Wireless communications going into the 21st century

The evolution of telecommunications, from the wired phone to personal communications services, is resulting in the availability of wireless products not previously considered practical. The user of a cellular or personal communication system wants to use one phone for all of his intended needs. Thus, a single portable phone should be able to operate in a residence, as a cordless phone; in a vehicle using a cellular system, in an office using a WPBX; and outside with wireless local access. Broad-band code-division multiple access (B-CDMA) is a technique which allows PCS operation in the cellular frequency band in conjunction with existing cellular service, as well as in the PCS band (1850-1990 MHz in the U.S.). Using B-CDMA, high-quality voice with no dropped calls as well as data-rate-on-demand can be achieved, which will permit ISDN and multimedia communications at power levels which are much less than that required for other technologies. This paper describes the present cellular and PCS environments, as well as the evolution of these environments into the 21st century, and explains how broad-band CDMA can provide the one-phone service required by business people as well as people at home