compatible

standard. The IEEE 802.16 Working Group develops standards that address two types of usage

models −

○ A fixed usage model (IEEE 802.16-2004).

○ A portable usage model (IEEE 802.16e)

What is 802.16a ?
WiMAX is such an easy term that people tend to use it for the 802.16 standards and technology themselves,
although strictly it applies only to systems that meet specific conformance criteria laid down by the WiMAX
Forum.

The 802.16a standard for 2-11 GHz is a wireless metropolitan area network (MAN) technology that will provide
broadband wireless connectivity to Fixed, Portable and Nomadic devices.

It can be used to connect 802.11 hot spots to the Internet, provide campus connectivity, and provide a wireless
alternative to cable and DSL for last mile broadband access
WiMax Speed and Range
WiMAX is expected to offer initially up to about 40 Mbps capacity per wireless channel for both fixed and portable
applications, depending on the particular technical configuration chosen, enough to support hundreds of businesses with
T-1 speed connectivity and thousands of residences with DSL speed connectivity. WiMAX can support voice and video as
well as Internet data.

WiMax developed to provide wireless broadband access to buildings, either in competition to existing wired networks or
alone in currently unserved rural or thinly populated areas. It can also be used to connect WLAN hotspots to the Internet.
WiMAX is also intended to provide broadband connectivity to mobile devices. It would not be as fast as in these fixed
applications, but expectations are for about 15 Mbps capacity in a 3 km cell coverage area.

With WiMAX, users could really cut free from today's Internet access arrangements and be able to go online at
broadband speeds, almost wherever they like from within a MetroZone.

WiMAX could potentially be deployed in a variety of spectrum bands: 2.3GHz, 2.5GHz, 3.5GHz, and 5.8GHz
Why WiMax ?
● WiMAX can satisfy a variety of access needs. Potential applications include extending broadband capabilities to bring them closer to
subscribers, filling gaps in cable, DSL and T1 services, WiFi, and cellular backhaul, providing last-100 meter access from fibre to the curb
and giving service providers another cost-effective option for supporting broadband services.
● WiMAX can support very high bandwidth solutions where large spectrum deployments (i.e. >10 MHz) are desired using existing
infrastructure keeping costs down while delivering the bandwidth needed to support a full range of high-value multimedia services.
● WiMAX can help service providers meet many of the challenges they face due to increasing customer demands without discarding their
existing infrastructure investments because it has the ability to seamlessly interoperate across various network types.
● WiMAX can provide wide area coverage and quality of service capabilities for applications ranging from real-time delay-sensitive
voice-over-IP (VoIP) to real-time streaming video and non-real-time downloads, ensuring that subscribers obtain the performance they
expect for all types of communications.
● WiMAX, which is an IP-based wireless broadband technology, can be integrated into both wide-area third-generation (3G) mobile and
wireless and wireline networks allowing it to become part of a seamless anytime, anywhere broadband access solution.
● Ultimately, WiMAX is intended to serve as the next step in the evolution of 3G mobile phones, via a potential combination of WiMAX and
CDMA standards called 4G.

Ultimately, WiMAX is intended to serve as the next step in the evolution of 3G mobile phones, via a potential combination of WiMAX and
CDMA standards called 4G.
WiMAX Goals

● A standard by itself is not enough to enable mass adoption. WiMAX has stepped forward to help solve
barriers to adoption, such as interoperability and cost of deployment.
● WiMAX will help ignite the wireless MAN industry by defining and conducting interoperability testing
and labeling vendor systems with a "WiMAX Certified™" label once testing has been completed
successfully.
Wireless Spectrum allocation, Standards.
● Spectrum allocation is the process of regulating the use of the electromagnetic

spectrum and dividing it among various and sometimes competing organizations and

interests.

● This ensures that there is little competition when using a specific frequency band,

which can cause interference if the same frequency band is used for different and

unregulated purposes.

● This regulation is controlled by various governmental and international organizations.

● Spectrum allocation is also known as frequency allocation

● Spectrum allocation came to be because of the emerging and convergence of wireless

telecommunications technology which created huge demands on the radio frequency

spectrum for various services such as high-speed data transfer and communication.

● Therefore, the purpose of various spectrum policies and laws is the regulation and

management of the resource (the electromagnetic spectrum) for the benefit of everyone

using it.

● This basically means that spectrum allocation is done to prevent major interference and

chaos in the air waves, which would serve no one at all.

● Imagine a four-lane road that is quite small for highway standards and that there is no

regulation where different vehicles are allowed to travel in.

● Now, consider that there is a fleet of large trucks moving together and driving at a

slower speed for safety.

● Without regulation on which lane they can drive in, the various members of this fleet of

trucks would use all four lanes, effectively blocking all other vehicles.

● This causes all other vehicles behind to travel at speeds slower than or equal to those of

the trucks since there is no way for them to pass.

● This is the purpose of spectrum allocation, to simply put everything in its place, in this

case in a specific radio spectrum, to prevent interference and chaos.

Some standardization organizations working on spectrum allocation and regulation:

● European Conference of Postal and Telecommunications Administrations (CEPT)

● International Telecommunication Union (ITU)

● Inter-American Telecommunication Commission (CITEL)

Types of spectrum allocation:

● No one may transmit — Spectrum band is reserved for a specific use such as radio

astronomy so that there is no interference with radio telescopes

● Anyone may transmit — As long as transmission power limits are respected

● Only licensed users/organizations of the specific band may transmit — Examples are

cellular and television spectrums as well as amateur radio frequency allocations.