Applications of spread spectrum radio technology for the security market

Technological developments and changes in Federal Communications Commission (FCC) rules over the last few years have made it feasible to use spread spectrum communications for commercial applications. This paper presents a brief overview of spread spectrum development and technology and describes the advantages offered by spread spectrum communications in commercial applications, particularly security market applications. Specific topics include: Spreading techniques allowed by the FCC and the relative merits of these techniques in terms of system immunity to interference, jamming, and multipath. U.S. and international regulations and frequency allocations. Spread spectrum performance parameters and their effects on interference immunity. Tradeoffs between maximum attainable communication range and data rate. System design techniques for ensuring long-term reliability of spread spectrum systems in the face of anticipated band crowding. The paper concludes with a discussion of guidelines for selecting systems to serve specific applications, particularly those of the security industry