Suppose for a moment that we had arrived at this digital epoch, but had only just discovered wireless. Would we start by designing and building the wireless systems we now take for granted? I think not! The reality is; today’s wireless thinking is largely set by developments stretching back well over 100 years, and constrained by the limited physical models and mathematical ability of that time. Concepts such as LF, HF, VHF, UHF, SHF - Long, Medium and Short Waves - and dedicated channels are a result. So deep is all this that some actually think the ‘frequency domain’ is real as opposed to an abstract engineering convenience. Every aspect of wireless communication we enjoy today stems from old analogue thinking and there is very little in this digital era that we could truly consider to be radically new. In truth, our digital radios are really analogue at their core, and so is the very way we think. So a manifest for change might include: No more bands or channels No government regulation or control The EM spectrum used as a continuum Communication @ minimal energy Operating below the thermal floor Orthogonality through coding Massive spread factors Micro networking

1. A Wireless Future
M a k i n g W a v e s
Peter Cochrane
cochrane.org.uk
ca-global.org
COCHRANE
a s s o c i a t e s

2. T h e r e i s n o d i g i t a l
wireless…only analogue
systems we have bent to our
digital bidding….

3. Suppose for the sake of argument
we had derived all our technologies
without discovering or
the need for wireless
technology…
!
…but this morning we
stumbled across EM
waves and the possibility…
!
…would we go along the
same development path of
our forbears and go for bands
and channels ???
Impossible
I know but
please,just
humour
me

4. Would we be thinking:
!
- 2.5/3.0kHz for voice telephony ?
- 9/10kHz or AM Broadcast Radio ?
- 200/700kHz for FM Stereo Music ?
- 6/8MHz for NTSC/SECAM/PAL TV ?
- 20/36MHz for satellite transponders ?
!
!
!
!
!
- LW, MW, SW,VHF, UHF, SHF +++ ?
- Channels per each user/application ?
- Bands for groups of similar users ?
!
- OFCOM, FCC, Government ?

5. Would we be thinking:
!
- 2.5/3.0kHz for voice telephony ?
- 9/10kHz or AM Broadcast Radio ?
- 200/700kHz for FM Stereo Music ?
- 6/8MHz for NTSC/SECAM/PAL TV ?
- 20/36MHz for satellite transponders ?
!
!
!
!
!
- LW, MW, SW,VHF, UHF, SHF +++ ?
- Channels per each user/application ?
- Bands for groups of similar users ?
!
- OFCOM, FCC, Government ?
I think
not !

6. Would we delude ourselves with the distorted view
presented by band plans like this ?

7. Or would we give all this deep thought and come up
with a succinct set of objectives :
“The maximal exploitation of the EM Spectrum to the advantage of Man
and Machine for the purposes of communication, sensing,
manipulation, and processing”!
!
!
!
!
!
!
“And we should exploit the ‘spectrum space’ to best advantage
including performance, sustainability and longevity”

9. How
didwegethere?

10. With coils, capacitors, resistors, tubes/valves - analogue
was the best you could do - digital was all but impossible
…you could only exploit the signal
selectivity by resonance, high and
low pass filters, use amplifiers,
oscillators and modulators…

11. Because of this our wireless history is ‘fork lift’,
with radio receivers & transmitters that were
big, very big, consuming vast amounts of
energy and raw materials - weighing
tons and eating kW of power
to serve/reach vast regions
of countries/ the planet

12. And a trend
that has not
improved a
lot at the
head end
over the
decades
!
however
distances
are now
shorter

13. These created the
opportunity for
fundamental
change….
!11

14. Without the transistor, integrated circuit, pcb, surface
mount components, and the possibility of digital
formats, there was no place to go other than
making it smaller, cheaper and prettier,
but that is all we have done since
and it really is time to move on
& think anew

15. Without the transistor, integrated circuit, pcb, surface
mount components, and the possibility of digital
formats, there was no place to go other than
making it smaller, cheaper and prettier,
but that is all we have done since
and it really is time to move
on and think anew
It really is time to move our
thinking on beyond
this past era

16. From this…
To this…everyone and every
thing on line ~ 9Bn
people + >50Bn
things…we need
bandwidth and
connectivity

17. ks
Bns
Sensors
RFID
Mobiles
3/4/5G
Tns
Ms
WiFi/Max100ks

18. ks
Bns
Sensors
RFID
NumberTx
of devicesMW
mW
Distance
& Power
Mobiles
3/4/5G
Tns
Ms
WiFi/Max100ks

19. ks
Bns
Sensors
RFID
NumberTx
of devicesMW
mW
Distance
& Power
Mobiles
3/4/5G
Tns
Ms
WiFi/Max100ks
100% The need for regulation and control ~ 0%

20. Personal
Space
Bluetooth
UWB
RFID
LAN MAN WANPAN
City
Community
WMAN
WiMAX
Beam Forming
Cellular/Satellites
International
HSDPA
WCDMA
UMTS
WLAN 802.11X
WiFi
Campus, Office,
Airport, Home
The dream….…seamless access!
3m 30m 3km Ubiquitous

21. Personal
Space
Bluetooth
UWB
RFID
LAN MAN WANPAN
City
Community
WMAN
WiMAX
Beam Forming
Cellular/Satellites
International
HSDPA
WCDMA
UMTS
WLAN 802.11X
WiFi
Campus, Office,
Airport, Home
The dream….…seamless access!
3m 30m 3km Ubiquitous
Cameras -VOIP - Sensors - Positioning +++

22. Thin bandwidth
over 1 - 10km
You can’t beat
the laws of
physics
Big bandwidth
over 1 - 10m

23. The spectrum myth…
…it is in short supply!

24. The spectrum myth…
…it is in short supply!
Actually it is m
ostly unused!

25. The spectrum myth…
…it is in short supply!
Actually it is m
ostly unused!
City of Chicago study <17%
of commercial spectrum used

26. Not a lot of occupancy here and this is a wifi band in
London…and the rest of the planet is the same !

27. The distorted perception of a logarithmic scale
All human created wireless energy is
currently concentrated here
But there is 30x
more unused
space here

28. We have devices & processing power to do & access
more than ever before…>30GHz…

29. FM
We have devices & processing power to do & access
more than ever before…>30GHz…

30. FM
TV
We have devices & processing power to do & access
more than ever before…>30GHz…

31. FM
TV
Mobile
We have devices & processing power to do & access
more than ever before…>30GHz…

32. FM
TV Optical
Mobile
We have devices & processing power to do & access
more than ever before…>30GHz…

33. FM
TV Optical
Mobile
WiFi
We have devices & processing power to do & access
more than ever before…>30GHz…

34. FM
TV Optical
Mobile
WiFi
We have devices & processing power to do & access
more than ever before…>30GHz…
Opportunity

35. We now have the technology to deliver an infinity
of wireless bandwidth to almost any location...all
the old limiters have gone!

36. Sheer computing power (will just about) solve all
the old propagation problems…
• Signal processing allows (extreme) spread spectrum modes
• Auto power, channel and mode control made it all black boxes
• Spatial processing mitigates self/others interference
• Smarts negate need for regulation, band structures, frequency allocations
Adaptive
Antenna Base
Station

37. S/N dB
BW Hz
Duration
T seconds
Back to Basics: Information
transmitted over a channel expressed as
a volumetric function of S/N, BW and
Time - aka Claude Shannon 1945/46
C = B.T log2(1 + k.S/N)
C ~ B.T.K.S/NdB
vv

38. S/N dB
BW Hz
Duration
T seconds
B a c k t o B a s i c s : T h e s a m e
information transmitted over a
channel in three different modes
using S/N, BW and T as variable
factors - aka Claude Shannon 1945/46

39. Today and The Past: The outmoded and largely dying past of
analogue transmission in distinct and defended bands

40. Today and The Past: The outmoded and largely dying past of
analogue transmission in distinct and defended bands
Today’s digital systems
look very similar with bands
and channels - QUAM, QPSK
et al are wider, suffer the loss of
guard bands, plus interference and
intermodulation +++

41. 300Hz 3500Hz
Uncoded
Baseband
Speech
Parsed and
Ordered
Baseband
Parsed and
Randomised
Baseband
A Bit Of History: WWII Speech coding using channel
frequency parsing, random sideband inversion and re-
arrangement

42. The Cold War: Frequency hopping spread spectrum -
‘catch me if you can’
S
f Hz
time

43. Dwell
Time
The Even Colder War: Frequency hopping variable dwell and
hop time SSBSC spread spectrum
S
f Hz
time
Hop
Time

44. Subversive Communication: Frequency spreading analogue SS
f
f
f
t
t
t
X
Modulator/
Multiplier
Analogue
Input
Analogue
Output
Spreading
Sequence 2.5kHz of speech spread over
2.5, 25 or 250MHz hidden by
the thermal noise - undetected
and unheard

45. All Digital Future: How a digital future without bands employing
Sequence Spreading might look

46. Get in The Noise: An interfering DSBSC signal creating a
minimal interference threat and vice versa
DSBSC Signal
well above the noise
Thermal & Cosmic
Background Noise
Spread Spectrum Signal
well under the noise
Frequency and amplitude
axis not to scale
EG: Speech/Music
BW = 12kHz
BW = 2GHz

47. Big Challenges:
!
Antennas spanning
very wide bands are
non-trivial…and any
form of beam steering
forms an even bigger
challenge

48. Big Challenges:
!
Devices providing the
necessary performance
might be demanding
but there is a lot on the
market if we think and
innovate…

49. Big Challenges:
!
Signalling & Sync at
speed will demand
original thinking and
development as the
protocols do not
exist…

50. Supporters:
!
Very encouraging and
keen to see the UK
t a k e a l e a d i n g
position in this line of
work…organising a
series of industry
days..and wish to see
universities in the play

51. Supporters:
!
A very small % of the
HAM radio fraternity
are interested and
looking to this to
revitalise a dying
hobby

52. The Next End Game ?

53. More Data Carried:
Telegraph
>> Messenger
Telephone
>> Telegraph
Mobile
>> Telephone
WiFi
>> Mobile
Internet
>> All Above
Clouds ofThings >> Internet
The Internet will not scale functionally or economically, but Clouds
will - and ‘thing-to-thing’ communication will eclipse all before

54. Thank You
ca-global.org
cochrane.org.uk
COCHRANE
a s s o c i a t e s