WIRELESS TECHNOLOGY

FUNDAMENTALS
Prof. Harshali Patil
Wireless and Mobile Technology
 Pre-requisites:

Basic knowledge of networks and communication

 Course Educational Objectives (CEO): At the end

of the course, the students will be able to

CEO501.1 Learn the concepts of wireless
communication and mobile networks

CEO501.2 Identify different wireless technologies
and its applications

CEO501.3 Acquire knowledge on generation of
cellular networks and its standards used
Course Outcomes (CO)
 MCA501.1 Understand basic concepts of wireless
communication.

 MCA501.2 Analyse the different wireless networks

with its advantages and limitations

 MCA501.3 Compare the various wireless technologies

like GSM, GPRS, CDMA, LTE and its applications

 MCA501.4 Apply the appropriate technology in the

applications
Course contents
 Module -1 Wireless Technology Fundamentals
 Module -2 Wireless Networks
 Module -3 Cellular wireless Networks
 Module -4 Mobile communication systems
 Module -5 Mobile Network Layer
 Module -6 Mobile Transport Layer
 Module -7 Application Layer
 References
1. Mobile Communications, Second Edition, Jochen Schiller, Pearson
Education
2. Wireless Communications & Networks, Second Edition, William
Stallings, Pearson Education
3. Wireless Communications and Networks, 3G and Beyond, Second Edition,
ITI SahaMisra, McGraw Hill Education
4. Wireless Network Evolution 2G to 3G, Vijay K. Garg, Pearson Publications.
5. Wireless and Mobile Network Architectures, Yi Bang Lin, ImrichChlamtac,
Wiley India.
6. Wireless and Mobile Networks, Concepts and Protocols, Dr. Sunilkumar S.
Manvi, Mahabaleshwar S. Kakkasageri, Wiley India
7. Multi-Carrier and Spread Spectrum Systems - From OFDM and MC-CDMA
to LTE and WiMAX, Second Edition, K. Fazel, S. Kaiser, wiley publications
8. Wireless and Mobile All-IP Networks, Yi-Bing Lin, Ai-Chun Pang, Wiley
Publications
Module-1
Wireless Technology Fundamentals
 Introduction to Mobile and wireless communications
 Overview of radio transmission frequencies
 Signal Antennas
 Signal Propagation
 Multiplexing – SDM,FDM, TDM,CDM
 Modulation –ASK,FSK,PSK, Advanced FSK, Advanced PSK,
OFDM
 Spread Spectrum – DSSS,FHSS
 Wireless Transmission Impairments – Free Space Loss,
Fading, Multipath Propagation, Atmospheric Absorption
 Error Correction – Reed Solomon, BCH, Hamming code,
Convolution Code (Encoding and Decoding)
 Why Mobile Communications?
 Largest SW/HW/networked system
 Largest number of subscribers
 Mobile devices dominate the Internet
 Mobile applications dominate Internet usage
 New possibilities, new threats
 Technology fully integrated into everybody's life almost
24/7, almost anywhere
 Internet of Everything needs mobile/wireless access

Prof. Dr. Jochen H. Schiller www.jochenschiller.de

Proportion of youth (15-24) using the Internet, 2017*
Source : ITU https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics/Pages/facts/default.aspx
Computers for the next decades?
 Computers are integrated (>95% embedded systems!)

small, cheap, portable, replaceable - no more separate devices

 Technology is in the background

computer are aware of their environment and adapt (“location awareness”)

computer recognize the location of the user and react appropriately (e.g.
call forwarding, message forwarding, “context awareness”)

 Advances in technology

more computing power in smaller devices

flat, lightweight displays with low power consumption

new user interfaces due to small dimensions

more bandwidth per cubic meter

multiple wireless interfaces: NFC, piconets, wireless LANs, wireless WANs,
regional wireless telecommunication networks, VLC etc.
Components of Communication system
Components of Communication system
 The source originates a message, which could be a human voice, a
television picture or data.
 The source is converted by an input transducer into an electrical
waveform referred to as the baseband signal or message signal.
 The transmitter modifies the baseband signal for efficient transmission
 The channel is a medium through which the transmitter output is sent, which
could be a wire, a coaxial cable, an optical fiber, or a radio link,
 The receiver reprocessed the signal received from the channel by undoing
the signal modifications made at the transmitter and the channel.
 The receiver output is fed to the output transducer, which converts the
electrical signal to its original form
 Transmitters and receivers are carefully designed to overcome the
distortion and noise.
Wired communication
 The public switched telephone network (PSTN) is
the world telephone system.
◦ It is used for data as well as voice communications.
◦ Twisted-pair wire and fiber-optic cable provide the
connections for the system.
Wired Communication
 Multiplexing technology enables simultaneous multi-
use of transmission lines.
◦ Copper wire allows up to 24 simultaneous calls per
wire.
◦ Fiber-optic cable permits up to 43,384 calls per
strand.
Wireless communication
 Transmitting voice and data using electromagnetic waves in
open space (atmosphere)
 Electromagnetic waves
 Travel at speed of light (c = 3x108 m/s)
 Has a frequency (f) and wavelength (l)
c=fxl
 Higher frequency means higher energy photons

 The higher the energy photon the more penetrating is the

radiation
Early history of wireless communication
Many people in history used light for communication

heliographs, flags („semaphore“), ...

150 BC smoke signals for communication;

(Polybius, Greece)

1794, optical telegraph, Claude Chappe

Here electromagnetic waves are of special importance:

1831 Faraday demonstrates electromagnetic induction

J. Maxwell (1831-79): theory of electromagnetic Fields, wave equations

(1864)

H. Hertz (1857-94): demonstrates
with an experiment the wave character
of electrical transmission through space
(1888, in Karlsruhe, Germany, at the
location of today’s University of Karlsruhe)
History of wireless communication I

1896 Guglielmo Marconi

– first demonstration of wireless telegraphy (digital!)
– long wave transmission, high transmission power necessary (> 200kw)
1907 Commercial transatlantic connections
– huge base stations (30 100m high antennas)
1915 Wireless voice transmission New York - San
Francisco
1920 Discovery of short waves by Marconi
– reflection at the ionosphere
– smaller sender and receiver, possible due to the invention of the vacuum tube (1906,
Lee DeForest and Robert von Lieben)
1926 Train-phone on the line Hamburg - Berlin
– wires parallel to the railroad track
History of wireless communication II
1928 many TV broadcast trials (across Atlantic, color TV, TV
news)
1933 Frequency modulation (E. H. Armstrong)
1958 A-Netz in Germany
– analog, 160MHz, connection setup only from the mobile station, no
handover, 80% coverage, 1971 , 11000 customers
1972 B-Netz in Germany
– analog, 160MHz, connection setup from the fixed network too (but
location of the mobile station has to be known)
1979 Nordic Mobile Telephone at 450MHz (Scandinavian
countries)
1982 Start of GSM-specification
– goal: pan-European digital mobile phone system with roaming, 900Mhz,voice &
data service
1983 Start of the American AMPS (Advanced Mobile Phone
System, analog) – 850 MHz
1984 CT-1 standard (Europe) for cordless telephones
History of wireless communication III

1986 C-Netz in Germany

– analog voice transmission, 450MHz, hand-over possible, digital signaling,
automatic location of mobile device
– Was in use until 2000, services: FAX, modem, X.25, e-mail, 98% coverage
1991 Specification of DECT
– Digital European Cordless Telephone (today: Digital Enhanced Cordless
Telecommunications)
– 1880-1900MHz, ~100-500m range, 120 duplex channels, 1.2Mbit/s data
transmission, voice encryption, authentication, up to several 10000 user/km2,
used in more than 50 countries
1992 Start of GSM
– in Document as D1 and D2, fully digital, 900MHz, 124 channels
– automatic location, hand-over, cellular
– roaming in Europe - now worldwide in more than 200 countries
– services: data with 9.6kbit/s, FAX, voice, ...
History of wireless communication IV
1994 E-Netz in Germany
– GSM with 1800MHz, smaller cells
– As Eplus in D (1997 98% coverage of the population)
1996 HiperLAN (High Performance Radio Local Area
Network)
– ETSI, standardization of type 1: 5.15 - 5.30GHz, 23.5Mbit/s
– recommendations for type 2 and 3 (both 5GHz) and 4 (17GHz) as wireless ATM-networks
(up to 155Mbit/s)
1997 Wireless LAN - IEEE802.11
– IEEE standard, 2.4 - 2.5GHz and infrared, 2Mbit/s –ISM band
– already many (proprietary) products available in the beginning
1998 Specification of GSM successors
– for UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunication System) as European proposals for IMT-2000
Iridium
– 66 satellites (+6 spare), 1.6GHz to the mobile phone
History of wireless communication V
1999 Standardization of additional wireless LANs

IEEE standard 802.11b, 2.4-2.5GHz, 11Mbit/s

Bluetooth for piconets, 2.4Ghz, <1Mbit/s

Decision about IMT-2000

Several “members” of a “family”: UMTS, cdma2000, DECT, …

Start of WAP (Wireless Application Protocol) and i-mode in Japan

First step towards a unified Internet/mobile communication system

Access to many services via the mobile phone

2000 GSM with higher data rates

HSCSD offers up to 57,6kbit/s

First GPRS trials with up to 50 kbit/s (packet oriented!)

Hype followed by disillusionment (50 B$ payed in Germany for 6 licenses!)

2001 Start of 3G systems

Cdma2000 in Korea, UMTS tests in Europe, Foma (almost UMTS) in Japan
Mobile communication
Two aspects of mobility:
– user mobility: users communicate (wireless) “anytime, anywhere, with anyone”
– device portability: devices can be connected anytime, anywhere to the network

Wireless vs. mobile Examples

  stationary computer
  notebook in a hotel
  wireless LANs in historic buildings
  Personal Digital Assistant (PDA)

The demand for mobile communication creates the need

for integration of wireless networks into existing fixed
networks:
– local area networks: standardization of IEEE 802.11,
ETSI (HIPERLAN)
– Internet: Mobile IP extension of the internet protocol IP
– wide area networks: e.g., internetworking of GSM and ISDN
 Applications I
 Vehicles

transmission of news, road condition, weather, music/video via DAB/DVB-
T2/LTE

personal communication using GSM/UMTS/LTE

positioning via GPS

local ad-hoc network with vehicles close-by to prevent accidents,
guidance system, redundancy

vehicle data (e.g. from busses, high-speed trains) can be transmitted in
advance for maintenance

 Emergencies

early transmission of patient data to the hospital, current status, first
diagnosis

replacement of a fixed infrastructure in case of earthquakes, hurricanes,
fire etc.

crisis, war, ...
Typical application: road traffic

UMTS, WLAN,
DAB, LTE, GSM,
cdma2000, TETRA, ...

Smartphone,
Laptop, Tablet, LTE,
GSM, UMTS, WLAN,
Bluetooth, NFC ...
 Mobile and wireless services – Always
Best Connected
LTE LAN
DSL/ GSM/GPRS 53 kbit/s 10 Mbit/s 1 Gbit/s,
WLAN Bluetooth 500 kbit/s WLAN
50 Mbit/s 300 Mbit/s

UMTS
2 Mbit/s

GSM/EDGE 384 kbit/s,

DSL/WLAN 3 Mbit/s
UMTS, GSM
GSM 115 kbit/s,
384 kbit/s
WLAN 11 Mbit/s
Applications II
 Traveling salesmen

direct access to customer files stored in a central location

consistent databases for all agents

mobile office

 Replacement of fixed networks

remote sensors, e.g., weather, earth activities

flexibility for trade shows

LANs in historic buildings

 Entertainment, education, ...

outdoor Internet access

intelligent travel guide with up-to-date location dependent information

ad-hoc networks for multi user games
Location dependent services

 Location aware services

what services, e.g., printer, phone, server etc. exist in the local
environment
 Follow-on services

automatic call-forwarding, transmission of the actual workspace to
the current location
 Information services

“push”: e.g., current special offers in the supermarket

“pull”: e.g., where is the Black Forrest Cheese Cake?
 Support services

caches, intermediate results, state information etc. “follow” the
mobile device through the fixed network
 Privacy

who should gain knowledge about the location
Mobile devices
Specialized PDAs Laptop/Notebook
Pager, displays
• graphical displays • fully functional
• receive only
• character recognition • standard applications
• simple text
messages • simplified WWW
• ruggedized

Sensors,
embedded
controllers

Smartphone/Tablet
• tiny virtual keyboard
Classical mobile phones
• simple(r) versions
• voice, data
of standard applications
• simple graphical displays

performance
No clear separation between device types possible
(e.g. smart phones, embedded PCs, …)
Effects of device portability
Power consumption
– limited computing power, low quality displays, small disks due to limited battery
capacity
– CPU: power consumption ~ CV2f
• C: internal capacity, reduced by integration
• V: supply voltage, can be reduced to a certain limit
• f: clock frequency, can be reduced temporally
Loss of data
– higher probability, has to be included in advance into the design (e.g., defects, theft)
Limited user interfaces
– compromise between size of fingers and portability
– integration of character/voice recognition, abstract symbols
Limited memory
– limited value of mass memories with moving parts
– flash-memory or ? as alternative
Wireless vs fixed networks

Higher loss-rates due to interference

– emissions of, e.g., engines, lightning
Restrictive regulations of frequencies
– frequencies have to be coordinated, useful frequencies are almost all occupied
Low transmission rates
– local some Mbit/s, regional currently, e.g., 53kbit/s with GSM/GPRS
Higher delays, higher jitter
– connection setup time with GSM in the second range, several hundred milliseconds
for other wireless systems
Lower security, simpler active attacking
– radio interface accessible for everyone, base station can be simulated, thus
attracting calls from mobile phones
Always shared medium
– secure access mechanisms important
Simple reference model used here

Application Application

Transport Transport

Network Network Network Network

Data Link Data Link Data Link Data Link

Physical Physical Physical Physical

Radio Medium
Influence of mobile communication to the
layer model
Application layer
service location

new applications, multimedia

adaptive applications

congestion and flow control

Transport layer
quality of service

addressing, routing, device location

Network layer
hand-over

Authentication

media access
Data link layer
multiplexing

media access control

Encryption, modulation
Physical layer
interference

Attenuation, frequency
Overlay Networks - the global goal
integration of heterogeneous fixed and
mobile networks with varying
transmission characteristics

regional

vertical
handover
metropolitan area

campus-based horizontal
handover

in-house
 Frequencies for communication

twisted coax cable optical transmission

pair

1 Mm 10 km 100 m 1m 10 mm 100 m 1 m
300 Hz 30 kHz 3 MHz 300 MHz 30 GHz 3 THz 300 THz

VLF LF MF HF VHF UHF SHF EHF infrared visible light UV

VLF = Very Low Frequency UHF = Ultra High Frequency
LF = Low Frequency SHF = Super High Frequency
MF = Medium Frequency EHF = Extra High Frequency
HF = High Frequency UV = Ultraviolet Light
VHF = Very High Frequency

Frequency and wave length:

l = c/f
wave length l, speed of light c  3x10 m/s, frequency f
8
Frequencies for mobile communication
 VHF-/UHF-ranges for mobile radio

simple, small antenna for cars

deterministic propagation characteristics, reliable connections
 SHF and higher for directed radio links, satellite
communication

small antenna, beam forming

large bandwidth available
 Wireless LANs use frequencies in UHF to SHF range

some systems planned up to EHF

limitations due to absorption by water and oxygen molecules
(resonance frequencies)
 weather dependent fading, signal loss caused by heavy rainfall etc.
 Frequencies and regulations
ITU-R holds auctions for new frequencies, manages frequency
bands worldwide (WRC, World Radio Conferences)
Europe USA Japan
Cellular GSM 450-457, 479- AMPS, TDMA, CDMA PDC
Phones 486/460-467,489- 824-849, 810-826,
496, 890-915/935- 869-894 940-956,
960, TDMA, CDMA, GSM 1429-1465,
1710-1785/1805- 1850-1910, 1477-1513
1880 1930-1990
UMTS (FDD) 1920-
1980, 2110-2190
UMTS (TDD) 1900-
1920, 2020-2025
Cordless CT1+ 885-887, 930- PACS 1850-1910, 1930- PHS
Phones 932 1990 1895-1918
CT2 864-868 PACS-UB 1910-1930 JCT
DECT 1880-1900 254-380
Wireless IEEE 802.11 902-928 IEEE 802.11
LANs 2400-2483 IEEE 802.11 2400-2483 2471-2497
HIPERLAN 2 5150- 5150-5350, 5725-5825 5150-5250
5350, 5470-5725
Others RF-Control RF-Control RF-Control
27, 128, 418, 433, 315, 915 426, 868
868
 Signals I
 physical representation of data
 function of time and location
 signal parameters: parameters representing the value of
data
 classification

continuous time/discrete time

continuous values/discrete values

analog signal = continuous time and continuous values

digital signal = discrete time and discrete values

 signal parameters of periodic signals:

period T, frequency f=1/T, amplitude A, phase shift 

sine wave as special periodic signal for a carrier:
s(t) = At sin(2  ft t + t)
Signal propagation ranges
Transmission range
– communication possible
– low error rate
Detection range sender
– detection of the signal
possible transmission
– no communication distance
possible detection

Interference range interference

– signal may not be
detected
– signal adds to the
background noise
Signal propagation

Propagation in free space always like light (straight line)

Receiving power proportional to 1/d² in vacuum – much more in real environments
(d = distance between sender and receiver)
Receiving power additionally influenced by
 fading (frequency dependent)

 shadowing

 reflection at large obstacles

 refraction depending on the density of a medium

 scattering at small obstacles

 diffraction at edges

shadowing reflection refraction scattering diffraction

 Multipath propagation
Signal can take many different paths between sender and receiver due
to reflection, scattering, diffraction

multipath
LOS pulses pulses

signal at sender
signal at receiver
Time dispersion: signal is dispersed over time
 interference with “neighbor” symbols, Inter Symbol Interference
(ISI)
The signal reaches a receiver directly and phase shifted
 distorted signal depending on the phases of the different parts
Effects of mobility
Channel characteristics change over time and location
– signal paths change
– different delay variations of different signal parts
– different phases of signal parts
 quick changes in the power received (short term
fading)
 Additional changes in
– distance to sender long term
power
– obstacles further away fading

 slow changes in the average power

received (long term fading)
t
short term fading
Multiplexing
channels ki
Multiplexing in 4 dimensions
– space (si) k1 k2 k3 k4 k5 k6
– time (t)
c
– frequency (f)
t c
– code (c)
t
s1
f
Goal: multiple use s2
f
of a shared medium c
t
Important: guard spaces needed!
s3
f
ACCESS SCHEMES

 For radio systems there are two resources, frequency and

time.
 Division by frequency, so that each pair of communicators is
allocated part of the spectrum for all of the time, results in
Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA).
 Division by time, so that each pair of communicators is
allocated all (or at least a large part) of the spectrum for
part of the time results in Time Division Multiple Access
(TDMA).
 In Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), every communicator
will be allocated the entire spectrum all of the time.
 CDMA uses codes to identify connections.
Frequency multiplex
Separation of the whole spectrum into smaller frequency bands
A channel gets a certain band of the spectrum for the whole time
Advantages:
 no dynamic coordination k1 k2 k3 k4 k5 k6
necessary
c
 works also for analog signals
f

Disadvantages:
 waste of bandwidth
if the traffic is
distributed unevenly
 inflexible

 guard spaces
t
Time multiplex
A channel gets the whole spectrum for a certain amount of
time

Advantages:
k1 k2 k3 k4 k5 k6
 only one carrier in the
medium at any time
c
 throughput high even
for many users f

Disadvantages:
 precise
synchronization
t
necessary
 Time and frequency multiplex
Combination of both methods
A channel gets a certain frequency band for a certain
amount of time
Example: GSM
k1 k2 k3 k4 k5 k6
Advantages:
– better protection against c
tapping
– protection against frequency f
selective interference
– higher data rates compared to
code multiplex
but: precise
coordination t
required
Code multiplex

Each channel has a unique code k1 k2 k3 k4 k5 k6

All channels use the same spectrum
at the same time c

Advantages:
– bandwidth efficient
– no coordination and synchronization necessary
– good protection against interference and tapping
f
Disadvantages:
– lower user data rates
– more complex signal regeneration
Implemented using spread spectrum t
technology
Code-Division Multiple Access
(CDMA)
 Basic Principles of CDMA
D = rate of data signal
Break each bit into k chips
Chips are a user-specific fixed pattern
Chip data rate of new channel = kD
 CDMA Example
 If k=6 and code is a sequence of 1s and -1s
For a ‘1’ bit, A sends code as chip pattern
<c1, c2, c3, c4, c5, c6>
For a ‘0’ bit, A sends complement of code
<-c1, -c2, -c3, -c4, -c5, -c6>
 Receiver knows sender’s code and performs electronic
decode function
Sud d1c1d2c2d3c3d4c4d5c5d6c6
<d1, d2, d3, d4, d5, d6> = received chip
pattern
<c1, c2, c3, c4, c5, c6> = sender’s code
CDMA Example

 User A code = <1, –1, –1, 1, –1, 1>

 To send a 1 bit = <1, –1, –1, 1, –1, 1>
 To send a 0 bit = <–1, 1, 1, –1, 1, –1>
 User B code = <1, 1, –1, – 1, 1, 1>
 To send a 1 bit = <1, 1, –1, –1, 1, 1>
 Receiver receiving with A’s code
(A’s code) x (received chip pattern)
User A ‘1’ bit: 6 -> 1
User A ‘0’ bit: -6 -> 0
User B ‘1’ bit: 0 -> unwanted signal ignored
Modulation
Digital modulation

digital data is translated into an analog signal (baseband)

ASK, FSK, PSK - main focus in this chapter

differences in spectral efficiency, power efficiency, robustness
Analog modulation

shifts center frequency of baseband signal up to the radio carrier
Motivation

smaller antennas (e.g., l/4)

Frequency Division Multiplexing

medium characteristics
Basic schemes

Amplitude Modulation (AM)

Frequency Modulation (FM)

Phase Modulation (PM)
Modulation and demodulation
analog
baseband
digital signal
data
digital analog
101101001 modulation modulation radio transmitter

radio
carrier

analog
baseband
signal digital
data
analog synchronization
demodulation decision 101101001 radio receiver

radio
carrier
Digital modulation

1 0 1
Modulation of digital signals known
as Shift Keying
 Amplitude Shift Keying (ASK): t

– very simple
– low bandwidth requirements 1 0 1
– very susceptible to interference

 Frequency Shift Keying (FSK): t

– needs larger bandwidth
1 0 1

 Phase Shift Keying (PSK):

– more complex t
– robust against interference
ANTENNAS
Introduction
An antenna is an electrical conductor or system of
conductors
Transmission - radiates electromagnetic energy
into space
Reception - collects electromagnetic energy from
space
In two-way communication, the same antenna can be
used for transmission and reception
Radiation Patterns
 An antenna radiates power in all directions but does
not perform well in all directions
 Characterization is done with the help of radiation
pattern
 To determine the relative power in a given direction a
line is drawn from the antenna position at an
appropriate angle and the point of intercept with the
radiation pattern is determined
Radiation Patterns
 Actual size of the radiation pattern is arbitrary
 Relative distance from the antenna position in each
direction is important
Radiation Patterns
 Radiation pattern
 Graphical representation of radiation properties of an antenna
 Depicted as two-dimensional cross section
 Antenna does not perform equally well in all directions
 Beam width (or half-power beam width)
 Measure of directivity of antenna
 Referred to as the half power beam width
 Angle with which the power radiated by the antenna is at least
of what it is in the most preferred direction
 Reception pattern
 While Receiving antenna’s equivalent to radiation pattern is the
reception pattern
Types of Antennas

 Isotropic antenna (idealized)

 Radiates power equally in all directions
 Radiation pattern is a sphere with antenna at

the center
Dipole antennas
• Dipole antennas
 Half-wave dipole antenna (or Hertz antenna)
 Quarter-wave vertical antenna (or Marconi antenna)

 Half wave dipole consists of two straight collinear

conductors of equal length separated by small feeding
gap
 Length of antenna is one-half the wavelength of the signal
that can be transmitted most efficiently
 Vertical is the one used for automobile and portable
radios
 Has omnidirectional radiation pattern in one dimension
and eight pattern in other two
Dipole antennas
Parabolic Reflective Antenna

 Used in terrestrial microwave and satellite

applications
 If a source of electromagnetic energy is placed at the
focus of the paraboloid and if the paraboloid is a
reflexive surface the wave will bounce back in lines
parallel to the axis of the paraboloid
 If the incoming waves are parallel to the axis of the
reflecting paraboloid the resulting signal will be
concentrated at the focus
Effective area
 Measure of directionality of the antenna
 Power output, in a particular direction, compared to that
produced in any direction by a perfect omnidirectional
antenna (isotropic antenna)
 Eg if antenna has a gain of 3 dB that antenna improves
upon the isotropic antenna by 3 dB
 The increased power is at the expense of other directions
 Increased power is radiated in one direction by reducing
the power radiated in other directions
 Does not mean that there is more power
 But reduced in one direction is gain in the other
 Antenna Gain

 Related to physical size and shape of antenna

• Relationship between antenna gain and effective area
2
4 Ae 4 f Ae
G 2
 2
l c
• G = antenna gain
• Ae = effective area
• f = carrier frequency
• c = speed of light (» 3 ´ 108 m/s)
• l = carrier wavelength
Propagation Modes
 Ground-wave propagation
 Sky-wave propagation
 Line-of-sight propagation
Ground Wave Propagation
Ground Wave Propagation

 Follows contour of the earth

 Can Propagate considerable distances
 Frequencies up to 2 MHz
 Example
 AM radio
Sky Wave Propagation
 Sky Wave Propagation

 Signal reflected from ionized layer of atmosphere

back down to earth
 Signal can travel a number of hops, back and forth
between ionosphere and earth’s surface
 Reflection effect caused by refraction
 Examples
 Amateur radio
 CB radio
Line-of-Sight Propagation
Line-of-Sight Propagation
 Transmitting and receiving antennas must be within
line of sight
 Satellite communication – signal above 30 MHz not
reflected by ionosphere
 Ground communication – antennas within effective line
of site due to refraction
 Refraction – bending of microwaves by the
atmosphere
 Velocity of electromagnetic wave is a function of the
density of the medium
 When wave changes medium, speed changes

 Wave bends at the boundary between mediums

Line-of-Sight Equations

 Optical line of sight

d  3.57 h
 Effective, or radio, line of sight

d  3.57 h
d = distance between antenna and horizon
(km)
h = antenna height (m)
K = adjustment factor to account for
refraction, rule of thumb K = 4/3
 Line-of-Sight Equations

 Maximum distance between two antennas for LOS

propagation:


3.57 h1  h2 
h1 = height of antenna one
h2 = height of antenna two
LOS Wireless Transmission Impairments

 Attenuation and attenuation distortion

 Free space loss
 Noise
 Atmospheric absorption
 Multipath
 Refraction
 Thermal noise
Attenuation
 Strength of signal falls off with distance over
transmission medium
 Attenuation factors for unguided media:
 Received signal must have sufficient strength so that
circuitry in the receiver can interpret the signal
 Signal must maintain a level sufficiently higher than
noise to be received without error
 Attenuation is greater at higher frequencies,
causing distortion
Free Space Loss

 For any type of wireless communications the signal

disperses with distance.
 An antenna with a fixed area will receive less signal
power the farther it is from the transmitting antenna
 In wireless this is the primary mode of signal loss.
 A transmitted signal attenuates over the distance
because the signal is being spread over a larger
area
 This is free space loss
Categories of Noise
 Thermal Noise
 Intermodulation noise
 Crosstalk
 Impulse Noise
Thermal Noise
 Thermal noise due to agitation of electrons
 Present in all electronic devices and transmission
media
 Cannot be eliminated
 Function of temperature
 Particularly significant for satellite communication
Thermal Noise
 Amount of thermal noise to be found in a bandwidth
of 1Hz in any device or conductor is:
N 0  kT W/Hz 
N0 = noise power density in watts per 1 Hz
of bandwidth
k = Boltzmann's constant = 1.3803 X 10-23
J/K
T = temperature, in kelvins (absolute
temperature)
Thermal Noise
 Noise is assumed to be independent of frequency
 Thermal noise present in a bandwidth of B Hertz (in
watts):
N  kTB

or, in decibel-watts
N  10 log k  10 log T  10 log B
 228.6 dBW  10 log T  10 log B
Noise Terminology
 Intermodulation noise – occurs if signals with
different frequencies share the same medium
 Interference caused by a signal produced at a
frequency that is the sum or difference of original
frequencies
 Crosstalk – unwanted coupling between signal
paths
 Impulse noise – irregular pulses or noise spikes
 Short duration and of relatively high amplitude

 Caused by external electromagnetic disturbances,

or faults and flaws in the communications system
Expression Eb/N0
• Ratio of signal energy per bit to noise power
density per Hertz E b S / R S
 
N 0 N 0 k TR
• The bit error rate for digital data is a function of
Eb/N0
 Given a value for Eb/N0 to achieve a desired
error rate, parameters of this formula can be
selected
 As bit rate R increases, transmitted signal power
must increase to maintain required Eb/N0
Other Impairments
 Atmospheric absorption – water vapor and oxygen
contribute to attenuation

Water vapor and oxygen

Watervapor : peak attenuation at 22 GHz

Below 15 it is less

Oxygen peak at 60 GHz less at 30GHz

Rain and fog cause scattering of radio waves resulting in
attenuation
 Multipath – obstacles reflect signals so that multiple
copies with varying delays are received
 Refraction – bending of radio waves as they
propagate through the atmosphere
Multipath Propagation
 For wireless facilities where there is relatively free
choice of where the antenna have to be placed
hence having a line of sight communication
 This is ok for satellite and point-to-point services
 In mobile telephony obstacles are in abundance
 Signal can be reflected thus multiple copies
reaching the receiver with varying delays
 Also the differences in the path length os the direct
and reflected waves the composite signal can be
either larger or smaller that the direct signal
 Multipath Propagation
 Reflection - occurs when signal encounters a surface
that is large relative to the wavelength of the signal

 Diffraction - occurs at the edge of an impenetrable

body that is large compared to wavelength of radio
wave

 Scattering – occurs when incoming signal hits an object

whose size in the order of the wavelength of the signal
or less
Multipath Propagation
The Effects of Multipath Propagation
 Multiple copies of a signal may arrive at different
phases
 If phases add destructively, the signal level
relative to noise declines, making detection
more difficult
 Intersymbol interference (ISI)
 One or more delayed copies of a pulse may
arrive at the same time as the primary pulse for
a subsequent bit
Fading
 Fading: rapid fluctuations of received signal strength
over short time intervals and/or travel distances
 Caused by interference from multiple copies of Tx signal
arriving @ Rx at slightly different times
 Three most important effects:
1. Rapid changes in signal strengths over small travel distances
or short time periods.
2. Changes in the frequency of signals.
3. Multiple signals arriving a different times. When added
together at the antenna, signals are spread out in time. This
can cause a smearing of the signal and interference
between bits that are received.
 Fading signals occur due to reflections from ground
& surrounding buildings (clutter) as well as scattered
signals from trees, people, towers, etc.

often an LOS path is not available so the first multipath
signal arrival is probably the desired signal (the one
which traveled the shortest distance)

allows service even when Rx is severely obstructed by
surrounding clutter
Physical Factors Influencing Fading
Multipath Propagation

# and strength of multipath signals

time delay of signal arrival
 large path length differences → large differences in delay
between signals

urban area w/ many buildings distributed over large
spatial scale
 large # of strong multipath signals with only a few having a
large time delay

suburb with nearby office park or shopping mall
 moderate # of strong multipath signals with small to
moderate delay times

rural → few multipath signals (LOS + ground reflection)
2) Speed of Mobile

relativemotion between base station & mobile causes
random frequency modulation due to Doppler shift (fd)

Different multipath components may have different
frequency shifts.
3) Speed of Surrounding Objects

alsoinfluence Doppler shifts on multipath signals

dominates small-scale fading if speed of objects >
mobile speed
 otherwise ignored
SPREAD SPECTRUM
Spread Spectrum
 Used to transmit either analog or digital data using
an analog signal
 Essential idea is to spread the information signal
over a wider bandwidth to make jamming and
interception more difficult
Spread spectrum technology
Problem of radio transmission: frequency dependent fading can
wipe out narrow band signals for duration of the interference
Solution: spread the narrow band signal into a broad band
signal using a special code
protection against narrow band interference
power interference spread signal power signal

spread
detection at interference
receiver

f f
protection against narrowband interference

Side effects:
– coexistence of several signals without dynamic coordination
– tap-proof
Alternatives: Direct Sequence, Frequency Hopping
 Spread Spectrum
 Input is fed into a channel encoder

Produces analog signal with narrow bandwidth
 Signal is further modulated using sequence of digits

Spreading code or spreading sequence

Generated by pseudonoise, or pseudo-random number
generator
 Effect of modulation is to increase bandwidth of signal to be
transmitted
Spread Spectrum

 On receiving end, digit sequence is used to demodulate

the spread spectrum signal
 Signal is fed into a channel decoder to recover data
Spread Spectrum
Advantages
 We can gain immunity from various kinds of noise
and multipath distortion
 Can be used for hiding and encrypting signals
 Several users can independently use the same
higher bandwidth with very little interference
 Used in CDMA
Frequency Hoping Spread Spectrum
 Channel sequence dictated by spreading code
 Receiver, hopping between frequencies in
synchronization with transmitter, picks up message
 Advantages
Eavesdroppers hear only unintelligible blips
Attempts to jam signal on one frequency succeed
only at knocking out a few bits
Frequency Hoping Spread Spectrum
FHSS Using MFSK
 MFSK signal is translated to a new frequency every Tc
seconds by modulating the MFSK signal with the FHSS
carrier signal
 For data rate of R:
 duration of a bit: T= 1/R seconds
 duration of signal element: Ts = LT seconds
 Tc >=Ts - slow-frequency-hop spread spectrum
 Tc < Ts - fast-frequency-hop spread spectrum
FHSS Performance Considerations

 Large number of frequencies used

 Results in a system that is quite resistant to jamming
Jammer must jam all frequencies
With fixed power, this reduces the jamming
power in any one frequency band
FHSS (Frequency Hopping Spread
Spectrum) I
Advantages

frequency selective fading and interference limited to short period

simple implementation

uses only small portion of spectrum at any time

Disadvantages

not as robust as DSSS

simpler to detect
FHSS (Frequency Hopping Spread
Spectrum) III

narrowband spread
signal transmit
user data signal
modulator modulator

frequency hopping
synthesizer sequence
transmitter

narrowband
received signal
signal data
demodulator demodulator

hopping frequency
sequence synthesizer
receiver
Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum
(DSSS)
 Each bit in original signal is represented by multiple
bits in the transmitted signal
 Spreading code spreads signal across a wider
frequency band
 Spread is in direct proportion to number of
bits used
 One technique combines digital information stream
with the spreading code bit stream using exclusive-
OR
Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum (DSSS)-
DSSS Using BPSK
 Multiply BPSK signal,
sd(t) = A d(t) cos(2 fct)
 by c(t) [takes values +1, -1] to get
s(t) = A d(t)c(t) cos(2 fct)
A = amplitude of signal
fc = carrier frequency
d(t) = discrete function [+1, -1]
 At receiver, incoming signal multiplied by c(t)
Since, c(t) x c(t) = 1, incoming signal is recovered
DSSS (Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum) I

Advantages

reduces frequency selective tb
fading user data

in cellular networks
0 1 XOR
 base stations can use the tc
same frequency range chipping
sequence
 several base stations can 01101010110101 =
detect and recover the signal resulting
 soft handover signal
01101011001010
Disadvantages tb: bit period

precise power control necessary tc: chip period
DSSS (Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum) II
spread
spectrum transmit
user data signal signal
X modulator

chipping radio
sequence carrier

transmitter

correlator
lowpass sampled
received filtered products sums
signal signal data
demodulator X integrator decision

radio chipping
carrier sequence

receiver
DSSS Using BPSK
CODING AND ERROR
CONTROL
Coping with Data Transmission Errors
 Error detection codes

Detects the presence of an error
 Automatic repeat request (ARQ) protocols

Blockof data with error is discarded

Transmitter retransmits that block of data

 Error correction codes, or forward correction codes

(FEC)

Designed to detect and correct errors
Error Detection Process
 Transmitter

For a given frame, an error-detecting code (check
bits) is calculated from data bits

Check bits are appended to data bits
 Receiver

Separates incoming frame into data bits and check
bits

Calculates check bits from received data bits

Compares calculated check bits against received
check bits

Detected error occurs if mismatch
Wireless Transmission Errors
 Error detection requires retransmission
 Detection inadequate for wireless applications
 Error rate on wireless link can be high, results
in a large number of retransmissions
 Long propagation delay compared to
transmission time
Block Error Correction Codes
 Transmitter
 Forward error correction (FEC) encoder maps each
k-bit block into an n-bit block codeword
 Codeword is transmitted; analog for wireless
transmission
 Receiver
 Incoming signal is demodulated

 Block passed through an FEC decoder

Forward Error Correction Process
FEC Decoder Outcomes
 No errors present
 Codeword produced by decoder matches
original codeword
 Decoder detects and corrects bit errors
 Decoder detects but cannot correct bit errors; reports
uncorrectable error
 Decoder detects no bit errors, though errors are
present
Block Code Principles
 Hamming distance – for 2 n-bit binary sequences,
the number of different bits
 E.g., v1=011011; v2=110001; d(v1, v2)=3
 Redundancy – ratio of redundant bits to data bits
 Code rate – ratio of data bits to total bits
 Coding gain – the reduction in the required Eb/N0
to achieve a specified BER of an error-correcting
coded system
Hamming Code
 Designed to correct single bit errors
 Family of (n, k) block error-correcting codes with
parameters:
 Block length: n = 2m – 1
m
 Number of data bits: k = 2 – m – 1

 Number of check bits: n – k = m

 Minimum distance: dmin = 3

Hamming Code Process
 Encoding: k data bits + (n -k) check bits
 Decoding: compares received (n -k) bits with
calculated (n -k) bits using XOR
 Resulting (n -k) bits called syndrome word
 Syndrome range is between 0 and 2(n-k)-1

 Each bit of syndrome indicates a match (0) or

conflict (1) in that bit position
Hamming Code Process
 If syndrome has all 0’s, no error has detected
 If the syndrome contains one and only one bit to 1,
then error occures only in the check bits
 If syndrome contains more than one bit set to 1 then
the numerical value of the syndrome indicates the
position of the data bit in error. This bit is inverted
Cyclic Codes
 Can be encoded and decoded using linear feedback
shift registers (LFSRs)
 For cyclic codes, a valid codeword (c0, c1, …, cn-1),
shifted right one bit, is also a valid codeword (cn-1,
c0, …, cn-2)
 Takes fixed-length input (k) and produces fixed-
length check code (n-k)
 In contrast, CRC error-detecting code accepts
arbitrary length input for fixed-length check
code
BCH Codes
 For positive pair of integers m and t, a (n, k) BCH
code has parameters:
 Block length: n = 2m – 1
 Number of check bits: n – k <= mt

 Minimum distance: dmin >= 2t + 1

 Corrects combinations of t or fewer errors

 Flexibility in choice of parameters
 Block length, code rate
Reed-Solomon Codes
 Subclass of nonbinary BCH codes
 Data processed in chunks of m bits, called symbols
 An (n, k) RS code has parameters:
 Symbol length: m bits per symbol
m m
 Block length: n = 2 – 1 symbols = m(2 – 1)
bits
 Data length: k symbols

 Size of check code: n – k = 2t symbols = m(2t)

bits
 Minimum distance: dmin = 2t + 1 symbols
Block Interleaving
 Data written to and read from memory in different
orders
 Data bits and corresponding check bits are
interspersed with bits from other blocks
 At receiver, data are deinterleaved to recover
original order
 A burst error that may occur is spread out over a
number of blocks, making error correction possible
Block Interleaving
Convolutional Codes
 Generates redundant bits continuously
 Error checking and correcting carried out
continuously
 (n, k, K) code

 Input processes k bits at a time

 Output produces n bits for every k input bits
 K = constraint factor
 k and n generally very small
 n-bit output of (n, k, K) code depends on:

 Current block of k input bits

 Previous K-1 blocks of k input bits
Convolutional Encoder
INPUT INTIAL OUTPUT FINAL
DIGIT STATE CODEWORD STATE
0 00 00 00

1 00 11 10

0 01 11 00

1 01 00 10

0 10 10 01

1 10 01 11

0 11 01 01

1 11 10 11