Chapter Three

Wireless Network Principles

Wireless Transmission
• Wireless Communication systems consist of:
– transmitters
– Antennas: radiates electromagnetic energy into air
– Receivers
The basic components of data communications include:

– Message: is the information (data) to be communicated. Popular forms of

information include text, numbers, pictures, audio, and video.
– Sender: is the device that sends the data message. It can be a computer,
workstation, telephone handset, video camera, and so on.
– Receiver: is the device that receives the message. It can be a computer,
workstation, telephone handset, television, and so on.
– Transmission medium: is the physical path by which a message travels from
sender to receiver. Some examples of transmission media include twisted-pair
wire, coaxial cable, fiber optics cable, and radio waves.
– Protocol: is a set of rules that govern data communications.
• In some cases, transmitters and receivers are on same device, called transceivers
(e.g., cellular phones)

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Fig. 1.1.Simplified Communications Model
The components of a communications in a wireless system are:

 Input transducer: The device that converts a physical signal from source to an
electrical, mechanical or electromagnetic signal more suitable for communicating

 Transmitter: The device that sends the transduced signal

 Transmission channel: The physical medium on which the signal is carried

 Receiver: The device that recovers the transmitted signal from the channel

 Output transducer: The device that converts the received signal back into a useful
quantity

Basic analog communications system

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 - Modulation is the process of impressing/moving a low-frequency information
signal (baseband signal )onto a higher frequency carrier signal
- Modulation is done to bring information signals up to the Radio Frequency (or
higher) signal

Types of Analog Modulation

a. Amplitude Modulation (AM)

 Amplitude modulation is the process of varying the amplitude of a carrier
wave in proportion to the amplitude of a baseband signal. The frequency
of the carrier remains constant
 AM is susceptible to noise and interference
 The frequency range of AM is between 535 to 1705 KHz
b. Frequency Modulation (FM)
 Frequency modulation is the process of varying the frequency of a carrier
wave in proportion to the amplitude of a baseband signal. The amplitude
of the carrier remains constant
 FM is less susceptible to noise and interference
 The frequency range of FM is between 88 to 108 MHz
c. Phase Modulation (PM)
 Another form of analog modulation technique which we will not discuss
 The frequency range of PM is from 30-100Htz and 5-12 Htz if it is slow

Digital Modulation
 The previous section presented analog communication systems that transmit
information in analog form using Amplitude or Frequency modulation
 Digital communication systems also employ modulation techniques, some of which
include:
1. Amplitude Shift Keying(ASK)
2. Frequency Shift Keying(FSK)
3. Phase Shift Keying(PSK)
 Amplitude Shift Keying (ASK)

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1. The most basic (binary) form of ASK involves the process of switching the carrier either
on or off, in correspondence to a sequence of digital pulses that constitute the
information signal. One binary digit is represented by the presence of a carrier; the
other binary digit is represented by the absence of a carrier. Frequency remains fixed
 Frequency Shift Keying (FSK)
1. The most basic (binary) form of FSK involves the process of varying the frequency of a
carrier wave by choosing one of two frequencies (binary FSK) in correspondence to a
sequence of digital pulses that constitute the information signal. Two binary digits are
represented by two frequencies around the carrier frequency. Amplitude remains fixed
 Phase Shift Keying (PSK)
1. Another form of digital modulation technique which we will not discuss
 Modems are devices used to enable the transfer of data over the public switched
telephone network (PSTN)

Modems: is a hardware component that allows a computer or another device such as a

router or switch to connect to the internet.

The difference between Modulation and Demodulation

Modulation: is used to transfer the message signal by adding it with the carrier signal

- Transfers message from telephone line to computer system

Demodulation: The process of filtering out the actual message signal from the carrier
signal.

- Transfer message from computer to telephone line.

 The name modem comes from the name Modulator- Demodulator which describes
the function the modem performs to transfer digital information over an analog
network
 The goal is to produce a signal that can be transmitted easily and decoded to
reproduce the original digital data. Primarily used to communicate via telephone
lines, modems can be used over any means of transmitting analog signals
 There are many kinds of modems available today:

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1. Internal modem:
 A modem card in your computer that is integrated within the system
 Less expensive than external modems
 Disadvantage is that you need to access inside the computer to
replace the modem
2. External modem:
 A device that connects externally to your computer through a serial
port
 External power supply does not drain power from the computer
 Modem activity can easily be observed
 More expensive than an internal modem

3. DSL (Digital Subscriber Line):

 A high-speed data service that works over conventional telephone

lines and is typically offered by telephone companies

 It does not occupy the phone line-you can still talk on the phone

 Speed is much higher than regular modem

4. Cable modem:

 A device that connects to the existing cable feed and to an Ethernet

network card in the PC (also called a NIC for Network Interface Card)

 Is different than a common dial up modem

 Supports higher speeds

 Typically offered by cable companies

5. Satellite Modem: It is a device that provides internet connection through satellite

dishes.

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6. ADSL (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line): is a technology that provides
high transmission speeds for video and voice to homes and businesses over an ordinary
copper telephone wire.
- The speed of data sent in ADSL is known as Upstream and data received is known
as Downstream.
- ADSL and DSL are used for broadband internet connection/access
- ADSL has faster download speeds than upload speeds.
Modems are the most popular means of Internet access, UCLA 2001 study of American
Internet users shows that 81.3% of them use telephone modem, and 11.5% cable modem

Notice: Every wireless communication contains the seven layers of the OSI models
The physical layer is responsible for movements of individual bits from one hop (node) to
the next.

- The physical layer of the network focuses on hardware elements, such as cables,
repeaters, and NIC. By far the most common protocol used at physical layer is
Ethernet.
- Makes decisions.s
- Hub and Repeater works on physical layerRouter operates at layer 3 or network layer and

- The transport layer is responsible for process-to-process delivery of the entire message .
- The transport layer can be either connectionless or connection-oriented.

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- A connectionless transport layer treats each segment as an independent packet and delivers it
to the transport layer at the destination machine.
- A connection-oriented transport layer makes a connection with the transport layer at the
destination machine first before delivering the packets. After all the data are transferred, the
connection is terminated.
- UDP is connectionless protocol.
- TCP are connection-oriented protocol.
Service of Session layer is: Dialogue discipline. This can be two-way simultaneous (full
duplex) or two way alternate (half duplex) communications between processes.
- Presentation Layer is used for:
 Translation. The processes (running programs) in two systems are usually exchanging
information in the form of character strings, numbers, and so on.
 Encryption. To carry sensitive information, a system must be able to ensure privacy.
Encryption means that the sender transforms the original information to another form and
sends the resulting message out over the network. Decryption reverses the original process
to transform the message back to its original form.
 Compression. Data compression reduces the number of bits contained in the information.
Data compression becomes particularly important in the transmission of multimedia such as
text, audio, and video.
Application layer:
 The application layer enables the user, whether human or software, to access the network.
It provides user interfaces and support for services such as electronic mail, remote file access
and transfer, shared database management, and other types of distributed information
services.
 Application layer is where users actually communicate to the computer.

Antennas
 An antenna is an electrical conductor or system of conductors to send/receive
RF/radio frequency/repetitions signals
– 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
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 Directional Antenna
(Higher frequency)
Omnidirectional Antenna
(Lower frequency)

Antenna models
a. In Omni Mode:
 Nodes receive signals with gain Go
b. In Directional Mode:
 Capable of beam forming in specified direction
Directional communication
Received Power  (Transmit power)
Directional gain is higher
Comparison of omni and directional

Issues Omni Directional

Spatial/3-D/4-D Reuse Low High

Connectivity Low High

Interference Omni Directional

Cost &Complexity Low High

Signals
• Signals are the physical representation of data.

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 • Users of a communication system can only exchange data through the transmission
of signals.
– Light ,electric , electromagnetic/radio
• Layer 1 of the OSI basic reference model is responsible for the conversion of data,
– I.e. bits, into signals and vice versa.
Basic Terms
• Signals, wireless or not, are represented as cyclic waves which may be discrete
(digital) or continuous (analog).
• Frequency : no of cycles per unit time of the wave
• Amplitude : the height of the wave
• Phase: shows how far, in degrees, the wave is from its beginning (phase 0).

• Hertz (Hz) = number of cycles per second. Frequency is measured in Hertz.

• Data rate = number of bits sent per second (bps).
• Channel = a logical communication path.
– One physical wire can support multiple channels; each channel supports one
user.
• Bandwidth = frequency range used by a signal, measured in Hz.
• Channel capacity = number of bits that can be transmitted per second. (Same as
data rate).

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 • Wave length wavelength, distance between corresponding points of two
consecutive waves. Wavelength is measured in meters.

Transmission Media
• The physical path between the transmitter and receiver.
– Guided: along a solid medium. ….Cables
– Unguided: achieved by using antennas. Wireless
• Type of wireless transmission
– Directional: point-to-point. E.g. microwave
– Omni-directional: waves are transmitted equally in all directions.
Attenuation: Strength of signal falls off with distance over transmission medium
Frequency allocation and Regulation
• Frequency allocation (or spectrum allocation or spectrum management) is the
allocation and regulation of the electromagnetic spectrum into radio frequency
bands.
• Wireless communications use the “radio frequency (RF)” spectrum for transmitting
and receiving information.
• Radio waves have the longest wavelengths and shortest frequency in the
electromagnetic spectrum. 
• Several factors are considered while allocating frequencies
– Cost of components: increases as you go to higher frequencies.
– Signal losses: also increase as frequencies increase.
– Noise disruption: lower frequencies are disrupted regularly by man-made
noise such as electrical motors, car ignition, and domestic appliances.
Wireless Frequency Allocation
• Radio frequencies range from 9KHz to 4000GHZ (ITU)
Major frequency bands
• Microwave frequency range (1 GHz to 40 GHz)

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 – Directional beams possible
– Suitable for point-to-point transmission
– Used for satellite & terrestrial communications
• Broadcast frequency range(30 MHz to 1 GHz )
– Suitable for Omni-directional applications
– applications : FM radio and UHF and VHF television
• Infrared frequency range(300 GHz to 3000 GHz)
– Useful in local point-to-point multipoint applications within confined areas.
Terrestrial Microwave (1GHz to 40GHz)
– Description of common point-to-point links between buildings Most
common: Parabolic "dish", 3 m in diameter
– Fixed rigidly and focuses a narrow beam
– Achieves line-of-sight transmission to receiving antenna (relays used in
between)
– Located at substantial heights above ground level
• Applications
– Long heave telecommunications service (instead of fiber, coax) -- requires
less repeaters but line of sight
– Short point-to-point links between buildings (e.g, closed circuit TV, LANs,
bypass local telephone companies)
– Most common BW= 4GHZ (can give up to 200 Mbps)

Satellite Microwave (1GHz to 20 GHz, typically)

• 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 (e.g., Dstv uses satellites )
– Long-distance telephone transmission between telephone exchange offices
– Private business networks (lease channels, expensive)

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Broadcast Radio (30 MHz to 1GHz)
• Description of broadcast radio antennas
– Omnidirectional (main differentiator from microwave)
– Antennas not required to be dish-shaped
– Antennas need not be rigidly mounted to a precise alignment
• Applications
– Broadcast radio& TV
• VHF and part of the UHF band; 30 MHZ to 1GHz
• Covers FM radio and UHF and VHF television
– Due to new apps, the frequency range is expanded frequently
Infrared (300 GHz to 3000 GHz)
• operate in the terribly high frequency (THF)
• does not penetrate walls
• used in remote control devices (TV remote control, garage door openers )
Commonly used frequencies in Wireless Systems
– Cellular networks: Mostly around 900 MHz
– IEEE 802.11 LANs: 2.4 GHz (802.11b, 802.11g) and 5 GHz (802.11a)
– Satellite systems: 3 to 30 GHz
– Wireless local loops: 10 to 100 GHz
Infrared wireless LANs; 300 GHz to 400 THz
Frequency Regulations
• Two approaches in using wireless frequencies:
– use an unlicensed band or
– use a frequency that is regulated
• Regulated bands require permission
Regulating Bodies
• ITU (International Telecom Union)
– Responsible for assigning internationally used frequencies
• Local broadcast and telecommunication agencies are also responsible
Overview of Communication systems
 Analog Modulation

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  AM
 FM
 PM
 Digital Modulation
 ASK
 FSK
 PSK
Multiplexing Mechanisms
Multiplexing or Muxing: is a way of sending multiple signals or stream of information
over a communication link at the same time in in the form of a single, complex signal.
- It is the sharing of a medium or bandwidth. It is the process in which multiple signals
coming from multiple sources are combined and transmitted over a single
communication/physical line.
- In short multiplexer is the device which has an inputs and only one output.
The main advantages of Multiplexing is:
We can transmit a large number of signals to a single medium.
Example: phone calls are good examples of multiplexing in telecommunications. That is
more than one phone call is transmitted over a single medium. The process of combining
the data streams is known as multiplexing and hardware used for multiplexing is known as
a multiplexer or Mux and a device that performs the reverse process is called DE
multiplexer (DEMEX or DMX)..
 Multiplexing has 4 dimensions
– space (si)
– time (t)
– frequency (f)
– code (c)

Two basic forms of multiplexing.

a. Frequency/Wave length-division multiplexing (FDM) (with guard bands).
b. Time-division multiplexing (TDM); no provision is made here for synchronizing pulses.
c. Code Division Multiplexing(CDM)
d. Space Division Multiplexing (SDM)
e. Polarization Division Multiplexing (PDM)
Frequency Division Multiplexing (FDM)
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 Block diagram of FDM system, showing the important constituents of the transmitter and
receiver.
Time Division Multiplexing Definition: Time Division Multiplexing (TDM) is the time
interleaving of samples from several sources so that the information from these sources
can be transmitted serially over a single communication channel.
At the Transmitter
 Simultaneous transmission of several signals on a time-sharing basis.
 Each signal occupies its own distinct time slot, using all frequencies, for the
duration of the transmission.
 Slots may be permanently assigned on demand.
At the Receiver
 Decommutator (sampler) has to be synchronized with the incoming waveform 
Frame Synchronization
 Low pass filter
 poor channel filtering
Feed through of one channel's signal into another channel – Crosstalk
Applications of TDM: Digital Telephony, Data communications, Satellite Access,
Cellular radio. Packet Transmission System
 TDM is Synchronous Transfer Mode (STM) technology
- Data source is assigned a specific time slot – fixed data rate
- More efficient when sources have a fixed data rate
- Inefficient to accommodate burst data source
Types of Waves
1. Ionosphere (80 - 720 km)= above the sky
2. Mesosphere (50 - 80 km)= Sky wave
3. Stratosphere (12 - 50 km)=in between sky wave and space wave
4. Troposphere (0 - 12 km)= in between ground and Earth

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