CHAPTER 5 WIRELESS TECHNOLOGY

WIRELESS TECHNOLOGY

Wireless communication is among technology’s biggest contributions to mankind. Wireless communication involves the transmission of information over a distance without help of wires, cables or any other forms of electrical conductors. The transmitted distance can be anywhere between a few meters (for example, a television’s remote control) and thousands of kilometres (for example, radio communication).

Some of the devices used for wireless communication are cordless telephones, mobiles, GPS units, wireless computer parts, and satellite television.

Type of Wireless Technology

o   Wireless wide area networks (WWANs)

o   Wireless metropolitan area networks (WMANs)

o   Wireless local area networks (WLANs)

o   Wireless personal area networks (WPANs)

WIRELESS TECHNOLOGY

Infrared (IR)

Infrared is a media transmission system that transmits data signals through light emitting diodes (LEDs) or Lasers. Infrared is an electromagnetic energy at a wavelength which is longer than that of the red light. The information cannot be travelled through obstacles in an infrared system, but can be inhibited by light. One type of infrared is the point to point system in which transmission is possible between two points limited to a range and line of sight.

The signal frequency to transmit in a point to point system is 100 GHz to 1,000 terahertz (THz), and the speed ranges from 100 Kbps to 16 Mbps. Another method of transmission of infrared includes the broadcast system – and, in this method, a reflective material or a transmission unit amplifies and retransmits a data signal to several other units. The normal frequency of an infrared broadcast system is 100 GHz to 1,000 THz with a limited speed of 1 Mbps.

Infrared

WiMAX

There are wireless broadband systems that offer fast Web surfing without being getting connected through cable or DSL (Example of wireless broadband is WiMAX). Although WiMAX can potentially deliver data rates of more than 30 Megabits per second, yet the providers offer average 0 data rates of 6 Mbps and often deliver less, making the service significantly slower than the hard-wired broadband. The actual cost of the data available using WiMAX widely varies with the distance from the transmitter. WiMAX is also one of the versions of 4G wireless available in phones as Sprint’s 4G technology.

Wireless Networking

Wi-Fi

Wi-Fi is a form of low-power wireless communication used by many electronic devices such as laptops, systems, smart phones, etc. In a Wi-Fi setup, a wireless router serves as the communication hub. These networks are extremely limited in range due to low power of transmissions allowing users to connect only within close proximity to a router or signal repeater. Wi-Fi is common in home networking applications which provides portability without any need of cables. Wi-Fi networks need to be secured with passwords for security purposes in order not to be accessed by others.

Wi-Fi

Bluetooth Technology

Bluetooth technology allows you to connect a variety of different electronic devices wirelessly to a system for the transfer and sharing of data and this is the main function of Bluetooth. Cell phones are connected to hands-free earpieces, wireless keyboard, mouse and mike to laptops with the help of Bluetooth as it transmits information from one device to other device. Bluetooth technology has many functions, and it is used most commonly in wireless communications’ market.

Bluetooth Technology

Features

• Bluetooth technology uses radio waves to communicate between devices. Most of these radio waves have a range of 15-50 feet.
• According to the official Bluetooth website, Bluetooth uses a low-power signal with a maximum range of 50 feet with sufficient speed to enable transmission of data.
• The pairing process identifies and connects any two devices to each other. It also prevents interference from other non-paired Bluetooth devices in the area.
• It uses maximum power only when it is required, thus preserving battery life.

Broadband (WiBB)

Wireless broadband is high-speed Internet and data service delivered through a wireless local area network (WLAN) or wide area network (WWAN).

As with other wireless service, wireless broadband may be either fixed or mobile. A fixed wireless service provides wireless Internet for devices in relatively permanent locations, such as homes and offices. Fixed wireless broadband technologies include LMDS (Local Multipoint Distribution System) and MMDS (Multichannel Multipoint Distribution Service) systems for broadband microwave wireless transmission direct from a local antenna to homes and businesses within a line-of-sight radius. The service is similar to that provided through digital subscriber line (DSL) or cable modem but the method of transmission is wireless.

1G Technology:

·         1G refers to the first generation of wireless telephone technology, mobile telecommunications which was first introduced in 1980s and completed in early 1990s.

·         It’s Speed was upto 2.4kbps, allowed the voice calls in 1 country.

·         It used Analog Signal and AMPS was first launched in USA in 1G mobile systems

Drawbacks:

·         Poor Voice Quality

·         Poor Battery Life

·         Large Phone Size

·         No Security

·         Limited Capacity

·         Poor Handoff Reliability

2G Technology:

·         2G technology refers to the 2nd generation which is based on GSM.

·         It was launched in Finland in the year 1991 and used digital signals.

·         It’s data speed was upto 64kbps.

Features include:

·         It enables services such as text messages, picture messages and MMS (multi media message).

·         It provides better quality and capacity.

Drawbacks:

·         2G requires strong digital signals to help mobile phones work. If there is no network coverage in any specific area ,digital signals would weak.

·         These systems are unable to handle complex data such as Videos.

2.5G Technology

2.5G is a technology between the second (2G) and third (3G) generation of mobile telephony.
It is sometimes described as 2G Cellular Technology combined with GPRS.

Features Includes:

·         Phone Calls

·         Send/Receive E-mail Messages

·         Web Browsing

·         Speed : 64-144 kbps

·         Camera Phones

3G Technology:

·         3G technology refer to third generation which was introduced in year 2000s.

·         Data Transmission speed increased from 144kbps- 2Mbps.

·         Typically called Smart Phones and features increased its bandwidth and data transfer rates to accommodate web-based applications and audio and video files.

Features Include:

·         Providing Faster Communication

·         Send/Receive Large Email Messages

·         High Speed Web / More Security

·         Video Conferencing / 3D Gaming

·         TV Streaming/ Mobile TV/ Phone Calls

·         Large Capacities and Broadband Capabilities

·         11 sec – 1.5 min. time to download a 3 min Mp3 song.

Drawbacks:

·         Expensive fees for 3G Licenses Services

·         It was challenge to build the infrastructure for 3G

·         High Bandwidth Requirement

·         Expensive 3G Phones.

·         Large Cell Phones

4G Technology:

·         4G technology refer to or short name of fourth Generation which was started from late 2000s.

·         Capable of providing 100Mbps – 1Gbps speed.

·         One of the basic term used to describe 4G is MAGIC.

MAGIC:

·         Mobile Multimedia

·         Ubiquitous

·         Global Mobility Support

·         Integrated Wireless Solution

·         Customized Personal Services

·         Also known as Mobile Broadband Everywhere

·         The next generations of wireless technology that promises higher data rates and expanded multimedia services.

·         Capable to provide speed 100Mbps-1Gbps.

·         High QOS and High Security

·         Provide any kind of service at any time as per user requirements, anywhere.

Features Include:

·         More Security

·         High Speed

·         High Capacity

·         Low Cost Per-bit

Drawbacks:

·         Battery uses is more

·         Hard to implement

·         Need complicated hardware

·         Expensive equipment required to implement next generation network.

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This week I 've learned about wireless technology. In summary, there are various types of wireless technology, for example WWANs , WMANs , WLANs and WPANs. Moreover, I can know the functions, advantages and disadvantages of this example infrared connection, wifi, wimax, bluetooth and others. I also have studied the history of ganerasi 1g, 2g, 3g, 4g and now LTE. indeed the world is booming and increasingly sophisticated technological change and useful, the users only need to use it well and perfect.