Because of a major "paradigm shift" in telecommunications, the world is rapidly moving away from nearly exclusive reliance on wired networks to an era of "tetherless" communications largely based on wireless technology. Evidence for the unprecedented growth of wireless communication can be found in the explosion of demand for paging and cellular telephone services, as well as the emerging plans for digital cellular systems using TDMA and CDMA technology, and for Cellular Digital Packet Data (CDPD) and Personal Communications Services (PCS). These developments are accompanied by the appearance of new products such as wireless LANs and wireless PBXs in the marketplace. Large companies that have long been involved in traditional "wired" communications are now making major investments in these new technologies. Despite the fact that these changes will require many engineers, computer specialists, researchers and managers to rapidly familiarize themselves with new developments in wireless information networks, there has been, until now, no comprehensive systems–level introduction to this field.
Wireless Information Networks will help the reader get up–to–speed quickly and efficiently. It organizes all the major segments of wireless technology—land–mobile radio, digital cellular, PCS/FPLMTS, mobile data networks, wireless PBXs and wireless LANs—into logical categories which reflect the different perspectives of users. It offers the reader a systems engineering perspective on the development of new systems and services as well as an overview of recent key developments in national and international spectrum allocations and standards.
Wireless Information Networks covers all the major technical topics in the design of wireless networks in the context of specific engineering problems, including:
- The characteristics of radio propagation
- Measurement and simulation methods used in evaluating and designing systems, especially indoor wireless communications—material not currently available in other books.
- Modem design, signal processing techniques, spread spectrum technology, and optical transmission
- Network access and architecture
The authors have refined the material in this book by presenting it in both professional short courses and upper–level university courses. The result is a superb text for both professionals and advanced students—in the classroom, as a self–study text, or as an authoritative reference book.
With the remarkably rapid development of wireless telecommunications, many scientists, engineers, and technical managers are faced with the need to quickly acquire knowledge of new technologies, systems, and services—information that is often scattered throughout many publications. Wireless Information Networks organizes all the major elements of wireless technology—cordless and cellular telephony, Personal Communications Systems (PCS), mobile data networks, and Wireless Local Area Networks (WLANs)—and presents them from a logical, systems engineering perspective. Technical material is thoroughly integrated with specific applications, and focuses on four main areas:
- Wireless standards and descriptions of systems and products
- Measurement and modeling of radio and optical wave propagations
- Wireless transmission techniques
- Wireless multiple access techniques
KAVEH PAHLAVAN is the Weston Hadden Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Director of the Center for Wireless Information Network Studies at Worcester Polytechnic Institute. Dr. Pahlavan has published and lectured widely on wireless communications. He is Editor–in–Chief of the International Journal of Wireless Information Networks, and has helped organize several international conferences in this field.
ALLEN H. LEVESQUE is a Staff Scientist at GTE Laboratories, where he is involved in the development of new mobile data services offered by GTE. Dr. Levesque is coauthor of Error–Control Techniques for Digital Communications (Wiley–Interscience) and is an Associate Editor of the International Journal of Wireless Information Networks.
