3.7. Wireless Standards

Our study of wireless communication systems thus far indicates that making a phone call or sending data entails a great many complex operations in both analog and digital domains. Furthermore, nonidealities such as noise and interference require precise specification of each system parameter, e.g., SNR, BER, occupied bandwidth, and tolerance of interferers. A “wireless standard” defines the essential functions and specifications that govern the design of the transceiver, including its baseband processing. Anticipating various operating conditions, each standard fills a relatively large document while still leaving some of the dependent specifications for the designer to choose. For example, a standard may specify the sensitivity but not the noise figure.

Before studying various wireless standards, we briefly consider some of the common specifications that standards quantify: