INTRODUCTION
TO WIRELESS COMMUNICATION
In the world today, everything would be incredibly
different if it were not for wireless communication devices. The fact that we
can communicate with people in other parts of our own country and the world is
amazing and has led to lots of changes in human history. There are various
kinds of wireless communication tools and here we will look at a few different
kinds as well as the benefits of having them.
Short
Distances
Sometimes
wireless communication does not happen across thousands of miles but only
across a few feet. For instance, if you have a television with a remote
control, there is communication happening between the two. The remote control
tells the television what to do and this information is transferred without the
use of any wires.
You
could also use walkie talkies for this purpose. These are little devices that
work like telephones except with different methods and will allow two people or
a group of people to talk to each other from a small distance away, such as at
a festival or celebration.
Benefits
of Short Distance Wireless Communication
Having
these short distance devices allows many things to happen. You do not have to
get up to change the channel, for one thing. With walkie talkies you are able
to communicate with a group of people, which means that people who need to work
together such as police men or fire fighters or security guards can do so at
special events without having to take the time to dial a phone number. This can
save time and sometimes lives.
Medium
and Long Distances
Anything
that can connect to the internet is capable of going through medium or long
distances. Many forms of wireless communication such as cell phones and laptop
computers can send information from ten feet to thousands of miles because they
can connect to the internet. Wireless communication of this form has changed
the world dramatically.
One
of the most widely acknowledged benefits of long distance wireless
communication is that people can perform their jobs at a distance. If they are
trying to contact their boss or write a report, they can do so from almost any
part of the globe without having to be physically present. This reduces travel
costs and the impact of travel on the environment.
Another
benefit of long distance wireless communication is that families can stay in
touch with each other even if one of them is far away. It used to be that if
someone was on a business trip, they would have to write a letter to
communicate with their loved ones. Now they can communicate through video and
show their family exactly where they are so that the family can connect about
these experiences and maintain closer relationships with each other.
The
types and forms of wireless communication are changing at a rapid pace to
include ever more increasing advances in technology. The benefits of these
devices are many and range from benefits that relate to our jobs to those that
relate to our loving connection to our families. There is virtually no end to
the amount that human kind can advance given the incredible leaps and bounds we
are making with technology!
Applications of Wireless Data Communications:
Wireless
data communications are an essential component of mobile computing.
The various available technologies
differ in local availability, coverage range and performance,
and in some circumstances, users must
be able to employ multiple connection types and switch between them. To
simplify the experience for the user, connection manager software can be used,
or a mobile VPN deployed to handle the
multiple connections as a secure, single
virtual
network.
Supporting technologies include:
Wi-Fi is a wireless local area network that enables portable computing devices to connect easily to the internet. Standardized as IEEE 802.11a,b,g,n, Wi-Fi approaches speeds of some
types of wired Ethernet. Wi-Fi
has become the de facto standard for access in private homes, within offices,
and at public hotspots. Some
businesses charge customers a monthly fee for service, while others have begun
offering it for free in an effort to increase the sales of their goods.
Cellular data service offers coverage within
a range of 10-15 miles from the nearest cellsite. Speeds have increased as technologies have evolved, from earlier
technologies such as GSM,CDMA and GPRS, to3G networks such as W-CDMA,EDGE or CDMA2000
Mobile Satellite Communications may be used where other wireless connections are unavailable, such
as in largely rural areas or
remote locations Satellite Communication are especially important for transportation,
aviation, maritime and
military.
Global
System for Mobile:
Global System for Mobile (GSM) is a second
generation cellular standard developed to cater voice services and data
delivery using digital modulation.
Cellular is one
of the fastest growing and most
demanding telecommunications applications. Cellular systems
using a digital technology will become the universal method of
tele-communications.
Global System for Mobile Communication (GSM) is
a standard for digital communication. GSM uses the Time
Division Multiple Access (TDMA). The concept of cellular service is the use of
low power transmitters where frequencies can be reused within a geographic
area.
GSM
Specifications:
GSM
900
Mobile to Base Transceiver Station
(uplink): 890-915 MHz
Base Transceiver Station to Mobile
(downlink):935-960 MHz
Bandwidth:
2 * 25 MHz
GSM-900 uses 890–915 MHz to send
information from the mobile station to the base station (uplink) and 935–960 MHz
for the other direction (downlink), providing 124 RF channels (channel numbers
1 to 124) spaced at 200 kHz. Duplex spacing of 45 MHz is used. Guard
bands 100 kHz wide are placed at either end of the range of frequencies.
GSM
1800
Mobile
to Base Transceiver Station (uplink):
1710-1785 MHz
Base Transceiver Station to Mobile
(downlink) 1805-1880 MHz
Bandwidth:
2 * 75 MHz
GSM-1800 uses 1710–1785 MHz to send
information from the mobile station to the base transceiver station (uplink) and
1805–1880 MHz for the other direction (downlink), providing 374 channels
(channel numbers 512 to 885). Duplex spacing is 95 MHz
SMS in
GSM Network:
Short message service is a
mechanism of delivery of short messages over the mobile networks. It is a store
and forward way of transmitting messages to and from mobiles.
The message (text only) from the sending
mobile is stored in a central short message center (SMS) which then forwards it
to the destination mobile. This means that in the case that the recipient is
not available, the short message is stored and can be sent later.
Each short message can be no longer than 160
characters. These characters can be text (alphanumeric) or binary Non-Text
Short messages. An interesting feature of SMS is return receipts. This means
that the sender, if wishes, can get a small message notifying if the short
message was delivered to the intended recipient.
Since SMS used signaling
channel as opposed to dedicated channels, these messages can be sent/received
simultaneously with the voice/data/fax service over a GSM network.
SMS supports national and
international roaming. This means that you can send short messages to any other
GSM mobile user around the world. With the PCS networks based on all the three
technologies, GSM, CDMA and TDMA supporting SMS, SMS is more or less a
universal mobile data service.
SMS working principle:
The Fig 3.26 below shows a
typical organization of network elements in a GSM network supporting SMS.
The SMC (Short Message
Center) is the entity which does the job of store and forward of messages to
and from the mobile station. The SME (Short Message Entity) which can be
located in the fixed network or a mobile station, receives and sends short
messages.
The SMS GMSC (SMS gateway
MSC) is a gateway MSC that can also receive short messages. The gateway MSC is
a mobile network’s point of contact with other networks. On receiving the short
message from the short message center, GMSC uses the SS7 network to interrogate
the current position of the mobile station form the HLR, the home location
register.
HLR is the main database
in a mobile network. It holds information of the subscription profile of the
mobile and also about the routing information for the subscriber, i.e. the area
(covered by a MSC) where the mobile is currently situated. The GMSC is thus
able to pass on the message to the correct MSC.
MSC (Mobile Switching
Center) is the entity in a GSM network which does the job of switching
connections between mobile stations or between mobile stations and the fixed
network.
A VLR (Visitor Location
Register) corresponds to each MSC and contains temporary information about the
mobile, information like mobile identification and the cell (or a group of
cells) where the mobile is currently situated. Using information from the VLR
the MSC is able to switch the information (short message) to the corresponding
BSS (Base Station System, BSC + BTSs), which transmits the short message to the
mobile.
The BSS consists of transceivers, which send
and receive information over the air interface, to and from the mobile station.
This information is passed over the signaling channels so the mobile can
receive messages even if a voice or data call is going on.
Communication
between the GSM modem and the Microcontroller
Fig 4.7 illustrates the
main blocks of a wireless communication system. It also shows the communication
principles of the system. The MS (mobile station) represents the gsm modem plus
SIM card.
The modem excluding SIM card, is known as the
ME (mobile equipment). The TE (terminal equipment) is a micro-controller and is
a part of the application.
The end-to-end
communication path to be established between the external telemetry/telematics
application and a remote terminal or host, via the GSM network is done through
the serial communication. Serial data with flow control according to the RS232
signaling protocol operates between the modem and the external application.
AT commands:
AT
commands are used to operate the modem and have a broad range of Functions
including:
Configuring general parameters of the modem
- Setting
up and controlling communications to and from the GSM Network
- Configuring
the modem to communicate across the RS232 serial interface
- Obtaining GSM network status
information.
The modem also
supports the Voice, Data, Fax services but since these are not required for the
current application, they are not taken into consideration as of now.
The AT command set is the
fundamental interface with the modem. An AT command is simply a string of
characters preceded by the AT prefix that is sent to the modem. The commands
typically instruct the modem to perform some action or set some characteristic
within the modem.
The modem has two states:
command state and on-line state. In command state, the modem will accept and
respond to AT commands. In the on-line state, the modem will transmit data, but
ignore AT commands. Typically the modem is in the on-line state after dialing.
AT commands has the following format:
- The
command is prefixed with AT (Attention)
- The
command is terminated by a carriage return <CR> (except the A/
command and escape sequence).
- The
commands can be entered in upper case or lower case.
- The AT
prefix can be in upper case or lower case, but both the A and the T must
be the same case.
- Characters
that precede the AT prefix are ignored.
- Multiple
commands can be strung together on a single line and spaces may be
included between commands but are not necessary.
The command line
interpretation begins upon receipt of the carriage return. These commands are
used for request information about the current configuration or operational
status of the mobile phone/modem and test availability and request the range of
valid parameters, when applicable, for an AT command.
General
Syntax of AT-Commands:
Basic
AT<command>
[=] [<parameter>]
Extended
AT+<command>=
[<parameter>]
AT*<command>=
[<parameter>]
Read
command AT+<command>?
AT*<command>?
AT<command>?
Test
command AT+<command>=?
AT*<command>=?
Response
command AT+<command>
: <parameter >
AT*<command>
: <parameter>
Important AT command used to Test and Design:
1)
ATD to dial a voice call from the modem.
2)
AT+IPR to set the baud rate for the
modem ( here for our application the baud rate is
Set
as 9600)
3)
ATA to answer an incoming call.
4)
AT+CHUP to hang up the initiated call.
5)
AT+CFUN to set the phone functionality. Set to 0 to deactivate the modem.
6)
AT+CLIP to identify caller number this command is set to 1
7)
AT+CLIR for calling line Identification Restriction.
8)
AT+CNUM to identify the subscriber number.
9)
AT+CMGR to read the message at particular location .The location number is
given
as
index.
10)
AT+CMGD to delete the received message
11)
AT+CMGS to send the message.
12)
AT+CMGF to change the message format to PDU or Text mode.
13)
AT+CMGL to see all the list of messages.
14)
ATE to enable and disable command echo.
SMS
Applications
Exchanging small messages
like "See you at 8.30 tonight at xyz". SMS is particularly suited for
these kinds of short messages because SMS is much cheaper than calling someone
and giving the same message. Calling someone to give the same message would
invariably take more time and hence more cost.
Many operators offer
e-mail service over SMS. Every user is assigned an e-mail address at signup and
any message delivered to that email is converted to short messages and
delivered to the mobile.
It is possible to send
e-mail messages (less than 160 characters) from a mobile phone to any e-mail
address via SMS.
Information services like
news, weather, entertainment and stock prices etc. can be availed just by
sending a keyword like NEWS, WEATH etc to the short message center number.
SMS can be used by the
network operators to provide services like balance enquiry in case of prepaid
cards using SMS. Mobile chatting is one more hot application of SMS. SMS can be
used to notify users that they have received new voice-mail or fax messages. It
provides an alternative to alphanumeric paging services. Downloading new ring
tones.