An overview of wireless broadband communications

A brief overview of wireless broadband communication systems, those providing a data rate higher than 2 Mb/s and up to 155 Mb/s, is done by addressing some of the applications and services that are foreseen, as well as some of the technical challenges that need to be solved, and by referring to some safety considerations. After an introduction, the need for high data rates is justified, and possible applications are listed and compared, concerning user mobility and bandwidth. Then an analysis of the propagation aspects at the bands foreseen for these systems - microwaves, millimeter waves and infrared - is presented, also addressing the issue of the antennas and batteries for these systems.