More or Less... We're Wireless

You may be wondering why I am posting about Wireless mobile communication systems.
They have been there since decades! What's new about them ?

Well you are right, there's nothing new about them. They have evolved for so many years. 
But the interesting thing is they don't stop evolving..  from simply "cellular technology" to 3G, 4G and 5G or the LTE advanced... wireless technology is always renewing.

This and some more following posts will help you quickly learn how wireless technology evolved and soon you will be up-to-date with recent advances.

What Qualifies to be called a Wireless Communication System?

Communication - means transfer of data from one point to another. 
Any transfer of information between two or more points that are not physically connected by wires is wireless communication. 

Therefore, even when you talk to your friend sitting beside you, technically you are communicating "wireless-ly". But since we are Engineers, let's leave aside these naive examples.

We will consider only technologically advanced wireless data transfer as wireless communication. So, more complex examples of wireless communication systems would be:

Short Distance : TV controlled by remote

OR

Long Distance : Space Radio Communication

A Piece of Fun Fact

(click on image for magnified view)

The world's first wireless telephone conversation occurred in 1880, when Alexander Graham Bell and Charles Sumner Tainter invented and patented photophone, a telephone that conducted audio conversations wirelessly over modulated light beams. 

At that time this invention was practically useless. Decades later the photophone's principles found their first practical applications in military communications and later in fiber-optic communications.

This happened in that primitive era when electricity was a luxury, and lasers had not even been conceived of in science fictions. The transmitter required a clear line-of-sight with the receiver. (As light rays were carrying the info). Another requirement was sun-light and good weather to operate.

Evolution milestones of Mobile Communication Technology

The following map summarizes the evolution of cellular technology generations.
(click on image for magnified view)

Summary of Cellular Technology Generations

Although there are so many different wireless technologies from WLAN and Bluetooth to radio space communications, for this series we will be limiting ourselves to Wireless Mobile communications, as that is the most widely used wireless technology these days.

 NEXT READ: MOBILE COMMUNICATION SYSTEM

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