Fundamentals of Wireless Transmission

 Agenda
o Digital Communication Systems
• To provide the foundations of a typical Digital Communication System
(DCS) in a block-diagram structure.
• To discuss the operation of a typical DCS
o Transmission Fundamentals
• Signals for Conveying Information
• Data Communication Terms
• Channel Capacity
• Frequency Spectrum
• Transmission Media
• Switching Techniques
• Influence of Mobile Communications on the Layer Model

Wireless and Mobile Networks © Imad J. Eid 1

Simplified Block Structure of a DCS

 If discrete information source

Discrete Discrete
Information Transmitter Channel Receiver Information
Source Sink

 If continuous (analog) information source

Analog Analog
Information ADC Transmitter Channel Receiver DAC Information
Source Sink

Wireless and Mobile Networks

2
 General Block Structure of a DCS
A B C D E F
Discrete
Analog Source Digital
Sampler Quantizer Channel Interleaver
Source Encoder Modulator
Encoder

g(t) Fs>2Fg (Q,Δ) (M,Tcs) T

A^ D^ E^ F^ T^
C^
LPF Discrete
Analog Source Digital
Channel Deinterleaver
Sink Decoder Demodulator
Decoder

Wireless and Mobile Networks

3

General Block Structure of a DCS

 A general block structure of a Digital Communication System is shown in
the previous page and it is a common practice to express the quality of
the system in terms of the accuracy with which the binary digits
delivered at the output of the detector/Rx (point F^) represent the
binary digits that were fed into the digital modulator/Tx (point F).

 The fraction of the binary digits that are delivered in error at the
output of the detector/Rx (point F^) is a measure of the quality of the
communication system.

 This fraction, or rate, is referred to as the probability of a bit error

(Pe) or, Bit-Error-Rate (BER)

 Basic Performance Criteria

– BER
Power of Signal at T ^
– SNR =
Power of Noise at T ^

Wireless and Mobile Networks

4
 General Block Structure of a DCS

 Information Source can be:

o Continuous (Analog) . e.g.: voice
o Discrete (Digital). e.g.: email
Discrete source can be a direct input to the source encoder (point C)
 The Sampler is used to convert the analog signal to discrete-time
continuous-amplitude signal. (Nyquist Rate Fs = 2Fg )
 The Quantizer is used to convert the discrete-time continuous-amplitude
signal to a discrete-time discrete-amplitude signal.

Analog Source Sampler Quantizer Discrete Source

Fs>2Fg (Q,Δ)

Wireless and Mobile Networks

5

General Block Structure of a DCS

 Source Encoder (Data Compressor)

o Is to represent the message symbols (or quantization levels) by as few digits as
possible. This is by identifying and removing any redundancy in the input sequence.
o The average information per symbol generated by the source is given by the so-
called entropy of the source.
o Optimum source encoder: Huffman Encoder
o Assigns short-codes to symbols arriving more frequently, and long-codes to symbols
arriving infrequently.
 Discrete Channel Encoder
o Adding deliberately some redundancy which will make it possible for the receiver to
detect and even correct errors.
o Reduces the channel noise/interference effects.
o e.g. Block coding

Wireless and Mobile Networks

6
 General Block Structure of a DCS

 Interleaver
o A process of reorganizing the coded data.
o Transforms the bursty channel (exhibits bursty
errors) into a channel having independent
errors.

 Digital Modulator
o The digital Modulator takes L bits at a time at
L
some uniform rate rcs and transmits one of M= 2
distinct waveforms s1(t), . . . , sM (t).

Wireless and Mobile Networks

7

General Block Structure of a DCS

 Channel
o A transmission medium used to convey an information signal
from one or several senders (or transmitters) to one or
several receivers
o Adds noise n(t) to the transmitted signal si(t)
o Output of the channel = received signal = r(t) = ksi(t) + n(t)
o Wireless Channels are much more difficult and hostile than
wired channels because of interference, noise, multipath,
multiple access …etc

Wireless and Mobile Networks

8
 General Block Structure of a DCS
A B C D E F
Discrete
Analog Source Digital
Sampler Quantizer Channel Interleaver
Source Encoder Modulator
Encoder

g(t) Fs>2Fg (Q,Δ) (M,Tcs) T

A^ D^ E^ F^ T^
C^
LPF Discrete
Analog Source Digital
Channel Deinterleaver
Sink Decoder Demodulator
Decoder

Wireless and Mobile Networks

9

General Block Structure of a DCS

 Receiver (Reverse Processes)
o Digital Demodulator  Digital Modulator

o Deinterleaver  Interleaver

o Discrete Channel Decoder  Discrete Channel Encoder

o Source Decoder  Source Encoder

o Low-Pass Filter (+Quantization Error)  Sampler + Quantizer

o Analog Sink (Destination)  Analog Source
o Discrete Sink  If discrete Source

Wireless and Mobile Networks

10
 Fundamentals of Wireless Transmission
 Agenda
o Digital Communication Systems
• To provide the foundations of a typical Digital Communication System
(DCS) in a block-diagram structure.
• To discuss the operation of a typical DCS
o Transmission Fundamentals
• Signals for Conveying Information
• Data Communication Terms
• Channel Capacity
• Frequency Spectrum
• Transmission Media
• Switching Techniques
• Influence of Mobile Communications on the Layer Model
Wireless and Mobile Networks
11

Signals for Conveying Information

 We are concerned with electromagnetic signals/waves
 Electromagnetic radiation comprises both an Electric and a Magnetic
Field.
 The two fields are at right-angles to each other and the direction of
propagation is at right-angles to both fields.
 The plane of the Electric Field defines the Polarization of the wave.

Horizontal
Polarization

Wireless and Mobile Networks

12
 Time Domain Concepts
 Analog / Digital
o Analog signal - signal intensity varies in a smooth fashion over time
• No breaks or discontinuities in the signal
o Digital signal - signal intensity maintains a constant level for some period of
time and then changes to another constant level

Wireless and Mobile Networks

13

Time Domain Concepts

 Periodic / Aperiodic
o 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 (the smallest value that satisfies the equation )

o Aperiodic signal - analog or digital signal pattern that doesn't repeat over
time

Wireless and Mobile Networks

14
 Time Domain Concepts
 Sine Wave (sinusoid)
o A fundamental analog (periodic) signal
o Can be represented by three parameters
• Peak Amplitude (A)
• Frequency (f)

s(t ) = A sin(2ft + )
• Phase (Φ)
o
o Period: T = 1/f

The 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

Phase shift;  = /4 radians (45 degrees)

(c) Increased frequency; f = 2, thus T = ½
(d)

Wireless and Mobile Networks

15

Time Domain Concepts

 Wavelength () - distance occupied by a single cycle of the signal

 Electromagnetic waves Travel at the speed of light (c)
c= f
c: speed of light in free space = 3 x 108 m/s

: wave length (m)

f: signal frequency (Hz)

Wireless and Mobile Networks

16
 Frequency Domain Concepts
 In practice, an electromagnetic signal is
made up of many frequencies.
 Fourier Analysis
o Any signal is made up of components at
various frequencies, in which each
component is a sinusoid.
 Fundamental frequency - when all
frequency components of a signal are
integer multiples of one frequency, it’s
referred to as the fundamental
frequency
 The period of the total signal is equal
to the period of the fundamental
frequency

Wireless and Mobile Networks

17

Frequency Domain Concepts

3f

5f

7f

Wireless and Mobile Networks

18
 Frequency Domain Concepts
 Spectrum - range of frequencies that a signal contains
 Absolute Bandwidth - width of the spectrum of a signal = fMAX - fMin
o Many Signals have an infinite bandwidth but most of the energy is contained in a
relatively narrow band of frequencies
 Effective Bandwidth (or just bandwidth) - narrow band of frequencies
that most of the signal’s energy is contained in.
o e.g. Voice Signal (20 Hz to 20 kHz) we use only (300Hz to 3.4 KHz)

 Example

o Fundamental Freq =
o Max_Freq =
o BW =

Wireless and Mobile Networks

19

Relationship Between Data Rate and Bandwidth

 Data Rate - rate at which data can be

communicated (bps = bits per second)

 Consider the square wave shown in the

figure

 Suppose that the positive pulse represent

binary 0, and the negative pulse represent
binary 1.

 The data rate = 2 x f bits per second (bps)

 This waveform consists of infinite number of

frequency components and hence an infinite
bandwidth.

Wireless and Mobile Networks

20
 Relationship Between Data Rate and Bandwidth
 Case-I
o Assume a signal has the following components: f, 3f, 5f; f= 1 MHz
o What is the BW? BW= 5f–f = 4f = 4MHz

 Case-II
o What is the Data Rate? Data Rate = 2 Mbps

o Assume a signal has the following components: f, 3f, 5f; f= 2 MHz

o What is the BW? BW= 5f–f = 4f = 8MHz

 Case-III
o What is the Data Rate? Data Rate = 4 Mbps

o Assume a signal has the following components: f, 3f; f= 2 MHz

o What is the BW? BW= 3f–f = 2f = 4MHz

 Conclusions
o What is the Data Rate? Data Rate = 4 Mbps

o Any digital waveform will have infinite bandwidth

o BUT the transmission system will limit the bandwidth that can be transmitted
o AND, for any given medium, the greater the bandwidth transmitted, the greater the
cost
o HOWEVER, limiting the bandwidth creates distortions
Wireless and Mobile Networks
21

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
o Analog
• Video
• Audio
o Digital
• Text
• Integers
• Both analog and digital data can be represented, and hence
propagated, by either analog or digital signals

Wireless and Mobile Networks

22
 Analog and Digital Data Transmission

Wireless and Mobile Networks

23

Decibel Notation
 What is dB (decibel):
o A logarithmic unit that is used to describe a ratio.
• If we have two values P1 and P2. The ratio between them can be expressed in dB
and is computed as follows:
10 log (P2/P1) dB
o Example: transmit power P1=1W, received power P2=100W
• The ratio is 10log(100/1) = 20dB.
 dB unit can describe very big ratios with numbers of modest size.
o Example: transmit power = 100W, Received power = 1mW
• Transmit power is 100,000 times of received power
• Ratio (Transmit/Received) is 50dB

Wireless and Mobile Networks

24
 dBm and dBW
 For power, dBm is used to denote a power level with respect to 1mW as the
reference power level.
o Let’s say that a transmit power of a system is 100W.
o Question: What is the transmit power in unit of dBm?
o Answer: transmit power(dBm) = 10log(100W/1mW) =
10log(100,000mW/1mW) = 50dBm

 For power, dBW is used to denote a power level with respect to 1W as the
reference power level.
o Let say transmit power of a system is 100W.
o Question: What is the transmit power in unit of dBW?
o Answer: transmit _power(dBW) = 10log(100W/1W) = 10log(100) = 20dBW.

Wireless and Mobile Networks

25

Channel Capacity
 Channel Capacity: the maximum rate at which data can be transmitted over a
given channel, under given conditions.
 Noise: any unwanted signal that combines with and hence distorts the signal intended
for transmission and reception.
 Error Rate: This is the rate at which errors occur, where an error is the reception of a 1
when a 0 was transmitted or the reception of a 0 when a 1 was transmitted.
 The Nyquist Limit
o A noiseless channel of bandwidth B Hz can at most transmit a binary signal at a
capacity C = 2B bps
• e.g. a 3000 Hz channel can transmit data at a rate of at most 6000 bits/second
o What if the number of signal levels is more than 2 (M levels):
C = 2B log2(M) bps
• e.g. a 3000 Hz channel, with 8 discrete signal elements, can transmit data at a rate of at
most 18000 bits/second
• For a given bandwidth, the capacity can be increased by increasing the number of different
signal elements (M)
• Increasing M, increases receiver sensitivity to noise and other channel impairments.
Wireless and Mobile Networks
26
 Channel Capacity
 The presence of noise can
corrupt one or more bits. If the
data rate is increased, then
the bits become "shorter" in
time, so that more bits are
affected by a given pattern
of noise. Thus, at a given noise
level, the higher the data rate,
the higher the error rate.

 For a given level of noise, we

would expect that a greater
signal strength would improve
the ability to receive data
correctly in the presence of
noise

Wireless and Mobile Networks

27

Channel Capacity
 Shannon Capacity Formula
C = B log2(1 + SNR) bps
Siganl Power
SNR = Signal to Noise Ratio = Noise Power

SNRdB = 10 log10 ( Siganl Power )

Noise Power

SNR: typically measured at a receiver.

o Represents theoretical maximum that can be achieved

o In practice, only much lower rates can be achieved
• Formula assumes white noise (thermal noise)
• Impulse noise is not accounted for
• Attenuation distortion or delay distortion not accounted for
o We can also use Shannon’s theorem to calculate the noise that can be
tolerated to achieve a certain rate through a channel.

Wireless and Mobile Networks

28
 Channel Capacity

Wireless and Mobile Networks

29

The Electromagnetic Spectrum

Wireless and Mobile Networks

30
 Frequency Spectrum for Telecommunications

Wireless and Mobile Networks

31

Licensed vs. Unlicensed Spectrum

 Licensed Spectrum:
o Need to buy right to use spectrum allocation in a specific geographic
location from the government.
o Prevents interference – licensee can control signal quality
o e.g.: GSM Frequency Spectrum.

 Unlicensed Spectrum
o Anyone can operate in the spectrum
o Can have interference problems
o e.g.: ISM-Band: Industrial, Scientific and Medical frequency band
o 2.4 GHz
o e.g. : Wi-Fi uses ISM band

Wireless and Mobile Networks

32
 Transmission Media
 Transmission Medium
o Physical path between transmitter and receiver
 Types:
o Guided Media
• Waves are guided along a solid medium
• e.g., copper twisted pair, copper coaxial cable, optical fiber
o Unguided Media
• Provides means of transmission but does not guide electromagnetic signals
• Usually referred to as wireless transmission
• e.g., atmosphere, outer space
• Transmission and reception are achieved by means of an antenna
• Configurations for wireless transmission
 Directional
 Omni-directional

Wireless and Mobile Networks

33

Transmission Media

 Microwave frequency range

o 1 GHz to 40 GHz
o Directional beams possible
o Suitable for point-to-point transmission
Used for satellite communications
 Radio frequency range
o

o 30 MHz to 1 GHz
o Suitable for omni-directional applications
 Infrared frequency range
o Roughly, 3x1011 to 2x1014 Hz
o Useful in local point-to-point applications within confined areas

Wireless and Mobile Networks

34
 Transmission Media
 Terrestrial Microwave
o Description of common microwave antenna
• Parabolic "dish“.
• Fixed rigidly and focuses a narrow beam
• Achieves line-of-sight transmission to receiving antenna
• Located at substantial heights above ground level
o Applications
• Long haul telecommunications service
• Short point-to-point links between buildings

o Freq.: 2 - 40 GHz

Wireless and Mobile Networks

35

Transmission Media
 Satellite Microwave
o 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)
• A single orbiting satellite will operate on a number of frequency bands,
called transponder channels, or simply transponders.
o Applications
• Television distribution
• Long-distance telephone transmission
• Private business networks

o Optimum Freq. Range: 1 – 10 GHZ

Wireless and Mobile Networks

36
 Transmission Media
 Broadcast Radio
o Description of broadcast radio antennas
• Omni-directional
• Antennas not required to be dish-shaped
• Antennas need not be rigidly mounted to a precise alignment (mobility)
o Applications
• Broadcast radio
– VHF and part of the UHF band; 30 MHZ to 1GHz
– Covers FM radio and UHF and VHF television
• Mobile Communication (e.g.: GSM)

Wireless and Mobile Networks

37

Transmission Media
 Infrared
o Transmitters/Receivers (Transceivers) that modulate infrared light
o Line of sight
o Or reflection from a light-colored surface such as the ceiling of the room.
o Doesn’t penetrate walls

Wireless and Mobile Networks

38
 Switching Techniques
 Circuit switching
o Dedicated communications path between two stations
o E.g., public telephone network
o Phases: Circuit establishment  Information Transfer  Circuit disconnect
 Packet switching
o Message is broken into a series of packets
o Each node determines next leg of transmission for each packet

Circuit Switching Packet Switching

Wireless and Mobile Networks

39

Influence of Mobile Communications on the Layer Model

Wireless and Mobile Networks

40