Wireless Mobile Communications at the Start of the 21st Century

At the start of the 21st century, the wireless mobile markets are witnessing an unprecedented growth fueled by an information explosion and a technology revolution. In the radio frequency (RF) arena, the trend is to move from narrow band to wideband with a family of standards tailored to a variety of application needs. Many enabling technologies including wideband code division multiple access (CDMA), software defined radio, intelligent antennas, and digital processing devices are greatly improving the spectral efficiency of the 3rd generation systems. In the mobile network area, the trend is to move from the traditional circuit switched systems to the packet-switched programmable networks that integrate both voice and packet services, and eventually evolve toward an all IP network. Further, accompanied by the wireless mobile location technology, wireless mobile Internet is expected to revolutionize the services that cen be provided to consumers int he right place and at the right time. Wireless mobile communications may not only compliment the well-established wireline network, but it may also become a serious competitor for years to come. In this article, we will briefly review the history of the wireless mobule communicaitons, examine the current progress in standards and technologies, and discuss the possible trends for the wireless mobile solutions.