For nearly a hundred YEARS telecommunications provided mainly voice services and very low speed
data (telegraph and telex). With the advent of the Internet, several data services became mainstream
in telecommunications; to the point that voice is becoming an accessory to IP-centric data networks.
Today, high-speed data services are already part of our daily lives at work and at home (web surfing,
e-mail, virtual private networks, VoIP, virtual meetings, chats...). The demand for high-speed data
services will grow even more with the increasing number of people telecommuting.
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.
When we started thinking about writing the first edition of this book a few YEARS ago, we had been
working together for more than five YEARS on the borderline between propagation and signal processing.
Therefore, it is not surprising that this book deals with propagation models and design tools for MIMO
wireless communications. Yet, this book should constitute more than a simple combination of these
two domains. It hopefully conveys our integrated understanding of MIMO, which results from endless
controversial discussions on various multi-antenna related issues, as well as various interactions with
numerous colleagues. Obviously, this area of technology is so large that it is beyond our aim to cover all
aspects in details. Rather, our goal is to provide researchers, R&D engineers and graduate students with
a comprehensive coverage of radio propagation models and space–time signal processing techniques
for multi-antenna, multi-user and multi-cell networks.
When we started thinking about writing this book, we had been working together for more
than five YEARS on the borderline between propagation and signal processing.Therefore, it
is not surprising that this book deals with propagation models and design tools for MIMO
wirelesscommunications.Yet, thisbookshouldconstitutemorethanasimplecombination
of these two domains. It hopefully conveys our integrated understanding of MIMO, which
results from endless controversial discussions on various multi-antenna related issues, as
well as various interactions with numerous colleagues. Obviously, this area of technology
is so large that it was beyond our aim to cover all aspects in details. Rather, our goal has
been to provide researchers, R&D engineers and graduate students with a comprehensive
coverage of radio propagation models and space–time coding techniques.
There are few technologies that have had a more profound effect on people’s lives
than mobile communications. As recently as twenty YEARS ago no one had a mobile
phone, while today 1.4 billion men, women and children depend on them. This now
exceeds the number of landline users, where it took the preceding one hundred YEARS
to reach the 1 billion mark. The ability to make mobile voice calls turns out to be the
answer to a deeply felt need across different cultures who simply want to
communicate.
This books presents the research work of COST 273 Towards Mobile Broadband Multimedia
Networks, hence, it reports on the work performed and on the results achieved within the project
by its participants. The material presented here corresponds to the results obtained in four YEARS
of collaborative work by more than 350 researchers from 137 institutions (universities, operators,
manufacturers, regulators, independent laboratories and others – a full list is provided in Appendix
B) belonging to 29 countries (mainly European, but also from Asia and North America) in the area of
mobileradio. Theobjectiveofpublishingtheseresultsasabookisessentiallytomakethemavailable
to an audience wider than the project. In fact, it just follows a ‘tradition’ of previous COST Actions
in this area of telecommunications, i.e. COST 207, 231 and 259.
Mobile radio networks have risen in prominence over the last few YEARS, primarily by the rise
in popularity of cellular phones. It is important to recognise however that mobile radio
technology fulfils a far wider range of applications that meet the demands of the modern
world. These include the networks that allow police and emergency services to serve the
public, military networks for operations and humanitarian support, and the mobile technol-
ogies that are vital to the safety of aircraft.
Mobile and wireless application development has come a long way in the past few
YEARS. It has progressed beyond the hype of wireless Web applications for consumers
to the reality of high-value mobile applications for corporate users. Opportunities
abound for creating new mobile and wireless applications that provide vital benefits to
any business. A sampling of these benefits includes increased worker productivity,
reduced processing costs, heightened accuracy, and competitive advantage. In contrast
is the concern that developing mobile and wireless applications will involve many new
technologies and concepts that many corporate developers are still learning to use.
The growth of mobile technologies is remarkable. At a recent Mobile World Congress Conference, Eric
Schmidt, CEO of Google predicted that within three YEARS, smart phones will surpass Personal Com-
puter sales. The number of mobile phones used worldwide has exceeded 4.6 billion with continued
growth expected in the future. In fact, in the United States alone, the numbers of mobile phone users
comprise over 80% of the population.
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.
