Management Information Systems

CHAPTER 7: TELECOMMUNICATIONS, THE INTERNET,

AND WIRELESS TECHNOLOGY
The Wireless Revolution

• Wireless computer networks and Internet access

– Bluetooth (802.15)
Links up to 8 devices in 10-m area
Useful for personal networking (PANs) and in business to
transmit data from handheld devices to other
transmitters
Bluetooth enables a variety of devices, including cell
phones, wireless keyboards and , PCs, and printers, to
interact wirelessly with each other within a small 30-foot
(10-meter) area. In addition to the links shown, Bluetooth
can be used to network similar devices to send data from
one PC to another.
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CHAPTER 7: TELECOMMUNICATIONS, THE INTERNET,
AND WIRELESS TECHNOLOGY
Bluetooth Example

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CHAPTER 7: TELECOMMUNICATIONS, THE INTERNET,
AND WIRELESS TECHNOLOGY
The Wireless Revolution

Mobile laptop computers

equipped with network
interface cards link to the
wired LAN by
communicating with the
access point. The access
point uses radio waves to
transmit network signals
from the wired network to
the client adapters, which
convert them into data
that the mobile device can
understand. The client
adapter then transmits the
data from the mobile
device back to the access
point, which forwards the
data to the wired network.

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– Wi-Fi (802.11)
• Used for wireless LAN and wireless Internet access
• Use access points: Device with radio
receiver/transmitter for connecting wireless devices to
a wired LAN.
• Hotspots: Access points in public place to provide
maximum wireless coverage for a specific area.
– WiMax (802.16)
• Wireless access range of 31 miles
• Require WiMax antenna.

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CHAPTER 7: TELECOMMUNICATIONS, THE INTERNET,
AND WIRELESS TECHNOLOGY

Difference B/W WiFi && WiMax

• Abbreviated Term: Wi-Fi stands for Wireless Fidelity.. WiMAX, on the
other hand, stands for Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access,
a term fulfilling technological as well as commercial requirements.

Official Release: Wi-Fi was officially launched in the year 1997 where as
WiMAX came to the picture in the year 2004.
• IEEE Standards: Wi-Fi has been defined under IEEE 802.11x standards
where x is various Wi-Fi versions. WiMAX is standardized under 802.16y
family of wireless networking where y refers to various WiMAX versions.
• Channel Bandwidth: Wi-Fi networks have a channel bandwidth of
20MHz, whereas WiMAX networks have a flexible bandwidth option
which ranges from 1.25MHz to 20MHz.

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• Versions of the Standard: Depending on several factors such

as frequency, range, encryption, application etc., Wi-Fi has
several versions of it such as 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11n.On
the similar factors, WiMAX has a number of different
versions too:802.16a, 802.16d and 802.16e are some popular
WiMAX versions.
• Range: An ideal Wi-Fi based network reaches around
100metres as it maximum range whereas an ideal WiMAX
network can reach about 80-90kilometers in terms of range.
• Data Transfer Rates: Wi-Fi based networking can transfer
data at speeds up to 54mbps. On the other hand, WiMAX
networks exchange data at speeds up to 40mbps. In WiMAX,
data transfer rates have more variation as distances to be
covered are quite larger.

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• Applications: Wi-Fi and WiMAX, though being used for same

purpose of data exchange,. Wi-Fi is needed to serve for
household and corporate needs of interconnectivity. Wi-Fi
technology connects printers to computer, gaming consoles
to router etc.
• WiMAX serves a larger inter-operable network. WiMAX can
be used to provide internet services to a larger area. WiMAX
has a different hardware specification and currently WiMAX
serving towers tend to be as tall as Wi-Fi towers. On the
other hand, Wi-Fi antennas are small enough to be placed on
5 inch by 3 inch routers.

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CHAPTER 7: TELECOMMUNICATIONS, THE INTERNET,
AND WIRELESS TECHNOLOGY
The Wireless Revolution

• Radio frequency identification (RFID)

– Use tiny tags with embedded microchips containing
data about an item and location, and antenna
– Tags transmit radio signals over short distances to
special RFID readers, which send data over network
to computer for processing
– Active RFID: Tags have batteries, data can be
rewritten, range is hundreds of feet, more expensive
– Passive RFID: Range is shorter, also smaller, less
expensive, powered by radio frequency energy
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CHAPTER 7: TELECOMMUNICATIONS, THE INTERNET,
AND WIRELESS TECHNOLOGY
The Wireless Revolution

• Radio frequency identification (RFID) (cont.)

– Common uses:
• Tracking goods in a supply chain , Govt
lib,people tracking,and document
tracking etc..
Reduction in cost of tags making RFID viable
for many firms

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CHAPTER 7: TELECOMMUNICATIONS, THE INTERNET,
AND WIRELESS TECHNOLOGY
HOW RFID WORKS

RFID uses low-powered radio transmitters to read data stored in a tag at distances ranging from
1 inch to 100 feet. The reader captures the data from the tag and sends them over a network to
a host computer for processing.
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CHAPTER 7: TELECOMMUNICATIONS, THE INTERNET,
AND WIRELESS TECHNOLOGY
The Wireless Revolution

• Wireless sensor networks (WSNs)

– Networks of hundreds or thousands of
interconnected wireless devices embedded into
physical environment to provide measurements of
many points over large spaces
• Devices have built-in processing, storage, and radio
frequency sensors and antennas
• Require low-power, long-lasting batteries and ability to
endure in the field without maintenance
– Used to monitor building security, detect hazardous
substances in air, monitor environmental changes,
traffic, or military activity
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CHAPTER 7: TELECOMMUNICATIONS, THE INTERNET,
AND WIRELESS TECHNOLOGY
The Wireless Revolution

A WIRELESS SENSOR
NETWORK

The small circles

represent lower-
level nodes and the
larger circles
represent high-end
nodes. Lower level
nodes forward data
to each other or to
higher-level nodes,
which transmit data
more rapidly and
speed up network
performance.

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