During the past two decades there has been a substantial growth in research in
wireless communications. The number of journals published from various parts of
the world catering to the research community has grown exponentially. Despite
such a growth, the engineering community still needs more information so as to
thoroughly comprehend wireless channel characteristics. What specifically must be
understood are the effects of channel degradation brought on by statistical fluctua-
tions in the channel.
This book is an entry-level text on the technology of telecommunications. It has been
crafted with the newcomer in mind. The eighteen chapters of text have been prepared
for high-school graduates who understand algebra, logarithms, and basic electrical prin-
ciples such as Ohm’s law. However, many users require support in these areas so Appen-
dices A and B review the essentials of electricity and mathematics through logarithms.
Cellular communications is one of the fastest growing and most challenging telecom-
munication applications ever. Today, it represents a large and continuously increasing
percentage of all new telephone subscribers around the world. In the long term,
cellular digital technology may become the universal way of communication.
By definition, the term “mobile-radio communications” describes any
radio communication link between two terminals of which one or both
are in motion or halted at unspecified locations and of which one may
actually be a fixed terminal such as a base station. This definition
applies to both mobile-to-mobile and mobile-to-fixed radio communica-
tion links. The mobile-to-mobile link could in fact consist of a mobile-
to-fixed-to-mobile radio communication link.The term “mobile” applies
to land vehicles, ships at sea, aircraft, and communications satellites.
In tactical situations, mobile-radio systems may include any or all of
these types of mobile terminals.
Communication has been one of the deepest needs of the human race throughout recorded
history. It is essential to forming social unions, to educating the young, and to expressing a
myriad of emotions and needs. Good communication is central to a civilized society.
The various communication disciplines in engineering have the purpose of providing technological
aids to human communication. One could view the smoke signals and drum rolls of primitive
societies as being technological aids to communication, but communication technology as we
view it today became important with telegraphy, then telephony, then video, then computer
communication, and today the amazing mixture of all of these in inexpensive, small portable
devices.
Communication protocols – for short protocols – form the basis for the opera-
tion of computer networks and telecommunication systems. They are behavior
conventions which describe how communication systems interact with each other
in computer networks. Protocols define the temporal order of the interactions and
the formats of the data units exchanged. Communication protocols comprise a
wide range of different functions and mechanisms, such as the sending and receiv-
ing of data units, their coding/decoding, error control mechanisms, timer control,
flow control, and many others.
From its inception, random matrix theory has been heavily influenced
by its applications in physics, statistics and engineering. The landmark
contributions to the theory of random matrices of Wishart (1928) [311],
Wigner (1955) [303], and Mar? cenko and Pastur (1967) [170] were moti-
vated to a large extent by practical experimental problems.
The first gem of wisdom I ever acquired about consulting, obtained many years ago
from a former schoolmate, was to ensure that everything is plugged in: no continuity, no
data. Wires carry voltages and currents from one place to another. Their behavior is
reasonably simple and predictable—at least for sufficiently low data rates and short
lengths—and they can be seen, grabbed, traced, and tugged.
The book is written for those concerned with the design and performance of satellite
communications systems employed in fixed point-to-point, broadcasting, mobile, radio-
navigation,data-relay,computercommunications,andrelatedsatellite-basedapplications.The
recentrapidgrowthinsatellitecommunicationshascreatedaneedforaccurateinformationon
both satellite communications systems engineering and the impact of atmospheric effects on
satellite link design and system performance. This book addresses that need for the first time
in a single comprehensive source.
Before I can present design concepts or tactical wireless communications and network
challenges, I feel the need to mention the challenges of writing for a field where some
information is not available for public domain and cannot be included in this book’s context.
Another challenge is the use of military jargon and the extensive number of abbreviations
(and abbreviations of abbreviations!) in the field. Engineering books are naturally dry, and I
have attempted to make it light by presenting the concepts in layman’s terms before diving
into the technical details. I am structuring this book in such a way as to make it useful for
a specialized graduate course in tactical communications and networking, or as a reference
book in the field.
