Communication Technology

Lecture 3
Wireless communication

Wireless communication takes place over free space

over RF (Radio Frequency), where one device
(transmitter) sends a signal to another device
(receiver). Two devices (transmitter and receiver)
must use the same frequency (or channel) to
communicate with each other
Communication Systems can be Wired or Wireless and the medium
used for communication can be Guided or Unguided. In Wired
Communication, the medium is a physical path like Co-axial Cables,
Twisted Pair Cables and Optical Fiber Links etc. which guides the
signal to propagate from one point to other.

Such type of medium is called Guided Medium. On the other hand,

Wireless Communication doesn’t require any physical medium but
propagates the signal through space. Since, space only allows for
signal transmission without any guidance, the medium used in
Wireless Communication is called Unguided Medium.
Wireless communication

If there is no physical medium, then how does wireless

communication transmit signals? Even though there are no cables used
in wireless communication, the transmission and reception of signals
is accomplished with Antennas.

Antennas are electrical devices that transform the electrical signals to

radio signals in the form of Electromagnetic (EM) Waves and vice
versa. These Electromagnetic Waves propagates through space. Hence,
both transmitter and receiver consists of an antenna
What is Electromagnetic Wave?

Electromagnetic Waves carry the electromagnetic energy of electromagnetic field

through space. Electromagnetic Waves include Gamma Rays (γ – Rays), X – Rays,
Ultraviolet Rays, Visible Light, Infrared Rays, Microwave Rays and Radio Waves.
Electromagnetic Waves (usually Radio Waves) are used in wireless communication to
carry the signals.

An Electromagnetic Wave consists of both electric and magnetic fields in the form of
time varying sinusoidal waves. Both these fields are oscillating perpendicular to each
other and the direction of propagation of the Electromagnetic Wave is again
perpendicular to both these fields.
Why Wireless Communication?

When wired communication can do most of the tasks that a wireless

communication can, why do we need Wireless Communication? The
primary and important benefit of wireless communication is mobility.

Apart from mobility, wireless communication also offers flexibility

and ease of use, which makes it increasingly popular day – by – day.
Wireless Communication like mobile telephony can be made
anywhere and anytime with a considerably high throughput
performance.
Another important point is infrastructure. The setup and installation of
infrastructure for wired communication systems is an expensive and time
consuming job. The infrastructure for wireless communication can be
installed easily and low cost.

In emergency situations and remote locations, where the setup of wired

communication is difficult, wireless communication is a viable option.
Advantages of Wireless Communication

There are numerous advantage of Wireless Communication Technology,

Wireless Networking and Wireless Systems over Wired Communication like
Cost, Mobility, Ease of Installation, and Reliability etc.

Cost
The cost of installing wires, cables and other infrastructure is eliminated in
wireless communication and hence lowering the overall cost of the system
compared to wired communication system. Installing wired network in
building, digging up the Earth to lay the cables and running those wires across
the streets is extremely difficult, costly and time consuming job.

In historical buildings, drilling holes for cables is not a best idea as it destroys
the integrity and importance of the building. Also, in older buildings with no
dedicated lines for communication, wireless communication like Wi-Fi or
Wireless LAN is the only option.
Mobility

As mentioned earlier, mobility is the main advantage of wireless

communication system. It offers the freedom to move around while
still connected to network.

Ease of Installation

The setup and installation of wireless communication network’s

equipment and infrastructure is very easy as we need not worry about
the hassle of cables. Also, the time required to setup a wireless system
like a Wi-Fi network for example, is very less when compared to
setting up a full cabled network.
Reliability

Since there are no cables and wires involved in wireless

communication, there is no chance of communication failure due to
damage of these cables, which may be caused by environmental
conditions, cable splice and natural diminution of metallic conductors.

Disaster Recovery
In case of accidents due to fire, floods or other disasters, the loss of
communication infrastructure in wireless communication system can
be minimal.

Disadvantages of Wireless Communication

Even though wireless communication has a number of advantages
over wired communication, there are a few disadvantages as well. The
most concerning disadvantages are Interference, Security and Health.
Disadvantages of Wireless Communication

Even though wireless communication has a number of advantages over wired

communication, there are a few disadvantages as well. The most concerning
disadvantages are Interference, Security and Health.

Interference

Wireless Communication systems use open space as the medium for

transmitting signals. As a result, there is a huge chance that radio signals from
one wireless communication system or network might interfere with other
signals.

The best example is Bluetooth and Wi-Fi (WLAN). Both these technologies
use the 2.4GHz frequency for communication and when both of these devices
are active at the same time, there is a chance of interference.
Security

One of the main concerns of wireless communication is Security of the

data. Since the signals are transmitted in open space, it is possible that
an intruder can intercept the signals and copy sensitive information.

Health Concerns

Continuous exposure to any type of radiation can be hazardous. Even

though the levels of RF energy that can cause the damage are not
accurately established, it is advised to avoid RF radiation to the
maximum.
Basic Elements of a Wireless Communication System

A typical Wireless Communication System can be divided into three

elements: the Transmitter, the Channel and the Receiver. The
following image shows the block diagram of wireless communication
system.
The Transmission Path

A typical transmission path of a Wireless Communication System consists of

Encoder, Encryption, Modulation and Multiplexing. The signal from the source
is passed through a Source Encoder, which converts the signal in to a suitable
form for applying signal processing techniques.

The redundant information from signal is removed in this process in order to

maximize the utilization of resources. This signal is then encrypted using an
Encryption Standard so that the signal and the information is secured and doesn’t
allow any unauthorized access.
The Transmission Path

Channel Encoding is a technique that is applied to the signal to reduce the

impairments like noise, interference, etc. During this process, a small amount of
redundancy is introduced to the signal so that it becomes robust against noise.
Then the signal is modulated using a suitable Modulation Technique (like PSK,
FSK and QPSK etc.) , so that the signal can be easily transmitted using antenna.
The modulated signal is then multiplexed with other signals using different
Multiplexing Techniques like Time Division Multiplexing (TDM) or Frequency
Division Multiplexing (FDM) to share the valuable bandwidth.
The Channel

The channel in Wireless Communication indicates the medium of

transmission of the signal i.e. open space. A wireless channel is
unpredictable and also highly variable and random in nature. A
channel maybe subject to interference, distortion, noise, scattering etc.
and the result is that the received signal may be filled with errors.
The Reception Path

The job of the Receiver is to collect the signal from the channel and reproduce
it as the source signal. The reception path of a Wireless Communication System
comprises of Demultiplexing , Demodulation, Channel Decoding, Decryption
and Source Decoding. From the components of the reception path it is clear that
the task of the receiver is just the inverse to that of transmitter.

The signal from the channel is received by the Demultiplexer and is separated
from other signals. The individual signals are demodulated using appropriate
Demodulation Techniques and the original message signal is recovered. The
redundant bits from the message are removed using the Channel Decoder.

Since the message is encrypted, Decryption of the signal removes the security
and turns it into simple sequence of bits. Finally, this signal is given to the
Source Decoder to get back the original transmitted message or signal.
Types of Wireless Communication Systems

Today, people need Mobile Phones for many things like

talking, internet, multimedia etc. All these services must be
made available to the user on the go i.e. while the user is
mobile. With the help of these wireless communication
services, we can transfer voice, data, videos, images etc.

Wireless Communication Systems also provide different

services like video conferencing, cellular telephone, paging,
TV, Radio etc. Due to the need for variety of communication
services, different types of Wireless Communication
Systems are developed.
Some of the important Wireless Communication Systems
available today are:

•Television and Radio Broadcasting

•Satellite Communication
•Radar
•Mobile Telephone System (Cellular Communication)
•Global Positioning System (GPS)
•Infrared Communication
•WLAN (Wi-Fi)
•Bluetooth
•ZigBee
•Paging
•Cordless Phones
•Radio Frequency Identification (RFID
There are many other system with each being useful for
different applications. Wireless Communication systems can be
again classified as Simplex, Half Duplex and Full Duplex.
Simplex communication is one way communication. An
example is Radio broadcast system.

Half Duplex is two way communication but not simultaneous

one. An example is walkie – talkie (civilian band radio). Full
Duplex is also two way communication and it is a simultaneous
one. Best example for full duplex is mobile phones
The devices used for Wireless Communication may vary from
one service to other and they may have different size, shape,
data throughput and cost. The area covered by a Wireless
Communication system is also an important factor. The wireless
networks may be limited to a building, an office campus, a city,
a small regional area (greater than a city) or might have global
coverage.
Television and Radio Broadcasting

Radio is considered to be the first wireless service to be

broadcast. It is an example of a Simplex Communication
System where the information is transmitted only in one
direction and all the users receiving the same data
Satellite Communication

Satellite Communication System is an important type of

Wireless Communication. Satellite Communication Networks
provide worldwide coverage independent to population density.

Satellite Communication Systems offer telecommunication

(Satellite Phones), positioning and navigation (GPS),
broadcasting, internet, etc. Other wireless services like mobile,
television broadcasting and other radio systems are dependent
of Satellite Communication Systems
Mobile Telephone Communication System

Perhaps, the most commonly used wireless communication

system is the Mobile Phone Technology. The development of
mobile cellular device changed the World like no other
technology. Today’s mobile phones are not limited to just
making calls but are integrated with numerous other features
like Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, GPS, and FM Radio.

The latest generation of Mobile Communication Technology is

5G (which is indeed successor to the widely adapted 4G). Apart
from increased data transfer rates (technologists claim data rates
in the order of Gbps), 5G Networks are also aimed at Internet of
Things (IoT) related applications and future automobiles.
Global Positioning System (GPS)

GPS is solely a subcategory of satellite communication. GPS

provides different wireless services like navigation, positioning,
location, speed etc. with the help of dedicated GPS receivers
and satellites.

Bluetooth

Bluetooth is another important low range wireless

communication system. It provides data, voice and audio
transmission with a transmission range of 10 meters. Almost all
mobile phones, tablets and laptops are equipped with Bluetooth
devices. They can be connected to wireless Bluetooth receivers,
audio equipment, cameras etc.
Paging

Although it is considered an obsolete technology, paging was a

major success before the wide spread use of mobile phones.
Paging provides information in the form of messages and it is a
simplex system i.e. the user can only receive the messages.

Infrared Communication

Infrared Communication is another commonly used wireless

communication in our daily lives. It uses the infrared waves of
the Electromagnetic (EM) spectrum. Infrared (IR)
Communication is used in remote controls of Televisions, cars,
audio equipment etc.
Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN)

Wireless Local Area Network or WLAN (Wi-Fi) is an internet

related wireless service. Using WLAN, different devices like
laptops and mobile phones can connect to an access point (like a
Wi-Fi Router) and access internet.
Wi-Fi is one of the widely used wireless network, usually for
internet access (but sometimes for data transfer within the Local
Area Network). It is very difficult to imagine the modern World
without Wi-Fi.