Chapter-3:

Wireless Network
Principles
Outline
• Wireless Basics
• Frequency allocation
• Antennas
• Signal propagation
• Multiplexing
• Media access control
• Classifications of wireless networks
Basic Terms
• Signals, wireless or not, are represented as cyclic waves which
may be discrete (digital) or continuous (analog).
• Frequency : no of cycles per unit time of the wave
• Amplitude : the height of the wave
• Phase : shows how far, in degrees, the wave is from its
beginning (phase 0).
 Basic terms …

1st Analog signal , 2nd Digital Signal

Basic terms…
• Hertz (Hz) = number of cycles per second. Frequency is
measured in Hertz.
• Data rate = number of bits sent per second (bps).
• Channel = a logical communication path.
• One physical wire can support multiple channels; each channel
supports one user.
• Bandwidth = frequency range used by a signal.
• Channel capacity = number of bits that can be transmitted per
second. (same as data rate).
Wireless Transmission

Antenna
Antenna
Transmitter Receiver

• Wireless Communication systems consist of:

• transmitters
• Antennas: radiates electromagnetic energy into air
• Receivers
• In some cases, transmitters and receivers are
on same device, called transceivers (e.g.,
cellular phones)
Signals
• Signals are the physical representation of data.
• Users of a communication system can only exchange data
through the transmission of signals.
• Signal transmit in the form of:
• Light ,electric , electromagnetic/radio
• Layer 1 of the OSI basic reference model is responsible for the
conversion of data,
• i.e. bits, into signals and vice versa.
Transmission Media
• the physical path between the transmitter and receiver.
• Guided: along a solid medium. ….Cables
• Unguided: achieved by using antennas. Wireless
• Type of antenna wireless transmission
• Directional: point-to-point. E.g. microwave
• Omni-directional: waves are transmitted equally in all directions. E.g.
AP
Frequency allocation
• Wireless communications use the “radio
frequency (RF)” spectrum for transmitting and
receiving information.
• Several factors are considered while allocating
frequencies
• cost of components: increases as you go to higher
frequencies.
• signal losses: also increase as frequencies increase.
• Noise disruption : lower frequencies are disrupted
regularly by man-made noise.
Radio frequency spectrum
Wireless Frequency Allocation
• Radio frequencies range from 9KHz to 400GHZ (ITU)
Major frequency bands
• Microwave frequency range (1 GHz to 40 GHz)
• Directional beams possible
• Suitable for point-to-point transmission
• Used for satellite & terrestrial communications
• Broadcast frequency range(30 MHz to 1 GHz )
• Suitable for Omni-directional applications
• applications : FM radio and UHF and VHF television
• Infrared frequency range(300 GHz to 3000 GHz)
• Useful in local point-to-point multipoint applications
within limited areas.
 Terrestrial Microwave (1GHz to
40GHz)
• Description of common microwave antenna
• Most common: Parabolic "dish", 3 m in diameter
• Fixed rigidly and focuses a narrow beam
• Achieves line-of-sight transmission to receiving
antenna (relays used in between)
• Located at substantial heights above ground level
• Applications
• Long heave telecommunications service (instead of
fiber, coax) -- requires less repeaters but line of sight
• Short point-to-point links between buildings (e.g,
closed circuit TV, LANs, bypass local telephone
companies)
• Most common BW= 4GHZ (can give up to 200 Mbps)
Satellite Microwave (1GHz to 20 GHz, typically)
• 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)
• Applications
• Television distribution (e.g., Dstv uses satellites )
• Long-distance telephone transmission between
telephone exchange offices
• Private business networks (lease channels, expensive)
 Broadcast Radio (30 MHz to 1GHz)
• Description of broadcast radio antennas
• Omnidirectional (main differentiator from microwave)
• Antennas not required to be dish-shaped
• Antennas need not be rigidly mounted to a precise
alignment
• Applications
• Broadcast radio& TV
• VHF and part of the UHF band; 30 MHZ to 1GHz
• Covers FM radio and UHF and VHF television
• Due to new apps, the frequency range is expanded
frequently
Infrared (300 GHz to 3000 GHz)
• operate in the terribly high frequency (THF)
• does not penetrate walls
• used in remote control devices (TV remote
control)
Commonly used frequencies in Wireless Systems
• Cellular networks: Mostly around 900 MHz
• IEEE 802.11 LANs: 2.4 GHz (802.11b, 802.11g) and
5 GHz (802.11a)
• Satellite systems: 3 to 30 GHz
• Wireless local loops: 10 to 100 GHz
• Infrared wireless LANs; 300 GHz to 400 THz
Relationship between Wireless Frequency
and Distance Covered
• A very important relationship exists between frequency and
distance covered. The relationship is
d = k/f
• Where d = distance covered, f = frequency used, and k =
constant that depends on environmental factors.
• Thus, the distance covered is inversely proportional to the
frequency being used.
• This implies that higher frequency, cover shorter distance
 Transmitters Antenna
Amplifier Mixer Filter Amplifier

Oscilator Transmiter

Suppose you want to generate a signal that is sent at 900 MHz and
the original source generates a signal at 300 MHZ.
•Amplifier - strengthens the initial signal
•Oscillator - creates a carrier wave of 600 MHz
•Mixer - combines original signal with oscillator and produces 900 MHz
•Filter - selects correct frequency (Checks the standards)
•Amplifier - Strengthens the signal before sending it
Receivers perform similar operations but in reverse direction
Antennas
• An antenna is an electrical conductor or system of
conductors to send/receive RF signals
• Transmission - radiates electromagnetic energy into
space
• Reception - collects electromagnetic energy from
space
• In two-way communication, the same antenna can
be used for transmission and reception

Directional
Omnidirectional Antenna (higher
Antenna (lower frequency) frequency)
Antenna can be described by:
• Radiation pattern
• Graphical representation of radiation properties of an antenna
• shown as two-dimensional cross section.
• Reception pattern
• Receiving antenna’s equivalent to radiation pattern
• Antenna gain
• is a measure of directionality of antennas
• Higher gain …means heavily directional
 Radiation Patterns
Antenna Types
• Isotropic antenna (idealized)
• Radiates power equally in all directions
• Dipole antennas(real world )
• Omni-directional
• Parabolic Reflective Antenna (highly focused,
directional)
Antennas: isotropic radiator
• Radiation and reception of electromagnetic waves,
coupling of wires to space for radio transmission
• Isotropic radiator: equal radiation in all directions
(three dimensional) - only a theoretical reference
antenna
• Real antennas always have directive effects
(vertically and/or horizontally)
• Radiation pattern: measurement z of radiation around
y z
an antenna
y x ideal
x isotropic
radiator
Antennas: simple dipoles
• Real antennas are not isotropic radiators

• Example: Radiation pattern of a simple dipole

y y z

simple
x z x dipole
side view (xy-plane) side view (yz-plane) top view (xz-plane)
Antennas: directed and sectorized
• Often used for microwave connections or base
stations for mobile phones (e.g., radio coverage of a
valley)
y y z
directed
x z x antenna

side view (xy-plane) side view (yz-plane) top view (xz-plane)

z
z

x
sectorized
x antenna

top view, 3 sector top view, 6 sector

 Signal propagation ranges
• Transmission range
• communication possible
• low error rate
• Detection range
• detection of the signal sender

possible
transmission
• no communication
possible detection
distance

• Interference range interference

• signal may not be
detected
• signal adds to the
background noise
 Signal Propagation Modes

(< 2 MHz)
E.g. submarine
AM Radio

(2-30 MHz)
E.g. international
broadcasts

(>30 MHz) - Mobile,

Satellite
Question
• Which one the best mode of signal propagation?
• Justify your reason?
 Summary of Wireless Frequency Ranges,
Applications, and Propagations
Frequency Range Type of Waves Typical Applications Propagation
Extremely Low to
Ground-Wave
< 2 MHz Medium frequencies AM radio
propagation
(power and Voice Waves
Amateur radio, and
international radio
High frequency
2 MHz to 30 MHz services such as BBC Sky-Wave propagation
(Broadcast radio waves)
and VOA (Voice of
America)
VHF television, FM
Very high frequency Line-of-Sight
30 MHz and 300 MHz broadcast and two-way
(Broadcast radio waves) propagation
radio
UHF television, cellular Line-of-Sight
300 MHz to 3000 MHz Ultra high frequency
phone, wireless LANs propagation
Satellites, wireless local
Super high frequency Line-of-Sight
3 to 30 GHz loops, terrestrial
(Microwaves) propagation
microwave links
Extremely high Wireless local loops, Line-of-Sight
30 to 300 GHz
frequency experimental links propagation
Line-of-Sight
300 GHz to 400 THz Infrared Infrared LANs
propagation
 Signal propagation
• Propagation in free space always like light (straight
line)
• In real world Receiving power(signal) influenced by
• fading (frequency dependent)
• shadowing
• reflection at large obstacles
• refraction depending on the density of a medium
• scattering at small obstacles
• diffraction at edges

shadowing reflection refraction scattering diffraction

 Con..
• When a radio wave hits a border between two media of different
conductivity σ and different optical density ε, it will be scattered or
reflected.
Scattering
• Scattering can most easily be described as multiple reflections.
These multiple reflections occur when the electromagnetic
signal’s wavelength is larger than pieces of whatever medium
the signal is reflecting from or passing through.
• Scattering can happen in two ways.
• The first type of scatter is on a smaller level and has a lesser
effect on the signal quality and strength.
• The second type of scattering occurs when an RF signal
encounters some type of uneven surface and is reflected into
multiple directions.
Refraction
• In addition to RF signals being absorbed or bounced (via
reflection or scattering), if certain conditions exist an RF signal
can actually be curved in a behavior known as refraction. A
straightforward definition of refraction is the bending of an RF
signal as it passes through a medium with a different density,
thus causing the direction of the wave to change. RF refraction
most commonly occurs as a result of atmospheric conditions.
Con’t…
• The three most common causes of refraction are water
vapor, changes in air temperature, and changes in air
pressure. In an outdoor environment, RF signals typically
refract slightly back down toward the earth’s surface.
However, changes in the atmosphere may cause the
signal to bend away from the earth. In long-distance
outdoor wireless bridge links, refraction can be an issue.
An RF signal may also refract through certain types of
glass and other materials that are found in an indoor
environment.
Fig. shows refraction
 Diffraction
• Not to be confused with refraction, another RF propagation
behavior exists that also bends the RF signal; it is called diffraction.
• Diffraction is the bending of an RF signal around an object
(whereas refraction, as you recall, is the bending of a signal as it
passes through a medium).
• Diffraction is the bending and the spreading of an RF signal when it
encounters an obstruction. The conditions that must be met for
diffraction to occur depend entirely on the shape, size, and material
of the obstructing object as well as the exact characteristics of the
RF signal, such as polarization, phase, and amplitude.
Con’t …
• Typically, diffraction is caused by some sort of partial blockage
of the RF signal, such as a small hill or a building that sits
between a transmitting radio and a receiver. The waves that
encounter the obstruction bend around the object, taking a
longer and different path. The waves that did not encounter the
object do not bend and maintain the shorter and original path.
Con’t..
Multipath propagation
• Signal can take many different paths between sender
and receiver due to reflection, scattering, diffraction
multipath
LOS pulses pulses

signal at sender
signal at receiver

• Time dispersion: signal is dispersed over time

• interference with “neighbor” symbols, Inter Symbol
Interference (ISI)
• The signal reaches a receiver directly and phase shifted
• distorted signal depending on the phases of the different
parts
LOS Wireless Transmission Impairments

• Attenuation
• Noise
• Atmospheric absorption
• Multipath
Attenuation
• Strength of signal falls off with distance over
transmission medium
• Attenuation factors for unguided media:
• Received signal must have sufficient strength so that
circuitry in the receiver can interpret the signal
• Signal must maintain a level sufficiently higher than noise to
be received without error
• Attenuation is greater at higher frequencies, causing
distortion
• What is the possible solution of attenuation problem?
By using amplifiers that strengthen higher frequencies
Multiplexing
• Multiplexing is a modulation method which improves channel
bandwidth utilisation.

• Goal: multiple use of a shared medium with minimum

interference and maximum medium utilization
 Multiplexing
 the set of techniques that allows the simultaneous transmission
of multiple signals across a single data link
 in a multiplexed system, n lines share the bandwidth of one link
 MUX (multiplexer by the sender) and DEMUX (de multiplexer by
the receiver) required

 Techniques of multiplexing
 FDM - Frequency-Division Multiplexing
 TDM - Time-Division Multiplexing
 CDM- code-Division Multiplexing

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Frequency multiplex
• Separation of the whole spectrum into smaller frequency bands
• A channel gets a certain band of the spectrum for the whole time
• Advantages
k1 k2 k3 k4 k5 k6
• no dynamic coordination
necessary c

• E.g radio station (same city) f

• Disadvantages
• waste of bandwidth
if the traffic is
distributed
unevenly
• inflexible t
Time multiplex
• A channel gets the whole spectrum for a certain amount of time

• Advantages
• only one carrier in the k1 k2 k3 k4 k5 k6
medium at any time
• throughput high even c
for many users
f

• Disadvantages
• precise
synchronization
necessary t
 Code multiplex
k1 k2 k3 k4 k5 k6

• Each channel has a unique code c

• All channels use the same spectrum at the same time

• Advantages
• bandwidth efficient
• no coordination and synchronization
f
necessary
• good protection against interference
and tapping
• Disadvantages
• varying user data rates t
• more complex
• Implemented using spread spectrum technology
Medium Access Control
Medium Access Control
 The MAC Sub-layer: in a network, two devices can be connected by a
dedicated link (like a reserved highway, may be on certain occasions!) or a
shared link (like a public highway)
 point-to-point access: when two devices are connected by a dedicated link
and this link can be used by them at any time; PPP is used
 multiple access: when two devices are connected by a shared link; when
two devices in a multiple access situation get access to the link or a
channel in the link, they may need to use a point-to-point access protocol
to exchange data
 Multiple Access Protocols
 the problem of controlling the access to the medium is similar to the rules
of speaking in an assembly (the right to speak is upheld; two people do not
speak at the same time; do not interrupt each other; do not monopolize the
discussion; ...)
Cont..
 three categories of multiple access protocols
[Link] Access Protocols - try your best like taxis do
i. MA - Multiple Access
ii. CSMA - Carrier Sense MA
[Link]/CD - CSMA with Collision Detection
[Link]/CA - CSMA with Collision Avoidance
[Link]-Access Protocols - get permission
i. Reservation
ii. Polling
[Link] Passing
[Link] Protocols - simultaneous use
i. FDMA - Frequency-Division MA
ii. TDMA - Time-Division MA
[Link] - Code-Division MA
 Media access control mechanisms
Carrier Sense Multiple Access (CSMA)
• Protocols that listen for a carrier and act accordingly are called
carrier sense protocols.
 Used to first detect if the media is carrying a signal
 If no carrier signal is detected, the device transmits its data
 If two devices transmit at the same time - data collision
• There are two variants of CSMA.
• CSMA/CD and
• CSMA/CA
• The simplest CSMA scheme is for a station to sense the medium,
sending packets immediately if the medium is idle. If the station
waits for the medium to become idle.

48
 Carrier Sense Multiple Access with Collision Detection
(CSMA/CD)

• Carrier Sense Multiple Access/Collision Detection is a

technique for multiple access protocols. If no transmission
is taking place at the time, the particular station can
transmit. If two stations attempt to transmit simultaneously,
this causes a collision, which is detected by all
participating stations.
• After a random time interval, the stations that collided
attempt to transmit again. If another collision occurs, the
time intervals from which the random waiting time is
selected are increased step by step. This is known as
exponential back off.

49
 Carrier Sense Multiple Access with Collision
Avoidance (CSMA/CA)
• CSMA/CA creates a reservation on the channel for use by a specific conversation.
While a reservation is in place, no other device may transmit on the channel thus
possible collisions are avoided.
• If a device requires use of a specific communication channel in a BSS (Basic
Service Set:-group of 802.11 devices connected to an access point), it must ask
permission from the AP. This is known as a Request to Send (RTS). If the channel
is available, the AP will respond to the device with a Clear to Send (CTS) message
indicating that the device may transmit on the channel. A CTS is broadcast to all
devices within the BSS. Therefore, all devices in the BSS know that the requested
channel is now in use.
• Once the conversation is complete, the device that requested the channel sends
another message to the AP known as an Acknowledgement (ACK). The ACK
indicates to the AP that the channel can be released. This message is also
broadcast to all devices on the WLAN. All devices within the BSS receive the ACK
and know that the channel is once again available.
Media Access Control of wifi network
Distributed coordination function (DCF):
• CSMA/CA
• No collision detection
• After finding channel idle, the station waits for a time period
called distributed interframe space (DIFS).
• Then sends RTS (Request to send) & waits for time period short
interframe space (SIFS)
• Destination sends clear to send (CTS) to source station
• After time period of SIFS source sends data
• After successful transmission of data source waits for
acknowledgement
Point coordination function (PCF):
It can be implemented in Infrastructure network.
AP performs polling for all the stations.
CSMA/CA
Channelization Protocols-simultaneous use

 the available bandwidth of a link is shared in time, frequency, or

through code, between different stations

i. FDMA - Frequency-Division MA
 the available bandwidth is divided into channels; each station
uses its allocated band to send its data; each band is
reserved for a specific station (it belongs to it all the time)
 FDMA is a data link layer protocol that uses FDM at the
physical layer
 used in cellular telephone and satellite networks

53
iii. TDMA- Time-Division MA
 the entire bandwidth is just one channel; the stations share
the capacity of the channel in time; each station is
allocated a time slot during which it can send data;
 TDMA is a data link layer protocol that uses TDM at the
physical layer
 also used in cellular telephone

iv. CDMA- Code-Division MA

 differs from FDMA because only one channel occupies the
entire bandwidth of the link; differs from TDMA because all
stations can send data simultaneously (no time sharing)
 based on coding theory; proposed several decades ago, but
implemented recently due to advances in technology

54
 each station is assigned a code, which is a sequence of
numbers called chips
 e.g., assume four stations 1, 2, 3 and 4 with the following chips
designated as A, B, C, D

 rules for encoding

 if a station wants to send a 0 bit, it sends -1 (to the
multiplexer)
 if a station wants to send a 1 bit, it sends +1
 when a station is idle, it sends no signal, which is
represented by 0

55
 assume stations 1 and 2 are sending a 0 bit, station 4 is
sending a 1 bit and station 3 is idle
 steps at the multiplexer
1. the multiplexer receives one number from each station (-1,
-1, 0, +1)
2. the number sent by station 1 is multiplied by each chip in
sequence A; the result is (-1, -1, -1, -1); the same is done for
all the stations
3. all first chips are added; same for all the others
4. the sequence is transmitted

56
57
 steps at the demultiplexer after receiving the sequence
1. multiply the sequence by each chip
2. add them; the result is always +4, -4 or 0
3. divide by 4 to get +1, -1 or 0
4. the receiver decodes it to get 0, 1 or silence

58
 chips are generated using Walsh table; you can read if you are
interested 59
Classification of wireless network
• WPAN’s dynamically connect devices within a relatively small
area; maintain random network configurations. Typical e.g.
i.e. Bluetooth IEEE 802.15, ad-hoc networks
• WLAN’s connect devices over a more broad area, known as a
cell. Can be found in our homes, libraries, and coffee shops.
Typical e.g.
i.e. Wi-Fi IEEE 802.11
Con..
• WMAN’s are the connection of multiple WLAN’s and may span an
entire city or college campus. Typical e.g.
i.e. WiMAX- An IEEE 802.16
• Mobile (cellular) device networks which are used by our cell phones.
• Consists of various corporate, national, and international
organizations using service provider cellular access to provide
mobile broadband network connectivity. Typical e.g.
i.e. GSM (2G), 3G cellular networks
• Satellite Broadband – Provides network access to remote sites
through the use of a directional satellite dish.