Lecture 1

Introduction to Wireless Communication and

Transmission Fundamentals

Dr. Arslan Shaukat
Course Basics
Instructor Dr. Arslan Shaukat
[email protected]
Text Book
Wireless Communication and Networks, 2
nd
Ed.,
William Stallings.
Reference Books
Wireless Communications: Principles and Practices, 2
nd

Ed., T. S. Rappaport.
Principles of Wireless networks, K. Pahalavan, P.
Krishnamurthy

Course Contents
Introduction to broadband and wireless communications, Channel Capacity,
Blocking, Transmission media, Classification of Transmission media,
Multiplexing, Transmission Impairments,
WLAN, WMAN and PAN etc. Switching techniques, Bluetooth PANs,
IEEE802.11, WATM,
Protocols and the TCP/IP suite, CSMA, CSMA/CA, MPLS,
Antenna and Propagations, Principe of radio and micro wave, Line of Sight
transmission, fading in the mobile environment,
Signal encoding techniques, Analogue and digital data and signals,
Spread spectrum, Frequency hopping, Direct Sequence, CDMA, Error
detection,
Coding (BCH codes, Convolutional Codes, turbo codes etc) and Error control,
Routing techniques in mobile networks,
Wireless Networking, WAP, iMode, Mobile ad hoc networks (MANETs),
Satellite Communications, Cellular wireless networks, FDMA, TDMA,
Principles of Cellular networks, 3G, Cordless systems and WLL,
Wireless LAN, GSM, GPRS, Quality of Services,
Mobile IP, Security issues in Mobile networks, Blue tooth, UMTS.
Grading Scheme
Written Exams
Midterm Exam 25%
Final Exam 50%
Lab 10%
Lab project 5%
Assignments and Quizzes 10%
Wired Vs. Wireless
Communication
What is wireless communication?
6
Wired Wireless
Each cable is a different channel One media (cable) shared by all
Signal attenuation is low High signal attenuation
No interference
High interference
Noise
Wireless Comes of Age
Guglielmo Marconi invented the wireless telegraph in 1896
Communication by encoding alphanumeric characters in
analog signal
Sent telegraphic signals across the Atlantic Ocean
Communications satellites launched in 1960s
Advances in wireless technology
Radio, television, mobile telephone, communication satellites
More recently
Satellite communications, wireless networking, cellular
technology
Broadband Wireless Technology
Higher data rates obtainable with broadband wireless
technology
Graphics, video, audio
Shares same advantages of all wireless services:
convenience and reduced cost
Service can be deployed faster than fixed service
No cost of cable plant
Service is mobile, deployed almost anywhere
Limitations and Difficulties of
Wireless Technologies
Wireless is convenient and less expensive
Limitations and political and technical difficulties
inhibit wireless technologies
Lack of an industry-wide standard
Device limitations
E.g., small LCD on a mobile telephone can only
displaying a few lines of text
E.g., browsers of most mobile wireless devices use
wireless markup language (WML) instead of HTML
Signals for Conveying Information
Electromagnetic signal
Function of time
Can also be expressed as a function of frequency
Signal consists of components of different frequencies
Time-Domain Concepts
Analog signal - signal intensity varies in a smooth
fashion over time
No breaks or discontinuities in the signal

Digital signal - signal intensity maintains a constant
level for some period of time and then changes to
another constant level
Analog and Digital Waveforms

Time-Domain Concepts
Periodic signal - analog or digital signal pattern that
repeats over time
s(t +T ) = s(t ) -< t < +
where T is the period of the signal
Aperiodic signal - analog or digital signal pattern that
doesn't repeat over time
Peak amplitude (A) - maximum value or strength of
the signal over time; typically measured in volts
Frequency (f )
Rate, in cycles per second, or Hertz (Hz) at which the
signal repeats
Periodic Signals

Time-Domain Concepts
Period (T ) - amount of time it takes for one repetition
of the signal
T = 1/f
Phase (|) - measure of the relative position in time
within a single period of a signal
Wavelength () - distance occupied by a single cycle
of the signal
Or, the distance between two points of corresponding
phase of two consecutive cycles
Sine Wave Parameters
General sine wave
s(t ) = A sin(2tft + |)
Figure shows the effect of varying each of the three
parameters
(a) A = 1, f = 1 Hz, | = 0; thus T = 1s
(b) Reduced peak amplitude; A=0.5
(c) Increased frequency; f = 2, thus T =
(d) Phase shift; | = t/4 radians (45 degrees)
note: 2t radians = 360 = 1 period
Sine Wave Parameters

Frequency-Domain Concepts
Fundamental frequency - when all frequency
components of a signal are integer multiples of one
frequency, its referred to as the fundamental
frequency
Spectrum - range of frequencies that a signal contains
Absolute bandwidth - width of the spectrum of a
signal
Effective bandwidth (or just bandwidth) - narrow
band of frequencies that most of the signals energy is
contained in
Addition of Frequency
Component

Frequency-Domain Concepts
Any electromagnetic signal can be shown to consist of
a collection of periodic analog signals (sine waves) at
different amplitudes, frequencies, and phases
The period of the total signal is equal to the period of
the fundamental frequency
Relationship between Data Rate
and Bandwidth
The greater the bandwidth, the higher the
information-carrying capacity
Conclusions
Any digital waveform will have infinite bandwidth
BUT the transmission system will limit the bandwidth
that can be transmitted
AND, for any given medium, the greater the bandwidth
transmitted, the greater the cost
HOWEVER, limiting the bandwidth creates distortions
Data Communication Terms
Data - entities that convey meaning, or information
Signals - electric or electromagnetic representations of
data
Transmission - communication of data by the
propagation and processing of signals
Examples of Analog and Digital
Data
Analog
Video
Audio
Digital
Text
Integers
Analog Signals
A continuously varying electromagnetic wave that may
be propagated over a variety of media, depending on
frequency
Examples of media:
Copper wire media (twisted pair and coaxial cable)
Fiber optic cable
Atmosphere or space propagation
Analog signals can propagate analog and digital data
Digital Signals
A sequence of voltage pulses that may be transmitted
over a copper wire medium
Generally cheaper than analog signaling
Less susceptible to noise interference
Suffer more from attenuation
Digital signals can propagate analog and digital data
Analog Signaling

Digital Signaling
Reasons for Choosing Data and
Signal Combinations
Digital data, digital signal
Equipment for encoding is less expensive than digital-to-
analog equipment
Analog data, digital signal
Conversion permits use of modern digital transmission and
switching equipment
Digital data, analog signal
Some transmission media will only propagate analog signals
Examples include optical fiber and satellite
Analog data, analog signal
Analog data easily converted to analog signal
Analog Transmission
Transmit analog signals without regard to content
Attenuation limits length of transmission link
Cascaded amplifiers boost signals energy for longer
distances but cause distortion
Analog data can tolerate distortion
Introduces errors in digital data
Digital Transmission
Concerned with the content of the signal
Attenuation endangers integrity of data
Digital Signal
Repeaters achieve greater distance
Repeaters recover the signal and retransmit
Analog signal carrying digital data
Retransmission device recovers the digital data from
analog signal
Generates new, clean analog signal
About Channel Capacity
Impairments, such as noise, limit data rate that can be
achieved
For digital data, to what extent do impairments limit
data rate?
Channel Capacity the maximum rate at which data
can be transmitted over a given communication path,
or channel, under given conditions
Concepts Related to Channel
Capacity
Data rate - rate at which data can be communicated
(bps)
Bandwidth - the bandwidth of the transmitted signal
as constrained by the transmitter and the nature of the
transmission medium (Hertz)
Noise - average level of noise over the communications
path
Error rate - rate at which errors occur
Error = transmit 1 and receive 0; transmit 0 and receive 1
Nyquist Bandwidth
For binary signals (two voltage levels)
C = 2B
With multilevel signaling
C = 2B log2 M
M = number of discrete signal or voltage levels
Signal-to-Noise Ratio
Ratio of the power in a signal to the power contained
in the noise thats present at a particular point in the
transmission
Typically measured at a receiver
Signal-to-noise ratio (SNR, or S/N)


A high SNR means a high-quality signal, low number
of required intermediate repeaters
SNR sets upper bound on achievable data rate
power noise
power signal
log 10 ) (
10 dB
= SNR
Shannon Capacity Formula
Equation:

Represents theoretical maximum that can be achieved
In practice, only much lower rates achieved
Formula assumes white noise (thermal noise)
Impulse noise is not accounted for
Attenuation distortion or delay distortion not accounted
for
( ) SNR 1 log
2
+ = B C
Example of Nyquist and Shannon
Formulations
Spectrum of a channel between 3 MHz and 4 MHz ;
SNRdB = 24 dB



Using Shannons formula



( )
251 SNR
SNR log 10 dB 24 SNR
MHz 1 MHz 3 MHz 4
10 dB
=
= =
= = B
( ) Mbps 8 8 10 251 1 log 10
6
2
6
= ~ + = C
Example of Nyquist and Shannon
Formulations
How many signaling levels are required?
( )
16
log 4
log 10 2 10 8
log 2
2
2
6 6
2
=
=
=
=
M
M
M
M B C
Classifications of Transmission
Media
Transmission Medium
Physical path between transmitter and receiver
Guided Media
Waves are guided along a solid medium
E.g., copper twisted pair, copper coaxial cable, optical fiber
Unguided Media
Provides means of transmission but does not guide
electromagnetic signals
Usually referred to as wireless transmission
E.g., atmosphere, outer space
Unguided Media
Transmission and reception are achieved by means of
an antenna
Configurations for wireless transmission
Directional
Omnidirectional
General Frequency Ranges
Microwave frequency range
1 GHz to 40 GHz
Directional beams possible
Suitable for point-to-point transmission
Used for satellite communications
Radio frequency range
30 MHz to 1 GHz
Suitable for omnidirectional applications
Infrared frequency range
Roughly, 3x1011 to 2x1014 Hz
Useful in local point-to-point multipoint applications within
confined areas
Terrestrial Microwave
Description of common microwave antenna
Parabolic "dish", 3 m in diameter
Fixed rigidly and focuses a narrow beam
Achieves line-of-sight transmission to receiving antenna
Located at substantial heights above ground level
Applications
Long haul telecommunications service
Used for voice and TV transmission
Short point-to-point links between buildings
Satellite Microwave
Description of communication satellite
Microwave relay station
Used to link two or more ground-based microwave
transmitter/receivers
Receives transmissions on one frequency band (uplink),
amplifies or repeats the signal, and transmits it on
another frequency (downlink)
Applications
Television distribution
Long-distance telephone transmission
Private business networks
Broadcast Radio
Description of broadcast radio antennas
Omnidirectional
Antennas not required to be dish-shaped
Antennas need not be rigidly mounted to a precise
alignment
Applications
Broadcast radio
VHF and part of the UHF band; 30 MHZ to 1GHz
Covers FM radio and UHF and VHF television
Multiplexing
Capacity of transmission medium usually exceeds
capacity required for transmission of a single signal
Multiplexing - carrying multiple signals on a single
medium
More efficient use of transmission medium
Multiplexing

Reasons for Widespread Use of
Multiplexing
Cost per kbps of transmission facility declines with an
increase in the data rate
Cost of transmission and receiving equipment declines
with increased data rate
Most individual data communicating devices require
relatively modest data rate support
Multiplexing Techniques
Frequency-division multiplexing (FDM)
Takes advantage of the fact that the useful bandwidth of
the medium exceeds the required bandwidth of a given
signal.
A number of signals can be carried simultaneously if
each signal is modulated onto a different carrier
frequency.
Each signal requires a certain bandwidth centred on its
carrier frequency refered to as a channel.
Frequency-division Multiplexing

Multiplexing Techniques
Time-division multiplexing (TDM)
Takes advantage of the fact that the achievable bit rate of
the medium exceeds the required data rate of a digital
signal.
Multiple data signals can be carried on a single
transmission path by interleaving portions of each
signal in time.
The sequence of time slots dedicated to a particular
source is called a channel.

Time-division Multiplexing

Conclusions
What we have learnt
Introduction to wireless communications
Time and frequency domain concepts of signals
Analog and digital data transmission
Channel capacity
Transmission media
Multiplexing