Wireless Communications Networks

Scope and Audience

This tutorial is intended for engineers and researchers in industry and academia who want to understand rapidly evolving wireless network access technologies and the issues behind the many widely different technological approaches to wireless access. The impact of wireless access on network intelligence will also be illustrated.

Objective

This tutorial will explore the basic concepts of large scale wireless access systems. The design issues for cellular mobile telecommunications systems and cordless telephones will be explored and wireless data networks noted. Evolution to widespread personal communications systems that can support low-power voice/data packet communications will be discussed. The implications to fixed network intelligence for supporting nomadic mobile users will be assessed. Examples of existing and proposed wireless access systems will be used to illustrate different design compromises made to address different perceived wireless user needs. Discussion of frequency reuse and high-speed (10 Mb/s) data transmission will include the impact of radio propagation in and around buildings. Different access technologies, modulation and multiplexing in the time, frequency, space and code domains will be described.

Outline

Introduction
Characteristics of Existing and Proposed Wireless Systems
Design Compromises for Cellular Mobile and Cordless Telephone
Design Compromises for Personal Communications and Wireless Data
Frequency Reuse and Co-Channel Interference
Network Access
Multiple Access Technologies
Network Intelligence Implications
Impact of Radio Propagation on Wireless Systems

Lecturer

Donald C. Cox has been a professor of Electrical Engineering and a Director of Telecommunications at Stanford University since Fall of 1993 where his research is in wireless personal communications. Before going to Stanford, he was Executive Director and earlier Division Manager of Radio Research at Bellcore (1984 - 93) where he managed research on wireless access to networks for personal communications services. His research and that of his division/ department at Bellcore has provided the technical foundation for the current high state of technical, regulatory and business activity in personal communications. He was instrumental in evolving the Bellcore research into the PACS standard for PCS. Dr. Cox was at Bell Laboratories from 1968 to 1983 where he pioneered research in wireless personal communications in the late 1970s. He also did research on cellular mobile systems and millimeter wave satellite communication.

Last modified: October 18, 1995