Wireless - The Latest Telecom Story

This book is a fascinating story on the ongoing wireless revolution in telecommunications in India and abroad with special emphasis on the amazing innovations that redefine our access to the Internet, such as Wi-MAX and new generations of multifunctional cell phones; multimedia convergence that brings us voice, data, music and video anywhere any time; and the latest trends in satellite, cellular and optical communications and their impact on urban and rural areas.

An eminent science communicator has written a timely, lucid and highly readable narrative, capturing the essence of the most significant telecommunication technologies that would make a difference to our daily life. I welcome the focus on wireless systems in this latest edition. The book would be useful not only for lay readers but also for the younger generation eager to participate in the wireless revolution in our country.

Mohan Sundara Rajan, a well-known science communicator with over three decades of experience in print and electronic media, is the author of 14 popular science books, including Space Today and Nano: The Next Revolution, published by the NBT. He is the recipient of the National Award for Outstanding Efforts in Science and Technology Communication through books and magazines (2005), given by the National Council for Science and Technology Communication; the Soviet Land Nehru Award and the Akashvani Award. He is the only Asian selected to the position of Senior Editor of the Asian Development Bank, Manila.

The focus of this revised and updated edition is on the ongoing wireless revolution that is sweeping the telecommunication scene across the world. The book describes the emergence of ever-new wireless technologies, convergence of the telecommunications and the Internet, and the increasing availability of multimedia services.

The book is organised into seven parts. Part I is on the wired origins: the invention and development of the telegraph and the telephone. Part II provides an essential background of the technological innovations that have transformed the nature of telecommunications. Part III describes the wired world, with special attention on optical fibres that have recently made considerable progress.

Part IV begins with the discovery of radio waves, the development of microwave and satellite links, international and national, including the INSAT system.

Part V starts with a background on the Internet, which provides the basis for wireless links, and goes on to describe the emerging broadband services, major wireless networks, the working of cell phones, and the technological progress of three generations of mobile phones. This Part highlights the latest trends in the access to the Internet, called Wi-Fi and Wi-MAX, which can play a key role in providing not only voice but Internet-based services in India's urban as well as rural areas. The story then traces the contours of the ongoing multimedia convergence.

Today, telecom has changed the world. In the last five years, India has changed considerably, propelled by telephone and Internet. Telecom has changed the way we communicate, the way we work and the way we live. This revolution in telecom started the ability to digitalize signals and in processing the signals in digital domain. The advent of Integrated Circuits Technology, driven by Moore's law, has made the communication systems increasingly affordable. The processor architecture in terms of microprocessor and the digital signal processor has enabled the signal processing functions to be carried out largely in software domain. It is the combination of the three, that has enabled rapid evolution of communication system, increasing its ability and reducing its cost, almost every year. At the same time, the software driven communication system design has propelled India to the forefront of designing such systems. Finally, it is the wireless technology that has liberated the telecom. Not constrained by wires, telecom became part of human being and anytime, anywhere and to anyone communications has become a reality.

While India has made great strides in using this technology, the task still remains incomplete. While urban India increasingly enjoys the benefits of the telecom revolution, the rural India, with a population of above 700 million people, is almost untouched. That is the key task for India over the next few years.

**Contents and Sample Pages**