MBEYA UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

DEPARTMENT OF INFORMATION SYSTEM AND TECHNOLOGY

MODULE: MOBILE NETWORKS AND COMPUTING

MODULE FACILITATOR: DR. KAZEMA

MODULE CODE: IT 8307

BACHELOR DEGREE OF SCIENCE IN INFORMATION COMMUNICATION

TECHNOLOGY

UQF8 THIRD YEAR

GROUP ASSIGNMENT

NAMES REGISTRATION NUMBER

MWITA ISAAC 21101133370040

KAHEMA SHIJA 21101133370061

ELIBARIKI THOMAS 21101133370002

SIMALIKE IBRAHIM 21101133370065

BENEZETH PETRO 21101133370027

JONATHAN MUGISHA 21101133370046

KASSIM YUSUPH 21101133370048

HAPPINESS MICHAEL 21100334030095

FRED MKOLA 21101133370032

INTRODUCTION

Overview of Wireless ATM

Since the late 1970s, we have been witnessing movies and television shows in which people
use mobile technology to interact and share multimedia traffic via small, handheld portable
devices. However, with the introduction of high-speed networks (such as ATM) and recent
advances in mobile communications, fantasies of the past are quickly becoming a reality.

Wireless personal communication networks (PCN) are gaining importance in

telecommunications due to the success of mobile phones, pagers, and notebook computers. In
the late 20th century, communication has become integrated, with personalized personal
communicators developed from personal digital assistants (PDAs) offering a variety of media
options.

Wireless ATM is an extension of Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) technology to the

wireless domain. It is designed to offer high-speed data transfer and quality of service (QoS)
guarantees over wireless networks, enabling efficient handling of multimedia traffic such as
voice, video, and data.

WIRELESS TECHNOLOGIES

Wireless systems are emerging in the industry, using infrared, UHF, spread spectrum, and
microwave radio frequencies. Personal communication networks (PCN) use shared wideband
CDMA and TDMA bands, with experts arguing for the best technique depending on the
specific application scenario.

i.) Spread Spectrum (CDMA): is a digital radio system where the bandwidth is
larger than the information rate. Initially designed for military use, it offers
covert communication due to its resistance to detection or jamming. CDMA
uses pseudorandom codes to transmit multiple signals in the same spectrum,
providing an alternative to FDMA or TDMA methods.

ii.) Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA): is a technique that divides radio
spectrum into small time slots, allowing each conversation to occupy one of
these slots, thereby reducing the number of conversations in each channel,
unlike traditional FDMA.
ALL ABOUT ATM

ATM is a crucial technology for wide area interconnection in heterogeneous networks. It

divides data into 53 bytes cells with a 5-byte header, ATM does not offer error detection or
retransmission services, it only performs few operations on the header.

ATM interfaces

ATM switches support two kinds of interfaces,

i.) User-network interface (UNI); connects ATM end systems (hosts, routers etc.) to an
ATM switch, at the UNI, the connection is identified by two values in the cell header:
the virtual path identifier (VPI) and the virtual channel identifier (VCI). Both these
VPI and VCI combines together to form a virtual circuit identifier

ii.) Network-node interface (NNI); may be imprecisely defined as an interface connection

two ATM switches together. The ITU-T Recommendation requires that an ATM
connection be identified with connection identifiers that are assigned for each user
connection in the ATM network.
ATM Connections

There are two fundamental types of ATM connections,

i.) Permanent Virtual Connections (PVC): A PVC is a connection set up by some external
mechanism, typically network management, in which a set of switches between an
ATM source and destination ATM systems are programmed with the appropriate
VPI/VCI values. PVCs always require some manual configuration.

ii.) Switched Virtual Connections (SVC): An SVC is a connection that is set up

automatically through signaling protocol. SVCs does not require the manual interaction
needed to set up PVCs and, as such, are likely to be much more widely used. All higher
layer protocols operating over ATM primarily uses SVCs.

WHY WIRELESS ATM?

ATM is an end-to-end communication protocol that eliminates the need for extra equipment
for interconnecting local area networks (LANs). It reduces network complexity, improves
flexibility, and considers traffic performance, leading researchers to advocate for ATM cell-
relay paradigms in next-generation wireless transport architectures.
Key Features of Wireless ATM

• Fixed-Size Cells; Like traditional ATM, Wireless ATM uses fixed-size cells (53 bytes)
for predictable and efficient data transfer.
• Quality of Service (QoS); Supports QoS, ensuring reliable delivery of traffic with
varying priority levels and delay requirements.
• Seamless Integration; Designed to integrate smoothly with existing wired ATM
infrastructure, allowing consistent data transfer across different network types.

Architecture of Wireless ATM

Core Components

i.) Base Stations (BS): Act as the interface between the wired ATM network and the
wireless medium. They handle cell relay, resource management, and connectivity
with mobile terminals.
ii.) Mobile Terminals (MT): Wireless devices such as laptops, smartphones, and tablets
that communicate with base stations.
iii.) ATM Switches: Manage the routing of ATM cells within the wired network,
connecting different base stations and other network nodes.

Communication Layers

i.) Physical Layer: Responsible for transmitting cells over the wireless medium, including
tasks like modulation and error correction.
ii.) ATM Layer: Handles the creation, assembly, and disassembly of cells, ensuring
adherence to QoS parameters.
iii.) Adaptation Layer (AAL): Supports services like error recovery, flow control, and the
segmentation and reassembly of larger packets into ATM cells.
Applications of Wireless ATM

i.) Mobile Multimedia: Ideal for applications requiring high bandwidth and low latency,
such as video conferencing, live streaming, and real-time gaming.
ii.) Wireless Local Area Networks (LANs): Enhances the capabilities of ATM by providing
high-speed wireless connectivity in local network environments.
iii.) Broadband Wireless Access: Offers high-speed internet access in areas where laying
physical cables is impractical or expensive.

Advantages of Wireless ATM

i.) High Data Rates: Supports high-speed communication, making it suitable for
bandwidth-intensive applications.
ii.) Flexibility: The wireless nature allows for mobile and remote access without the
constraints of physical cables.
iii.) QoS Guarantees: Provides reliable service for different types of traffic, crucial for
multimedia applications.
Challenges of Wireless ATM

i.) Mobility Management: Maintaining seamless connectivity and QoS during handovers
between base stations is complex and essential for service continuity.
ii.) Error Handling: Wireless channels are more prone to errors, requiring robust error
detection and correction mechanisms.
iii.) Resource Allocation: Efficiently managing bandwidth and other resources to
accommodate varying traffic loads while maintaining QoS is challenging.

CURRENT STATUS AND FUTURE DIRECTIONS

While Wireless ATM was a significant research area in the 1990s and early 2000s, it has been
largely overshadowed by the development and adoption of other wireless technologies such as
Wi-Fi, LTE, and 5G. These newer technologies offer similar benefits with greater flexibility
and scalability, making them more widely adopted.

CONCLUSION

Wireless ATM played a crucial role in advancing high-speed, QoS-capable wireless

communication systems. The principles and challenges addressed by Wireless ATM continue
to influence the development of current and future wireless technologies.