Development Trends in Wireless Broadband Communications

Professor Jozef Wozniak

Gdansk University of Technology (GUT)

Fri Sep 08 15:10:00 NZST 2006 in Room 031, MSCS

Abstract

Over last decade we have witnessed enormous interest in wireless communications. Apart from cellular mobile systems, connecting billions of people, different broadband wireless systems, allowing for fast multimedia transfers, have been developed. The main standardization bodies, including IEEE, ETSI, ITU and IETF, as well as leading networking manufacturers, are involved in continuous elaboration of new products. Wireless technologies have become not only alternatives for wired ones, but can also effectively substitute wired networks in many specific environments.

This talk surveys the current status and development trends observed in wireless communication networks. Special interest is directed towards MAN and LAN wireless solutions - their new standards, hot topics and open questions. The most popular IEEE 802.11 WLAN (WiFi) and Bluetooth (Personal or Home/Office Networks, used in local environments) as well as new IEEE 802.16 - WiMAX and UMTS solutions - candidates for core, wireless broadband networks, are discussed. Additionally, we overview such new solutions as Bluetooth, ZigBee, UWB (Ultra Wide Band) and NFC (Near Field Communications), dedicated to home and personal area networks, and sensor networks.

Variety of wireless systems, operating within the same area and utilizing the same frequency bands, cause serious operational problems. For that reason important issues of coexistence and/or interoperability in heterogeneous environments, related with mobility support, handover procedures and security aspects, are also addressed.

Biographical note

Professor Jozef Wozniak from Gdansk University of Technology (GUT), Poland, is currently a Visiting Erskine Fellow in the Department of Computer Science and Software Engineering at the University of Canterbury in Christchurch. Prof. Wozniak is the author or co-author of more than 200 scientific papers published in international journals and proceedings of international conferences, as well as co-author of four textbooks. His research interests include network architectures, analysis of communication systems, mobility management in IP networks as well as WLAN and WMAN operational schemes.