Certified Wireless Network Administrator
Module 01 – Overview of Wireless
Communications
Slide 1
Module Introduction
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Overview of Wireless History
Standards
The FCC
ITU-R
IETF
ISOC Hierarchy
WiFi Alliance
IEEE
OSI Model Review
The Hierarchical Model
Carrier Signals
Communication Fundamentals
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Slide 2
Overview of Wireless History

Wireless communications have been worked
with since the 19th century

In the 1970’s Hawaii had a wireless communication
model for transmitting between the islands


This medium was called Aloha, operating at 400 MHz
In the 1990’s we saw commercial wireless
communications operating at the 900 MHz range
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Slide 3
Standards

The International Telecommunication Union
Radio Communication Sector (ITU-R) and local
entities such as the Federal Communications
Commission (FCC) set the rules for what a user
can do with a radio transmitter
These organizations manage and regulate
frequencies, power levels, and transmission methods
 They also work together to help guide the growth and
expansion that is being demanded by wireless users

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Slide 4
Standards (Cont.)
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The Institute of Electrical and Electronics
Engineers (IEEE) creates standards for
compatibility and coexistence between
networking equipment

They still must adhere to the FCC’s rules and
regulations
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Slide 5
Standards (Cont.)
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The Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) is
responsible for creating Internet standards
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Many of these standards are integrated into the
wireless networking and security protocols and
standards
The Wi-Fi Alliance performs certification testing
to make sure wireless networking equipment
conforms to the 802.11 WLAN communication
guidelines
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Slide 6
Standards (Cont.)

Let’s not forget the ISO designed the OSI model
to aid in how the technologies can interconnect
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Slide 7
The FCC
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Established by the Communications Act of 1934
The FCC is responsible for regulating interstate and
international communications by radio, television,
wire, satellite, and cable
 They regulate licensed spectrum and unlicensed
spectrum


Unlicensed means we don’t have to acquire a license to use
this medium
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Slide 8
The FCC (Cont.)
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Both licensed and unlicensed communications
are generally regulated by:
Frequency
 Bandwidth
 Maximum power of the Intentional Radiator (IR)
 Maximum Equivalent Isotropically Radiated Power
(EIRP)
 Use (indoor and/or outdoor)
 Spectrum sharing rules
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Slide 9
ITU-R
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The United Nations has tasked the International
Telecommunication Union Radio communication Sector
(ITU-R) with global spectrum management
This is broken down into 5 regions
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Region A: The Americas, Inter-American Telecommunication
Commission (CITEL) www.citel.oas.org
Region B: Western Europe, European Conference of Postal
and Telecommunications Administrations (CEPT)
www.cept.org
Region C: Eastern Europe and Northern Asia, Regional
Commonwealth in the field of Communications (RCC)
www.en.rcc.org.ru
Region D: Africa, African Telecommunications Union (ATU)
www.atu-uat.org
Region E: Asia and Australia, Asia-Pacific Telecommunity
(APT) www.aptsec.org
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Slide 10
IETF

IETF is one of five main groups that are part of
the Internet Society (ISOC)
Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF)
 Internet Architecture Board (IAB)
 Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and
Numbers (ICANN)
 Internet Engineering Steering Group (IESG)
 Internet Research Task Force (IRTF)

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Slide 11
IETF (Cont.)
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RFC 3935, states the purpose of the IETF is as
follows:
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“…to produce high quality, relevant technical and
engineering documents that influence the way people
design, use, and manage the Internet in such a way
as to make the Internet work better. These documents
include protocol standards, best current practices, and
informational documents of various kinds.”
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Slide 12
ISOC Hierarchy
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Slide 13
Wi-Fi Alliance
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A global non-profit organization of over 550
vendors devoted to improving the equipment
used with 802.11

Any vendor equipment with this logo has been
certified with any other vendor’s equipment as long as
they have the same logo
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Slide 14
IEEE
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Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
About 400,000 members in 160 countries
 It is important to remember that the IEEE standards,
like many other standards, are written documents
describing how technical processes and equipment
should function

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Slide 15
The Hierarchical Model
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Slide 16
Carrier Signals
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Data is sent as a series of 1’s and 0’s
Therefore the transmitter needs a way of sending both
0’s and 1’s to transmit data from one location to
another
 If a signal fluctuates or is altered, even slightly, the
signal can be interpreted so that data can be properly
sent and received
 This is then called the carrier signal

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Slide 17
Communication Fundamentals
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Wireless communications use some sort of
modulation to transmit data

Two terms used for the RF signal is Wavelength and
Amplitude
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Slide 18
Communication Fundamentals (Cont.)
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Frequency describes a behavior of waves
Waves travel away from the source that generates
them
 How fast the waves travel, or more specifically, how
many waves are generated over 1-second period of
time, is known as frequency
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Slide 19
Communication Fundamentals (Cont.)
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Phase is a relative term. It is the relationship
between two waves with the same frequency.
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Slide 20
Communication Fundamentals (Cont.)
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A keying method is what changes a signal into a
carrier signal
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It provides the signal with the ability to encode data so
that it can be communicated or transported
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Slide 21
Communication Fundamentals (Cont.)
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Keying methods are used to transmit the data
There are three current types used:
Amplitude-Shift Keying (ASK)
 Frequency-Shift Keying (FSK)
 Phase-Shift Keying (PSK)
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
Note: These will be covered in more detail
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Slide 22
Communication Fundamentals (Cont.)
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Current State: This method of determining if a
1/0 is being transmitted is to notice the state of
the signal at an expected point in time
State Transition: This method will determine a
1/0 based on whether or not the transmitted
signal changed state, such as going out of
phase
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Slide 23
Communication Fundamentals (Cont.)
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Amplitude-Shift Keying:
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Slide 24
Communication Fundamentals (Cont.)
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Frequency-Shift Keying:
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Slide 25
Communication Fundamentals (Cont.)
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Phase-Shift Keying:
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Slide 26
Communication Fundamentals (Cont.)
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Multiple-Phase-Shift Keying:

Advanced versions of PSK can encode multiple bits per symbol

Instead of using 2 phases for a single 1/0, we can use four
phases, which is capable of representing two binary values (00,
01, 10, or 11)
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Slide 27
Module Review
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
Overview of Wireless History
Standards
The FCC
ITU-R
IETF
ISOC Hierarchy
WiFi Allowance
IEEE
OSI Model Review
The Hierarchical Model
Carrier Signals
Communication Fundamentals
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Review Questions:
1. In the 1970’s _______ had a wireless communication model for transmitting
between islands.
A. China
B. Hawaii
C. Alaska
D. Russia
2. True or False: In the 1990’s we saw commercial wireless communications
operating at the 1900 MHz range.
A. True
B. False
3. What does FCC stand for?
A. Federal Castration Commission
B. Foreign Colonization Congress
C. Freight Coordination Capital
D. Federal Communications Commission
4. True or False: The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)
creates standards for compatibility and coexistence between networking
equipment.
A. True
B. False
5. True or False: Wi-Fi Alliance is a global non-profit organization of over 550
vendors devoted to improving the equipment used with 802.11.
A. True
B. False
Answer Key:
1. B
In the 1970’s Hawaii had a wireless communication model for transmitting
between islands.
2. B
False. In the 1990’s we saw commercial wireless communications operating at
the 900 MHz range.
3. D
FCC stands for Federal Communications Commission.
4. A
True. The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) creates
standards for compatibility and coexistence between networking equipment.
5. A
True. Wi-Fi Alliance is a global non-profit organization of over 550 vendors
devoted to improving the equipment used with 802.11.