Wireless Communications Principles and Practice, Second Edition

Chapter 2. Modern Wireless Communication Systems

Since the mid 1990s, the cellular communications industry has witnessed explosive growth. Wireless communications networks have become much more pervasive than anyone could have imagined when the cellular concept was first developed in the 1960s and 1970s. As shown in Figure 2.1, the worldwide cellular and personal communication subscriber base surpassed 600 million users in late 2001, and the number of individual subscribers is projected to reach 2 billion (about 30% of the world’s population) by the end of 2006! Indeed, most countries throughout the world continue to experience cellular subscription increases of 40% or more per year. The widespread adoption of wireless communications was accelerated ...