Microwave radio network design is a subset of activities that constitute
the overall transmission network design. Transmission networks are
sometimes called transport networks, access networks, or connectivity
networks. For many wireless carriers, microwave is becoming a popu-
lar preference over wireline (leased lines) transport for many reasons,
especially as microwave radio equipment costs decrease and installation
becomes simpler. Low monthly operating costs can undercut those of
typical single (and especially multiple) T1/E1 expenses, proving it to be
more economical over the long term—usually two to four years. Network
operators also like the fact that they can own and control microwave
radio networks instead of relying on other SERVICE providers for network
components.
The insinuation of telecommunications into the daily fabric of our lives has been
arguably the most important and surprising development of the last 25 years. Before
this revolution, telephone SERVICE and its place in our lives had been largely stable
for more than a generation. The growth was, so to speak, lateral, as the global reach
of telecommunications extended and more people got telephone SERVICE. The
distinction between oversea and domestic calls blurred with the advances in
switching and transmission, undersea cable, and communication satellites. Traffic
on the network remained overwhelmingly voice, largely in analog format with
facsimile (Fax) beginning to make inroads.
If you would like to follow along with some of the steps outlined in this book, we recommend that you
deploy Live Communications Server 2005 SP1 on a physical or virtual server running Microsoft
Windows Server 2003. To run Communicator 2005, you will need a physical or virtual PC running
Windows XP or Windows Server 2003. To fully test Microsoft Office integration with Communicator
2005, you need to be running Microsoft Office 2003 with SERVICE Pack 2.
Quality of SERVICE ( QoS ) has always been in a world of its own, but as the technology
has been refi ned and has evolved in recent years, QOS usage has increased to the point
where it is now considered a necessary part of network design and operation. As with
most technologies, large - scale deployments have led to the technology becoming more
mature, and QOS is no exception.
In a cellular communication system, a SERVICE area or a geographical
region is divided into a number of cells, and each cell is served by an
infrastructure element called the base station through a radio interface.
Management of radio interface related resources is a critical design
component in cellular communications.
This book provides the essential design techniques for radio systems that
operate at frequencies of 3 MHz to 100 GHz and which will be employed in
the telecommunication SERVICE. We may also call these wireless systems,
wireless being synonymous with radio, Telecommunications is a vibrant indus-
try, particularly on the ‘‘radio side of the house.’’ The major supporter of this
upsurge in radio has been the IEEE and its 802 committees. We now devote
? . an entire chapter to wireless LANs WLANs detailed in IEEE 802.11. We
also now have subsections on IEEE 802.15, 802.16, 802.20 and the wireless
? . ? metropolitan area network WMAN . WiFi, WiMax,, and UWB ultra wide-
. band are described where these comparatively new radio specialties are
demonstrating spectacular growth.
It was only a few years ago that “ubiquitous connectivity” was recognized as the future of
wireless communication systems. In the era of ubiquitous connectivity, it was expected that
the broadband mobile Internet experience would be pervasive, and seamless connectivity on
a global scale would be no surprise at all. The quality of SERVICE would be guaranteed no
matter when/where/what the users wanted with the connectivity. Connectivity would even be
extended to object-to-object communication, where no human intervention was required. All
objects would become capable of autonomous communication.
It is more than a decade since GSM was first commercially available. After some unexpected delay, it
seems that finally UMTS is here to stay as a 3G system standardised by 3GPP, at least for another ten
years. UMTS will enable multi-SERVICE, multi-rate and flexible IP native-based mobile technologies to be
used in wide area scenarios and also pave the way for a smooth transition from circuit switched voice
networks to mobile packet SERVICEs.
Software Radio (SR) is one of the most important emerging technologies for the
future of wireless communication SERVICEs. By moving radio functionality into
software, it promises to give flexible radio systems that are multi-SERVICE, multi-
standard, multi-band, reconfigurable and reprogrammable by software.
Today’s radios are matched to a particular class of signals that are well defined
bytheircarrierfrequencies,modulationformatsandbandwidths.Aradiotransmitter
today can only up convert signals with well-defined bandwidths over defined center
frequencies, while, on the other side of the communication chain, a radio receiver
can only down convert well-defined signal bandwidths, transmitted over specified
carrier frequencies.
Driven by the desire to boost the quality of SERVICE of wireless systems closer to that afforded
by wireline systems, space-time processing for multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO)
wireless communications research has drawn remarkable interest in recent years. Excit-
ing theoretical advances, complemented by rapid transition of research results to industry
products and SERVICEs, have created a vibrant and growing area that is already established
by all counts. This offers a good opportunity to reflect on key developments in the area
during the past decade and also outline emerging trends.