Industrial Communication Systems

4-1

4.1 Introduction

Wireless networks allow communication between devices over a wireless medium using electromagnetic

waves. ey oer exibility and speed when setting up the network, need less maintenance than cabled net-

works, and allow mobility. ere are dierent ways of classifying these networks, the most common of which

is based on their purpose and radio range. Depending on these aspects, wireless networks can be separated

into four groups: wireless personal area networks (WPAN), wireless local area networks (WLAN), wireless

metropolitan area networks (WMAN), and wireless wide area networks (WWAN), see Figure 4.1.

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Wireless persona ...