2.

 Wireless Transmission
 1.2 Wireless Transmission
 Frequencies
 Multiplexing
 Signals  Spread spectrum
 Antenna  Modulation
 Signal propagation
 Frequencies for communication
twisted  coax cable optical transmission
pair

1 Mm 10 km 100 m 1 m 10 mm 100 m 1 m

300 Hz 30 kHz 3 MHz 300 MHz 30 GHz 3 THz 300 THz

VLF LF MF HF VHF UHF SHF EHF infrared visible light UV

VLF = Very Low Frequency UHF = Ultra High Frequency
LF = Low Frequency  SHF = Super High Frequency
MF = Medium Frequency  EHF = Extra High Frequency
HF = High Frequency  UV = Ultraviolet Light TV stations
VHF = Very High Frequency

Radio transmission can take place using many different frequency bands. Radio 
Frequency and wave length: transmission

 = c/f 

wave length  , speed of light c  3x10 m/s, frequency f
8 Submarines
Frequencies for mobile communication
 VHF‐/UHF‐ranges for mobile radio
– simple, small antenna for cars
– deterministic propagation characteristics, reliable connections
 SHF and higher for directed  microwave  (radio )links (approx 
2‐40 GHz),  fixed satellite communication
– small antenna, beam forming
– large bandwidth available
 Wireless LANs use frequencies in UHF to SHF range
– some systems planned up to EHF
– limitations due to absorption by water and oxygen molecules 
(resonance frequencies)
• weather dependent fading, signal loss caused by heavy rainfall etc. 
 Frequencies and regulations
ITU‐R holds auctions for new frequencies, manages frequency 
bands worldwide (WRC, World Radio Conferences)
Europe USA Japan

Cellular GSM 450-457, 479- AM PS, TDM A, CDM A PDC

Phones 486/460-467,489- 824-849, 810-826,
496, 890-915/935- 869-894 940-956,
960, TDM A, CDM A, G SM 1429-1465,
1710-1785/1805- 1850-1910, 1477-1513
1880 1930-1990
UM TS (FDD) 1920-
1980, 2110-2190
UM TS (TDD) 1900-
1920, 2020-2025
Cordless CT1+ 885-887, 930- PACS 1850-1910, 1930- PHS
Phones 932 1990 1895-1918
CT2 PACS-UB 1910-1930 JCT
864-868 254-380
DECT
1880-1900
W ireless IEEE 802.11 902-928 IEEE 802.11
LANs 2400-2483 IEEE 802.11 2471-2497
HIPERLAN 2 2400-2483 5150-5250
5150-5350, 5470- 5150-5350, 5725-5825
5725
Others RF-Control RF-Control RF-Control
27, 128, 418, 433, 315, 915 426, 868
868
 Signals I
 physical representation of data
 function of time and location
 signal parameters: parameters representing the value of data 
 classification
– continuous time/discrete time
– continuous values/discrete values
– analog signal = continuous time and continuous values
– digital signal = discrete time and discrete values
 signal parameters of periodic signals: 
period T, frequency f=1/T, amplitude A, phase shift 
– sine wave as special periodic signal for a carrier:

s(t) = At sin(2  ft t + t)

 Signals II
• Different representations of signals 
– amplitude (amplitude domain)
– frequency spectrum (frequency domain)
– phase state diagram (amplitude M and phase  in polar coordinates)
Phase domain
A [V]
Time domain A [V] Frequency domain Q = M sin 

t[s] 
I= M cos 

 f [Hz]
• Composed signals transferred into frequency domain using Fourier 
transformation
• Digital signals need
– infinite frequencies for perfect transmission  
– modulation with a carrier frequency for transmission (analog signal!) 
 Antennas
• Antennas are used to radiate and receive EM waves 
(energy)
• Antennas link this energy between the ether and a device 
such as a transmission line (e.g., coaxial cable)
• Antennas consist of one or several radiating elements 
through which an electric current circulates
• Types of antennas:
– omnidirectional
– Directional: applied in cellular networks, satellite dishes 
– phased arrays
– adaptive
– optimal
• Principal characteristics used to characterize an antenna 
are:
– radiation pattern
– directivity
– gain
– efficiency
 Signal propagation ranges
Transmission range
– Within a certain radius communication 
possible
– low error rate (receiver receives)
Detection range
– detection of the signal  sender
possible
– Transmitted power is large enough
transmission
– Error rate is to high to 
establish  communication  distance
detection

Interference range interference
– signal may not be 
detected  by the receiver
– signal adds to the 
background noise
 Signal Propagation I
• Radio wave propagation is affected by the 
following mechanisms:
– reflection at large obstacles
– scattering at small obstacles
– diffraction at edges

scattering diffraction
reflection
 Signal Propagation II
• signal is also subject to degradation resulting from 
propagation in the mobile radio environment. The 
principal phenomena are:
– pathloss due to distance covered by radio signal 
(frequency dependent, less at low frequencies)
– fading (frequency dependent, related to multipath 
propagation)
– shadowing induced by obstacles in the path between the 
transmitted and the receiver 

shadowing
 Signal Propagation III
• Interference from other sources and noise will also impact signal 
behavior:
– co‐channel (mobile users in adjacent cells using same frequency) and 
adjacent (mobile users using frequencies adjacent to 
transmission/reception frequency) channel interference
– ambient noise from the radio transmitter components or other electronic 
devices, 
• Propagation characteristics differ with the environment through 
and over which radio waves travel. Several types of environments 
can be identified (dense urban, urban, suburban and rural) and 
are classified according to the following parameters:
– terrain morphology
– vegetation density
– buildings: density and height
– open areas
– water surfaces
 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

• Positive effects of multipath:
– enables communication even when transmitter 
and receiver are not in LOS conditions ‐ allows 
radio waves effectively to go through obstacles by 
getting around them thereby increasing the radio 
coverage area.
 Multipath Propagation II
• Negative effects of multipath:
– Time dispersion or delay spread: signal is dispersed over time due signals 
coming over different paths of different lengths
 Causes interference with “neighboring” symbols, this is referred to as 
Inter Symbol Interference (ISI)

multipath spread (in secs) = (longest1 – shortest2)/c

For a 5s symbol duration a 1s delay spread means about a 20% intersymbol
overlap.
– The signal reaches a receiver directly and phase shifted (due to reflections)
 Distorted signal depending on the phases of the different parts, this is 
referred to as Rayleigh fading, due to the distribution of the fades. It creates 
fast fluctuations of the received signal (fast fading).
– Random frequency modulation due to Doppler shifts on the different paths. 
Doppler shift is caused by the relative velocity of the receiver to the 
transmitter, leads to a frequency variation of the received signal.
 Effects of mobility
Channel characteristics change over time and location 
– signal paths change
– different delay variations of different signal parts
– different phases of signal parts
 quick changes in the power received (short term fading)
long term
power fading
 Additional changes in
– distance to sender
– obstacles further away

 slow changes in the average power  short term fading
t

received (long term fading)
 Multiplexing Techniques
• Multiplexing techniques are used to allow many users to 
share a common transmission resource. In our case the 
users are mobile and the transmission resource is the 
radio spectrum. Sharing a common resource requires an 
access mechanism that will control the multiplexing 
mechanism.
• As in wire line systems, it is desirable to allow the 
simultaneous transmission of information between two 
users engaged in a connection. This is called duplexing.
• Two types of duplexing exist:
– Frequency division duplexing (FDD), whereby two frequency
channels are assigned to a connection, one channel for each
direction of transmission.
– Time division duplexing (TDD), whereby two time slots (closely
placed in time for duplex effect) are assigned to a connection,
one slot for each direction of transmission.
 Multiplexing
channels ki
Multiplexing describes how several 
k1 k2 k3 k4 k5 k6
users can share a medium with 
minimum or no interference. c
t c
Multiplexing in 4 dimensions t
– space (si) s1
– time (t) f
s2
– frequency (f) f
– code (c) c
t
Goal: multiple use  of a shared medium 
(with a minimum of Interference  s3
f
and maximum of medium utilization )

Important: guard spaces needed!
 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:
 no dynamic coordination 
necessary
 works also for analog signals k1 k2 k3 k4 k5 k6
 Low bit rates‐cheaper,  delay c
spread f

Disadvantages:
 waste of bandwidth 
if the traffic is 
distributed unevenly
 inflexible
 guard spaces t
 Time multiplexing
A channel gets the whole spectrum for a certain amount of time
Advantages:
 only one carrier in the
medium at any time
 throughput high even  k1 k2 k3 k4 k5 k6
for many users
c
Disadvantages: f
 precise 
synchronization 
necessary
t
 Time and frequency multiplex
Combination of both methods
A channel gets a certain frequency band for a certain amount of time
Example: GSM

Advantages:
– better protection against  k1 k2 k3 k4 k5 k6
tapping
– protection against frequency  c
selective interference
f
– higher data rates compared to
code multiplex
but: precise coordination
required
t
 Code Division multiplexing (CDM)
Each channel has a unique code
k1 k2 k3 k4 k5 k6
All channels use the same spectrum 
at the same time c
Advantages:
– bandwidth efficient
– no coordination and synchronization necessary
– good protection against interference and 
tapping
f
Disadvantages:
– lower user data rates
– more complex signal regeneration

Implemented using spread spectrum 
technology t
 Issues with CDM
• CDM has a soft capacity. The more users the more codes that are used.
However as more codes are used the signal to interference (S/I) ratio will drop
and the bit error rate (BER) will go up for all users.
• CDM requires tight power control as it suffers from far‐near effect. In other
words, a user close to the base station transmitting with the same power as a
user farther away will drown the latter’s signal. All signals must have more or
less equal power at the receiver.
• Rake receivers can be used to improve signal reception. Time delayed versions
(a chip or more delayed) of the signal (multipath signals) can be collected and
used to make bit level decisions.
• Soft handoffs can be used. Mobiles can switch base stations without switching
carriers. Two base stations receive the mobile signal and the mobile is
receiving from two base stations (one of the rake receivers is used to listen to
other signals).
• Burst transmission ‐ reduces interference
 Modulation

Digital modulation
– digital data is translated into an analog signal (baseband)
– ASK, FSK, PSK ‐ main focus in this chapter
– differences in spectral efficiency, power efficiency, robustness
Analog modulation
– shifts center frequency of baseband signal up to the radio carrier
– Digital modulation translates a 1 Mbit/s bit‐stream into a baseband signal with a 
bandwidth of 1 MHz.
Motivation
– smaller antennas (e.g., /4)
– Frequency Division Multiplexing
– medium characteristics
Basic schemes
– Amplitude Modulation (AM)
– Frequency Modulation (FM)
– Phase Modulation (PM)
 Modulation and demodulation

analog
baseband
digital
signal
data digital analog
101101001 modulation modulation radio transmitter

radio
carrier

analog
baseband
digital
signal
analog synchronization data
demodulation decision 101101001 radio receiver

radio
carrier
 Digital modulation
Modulation of digital signals known as Shift
1 0 1
ASK is typically not used for wireless radio 
Keying transmission. 
 Amplitude Shift Keying (ASK): Wired transmission scheme with the highest 
– very simple performance, namely optical t

– low bandwidth requirements transmission, uses ASK.
– very susceptible to interference 1 0 1

 Frequency Shift Keying (FSK):
t
– needs larger bandwidth but much more
less susceptible to errors.
1 0 1

 Phase Shift Keying (PSK):
– more complex t
– robust against interference
– Shifting the phase  180 degree each time
the value of the data changes. 
http://www.facstaff.bucknell.edu/mastascu/elessonshtml/Signal/Signal1.htm
 Advanced Frequency Shift Keying
• bandwidth needed for FSK depends on the distance 
between the carrier frequencies
• special pre‐computation avoids sudden phase shifts  
 MSK (Minimum Shift Keying)
– bit separated into even and odd bits, the duration of each bit 
is doubled 
– depending on the bit values (even, odd) the higher or lower 
frequency, original or inverted is chosen
– the frequency of one carrier is twice the frequency of the 
other
– Equivalent to offset QPSK

• even higher bandwidth efficiency using a Gaussian low‐
pass filter   GMSK (Gaussian MSK), used in GSM
 Example of MSK
1 0 1 1 0 1 0
data bit
even 0101
even bits odd 0011

odd bits signal hnnh

value - - ++

low h: high frequency

frequency n: low frequency
+: original signal
-: inverted signal
high
frequency

MSK
signal
t

No phase shifts! Eb is the transmitted signal energy per bit, and Tb

is the bit duration. The phase θ(0) denotes the 
value of the phase at time t = O.
 Spread spectrum technology
Problem of radio transmission: frequency dependent fading can wipe out 
narrow band signals for duration of the interference
Solution: spread the narrow band signal into a broad band signal using a 
special code
protection against narrow band interference 

power interference spread signal power signal

spread
detection at interference
receiver

f f
protection against narrowband interference

Side effects:
– Increased complexity of receivers that have to despread the signal
– Large frequency band that is needed due to the spreading of the signal
Alternatives: Direct Sequence, Frequency Hopping
Effects of spreading and interference

dP/df dP/df

user signal
i) ii) broadband interference
narrowband interference
f f
sender
dP/df dP/df dP/df

iii) iv) v)
f f f
receiver
 Spread Spectrum…
• It uses wideband, noise‐like signals that are hard to 
detect, intercept, or demodulate
• Signals are harder to jam (interfere with) than 
narrow band signals
• Spread‐spectrum  signals are hard to detect on 
narrow band equipment because the signal’s energy 
is spread over a bandwidth or may be 100 times the 
information bandwidth.
• The power level of the spread signal can be much 
lower than that of the original narrowband signal 
without losing data .
 DSSS (Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum) I
XOR of the signal with pseudo‐random number (chipping sequence)
– many chips per bit (e.g., 128) result in higher bandwidth of the signal

Advantages tb

– reduces frequency selective  user data
fading 0 1 XOR
tc
– in cellular networks 
chipping 
• base stations can use the  sequence
same frequency range 01101010110101 =
• several base stations can  resulting
detect and recover the signal signal

• soft handover 01101011001010

tb: bit period
Disadvantages tc: chip period
– precise power control necessary
DSSS (Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum) 
II
spread
spectrum transmit
user data signal signal
X modulator

chipping radio
sequence carrier

transmitter

correlator
lowpass sampled
received filtered products sums
signal signal data
demodulator X integrator decision

radio chipping
carrier sequence

receiver
 DSSS…
• transmitter
– Spreading of the user data with a chipping sequence  
(10110111000 so called Baker code)
– Modulating  the spread signal with a radio carrier
• Receiver
– Demodulating the  received signal (with the same 
bandwidth as the original spread spectrum signal)
– Should know the  original chipping sequence
– Synchronization is required (integrator)
FHSS (Frequency Hopping Spread Spectrum) 
I
Discrete changes of carrier frequency
– sequence of frequency changes determined via pseudo random number 
sequence

Two versions
– Fast Hopping: 
several frequencies per user bit
– Slow Hopping: 
several user bits per frequency
Advantages
– frequency selective fading and interference limited to short period
– simple implementation
– uses only small portion of spectrum at any time
Disadvantages
– not as robust as DSSS
– simpler to detect
FHSS (Frequency Hopping Spread Spectrum)
II
tb

user data

0 1 0 1 1 t
f
td
f3 slow
f2 hopping
(3 bits/hop)
f1

td t
f

f3 fast
f2 hopping
(3 hops/bit)
f1

tb: bit period td: dwell time
 FHSS
Slow hopping
• the transmitter uses one frequency for several bit periods. 
• In the above figure , the transmitter uses f2 to transmit 3 bits 
during the dwelling time td. 
• Then the transmitter hops to the next frequency f3
• Slow hopping systems are typically cheaper and have relaxed 
tolerances, but they are not as immune to narrowband 
interference as fast hopping systems.
Fast hopping
• the transmitter changes the frequency several times during the 
transmission of a single bit.
• Is complex to implement because the transmitter and receiver 
have to stay synchronized within smaller tolerances.
• Overcomes narrowband interference
FHSS (Frequency Hopping Spread Spectrum) 
III
narrowband spread
signal transmit
user data signal
modulator modulator

frequency hopping
synthesizer sequence
transmitter

narrowband
received signal
signal data
demodulator demodulator

hopping frequency
sequence synthesizer
receiver
 FHSS
• Transmitter
• Modulation of user data
• Performing frequency hopping based on hopping sequence
• Frequency hopping is fed into frequency synthesizer
• The second modulation  generates a new spread signal ( 
modulated narrowband signal + carrier sense) 
• Receiver
• Must know the hopping sequence and stayed synchronized. 
• User inverse operations of the modulation to reconstruct 
user data