What is Wireless Technology?

According to Encyclopedia, “Wireless Technology provides the ability to communicate between two or more entities over distances without the use of wires or cables of any sort. This includes communications using radio frequency (RF) as well as Infrared (IR) waves”.

Well, wireless communication offers you an advanced solution to transfer information or power between two or more points even when they are not connected by an electrical conductor. You can use wireless technology to communicate between devices for short such as few meters to long range communications. It may include communication based on Bluetooth or deep-space radio communications for long-range transmission.

Brief History of Wireless Technology

Wireless technology has emerged multifold in recent years with induction of latest electronic devices such as wireless earphones, wireless headphones, wireless chargers, wireless keyboards, wireless mice, wireless network cards, and pretty much anything else that doesn’t use wires to transmit information.

The founding steps of today’s wireless technology were seeded decades ago with the discovery of electromagnetic waves by Heinrich Hertz (1857-1894).

The Photophone

The first wireless communication ever occurred was in 1880 on Photophone, invented by Alexander Graham Bell with the help of an assistant Charles Sumner Tainter. The Photophone allowed the transmission of sound on a beam of light. The first ever wireless voice transmission took place over a distance of 700 feet. In fact, it paved the way to develop wireless mobile devices in recent decades.

Radio Transmission and Wireless Telegraphy

Two of the most crucial inventions of their times Telegraph and Telephone has paved the way to the development of Radio. Here, all three technologies are closely associated, and radio technology initially began as “wireless telegraphy”.

The invention of the radio first attributed to Guglielmo Marconi (1874-1937) was originally spanned across many decades where the idea from theoretical underpinning to its execution into its final use in signaling. In 1901, he broadcast the first transatlantic radio signal.

Before the invention of radio, the Scottish physicist James Clerk Maxwell, elaborated and unified the fields of electricity, magnetism, and optics and predicted the existence of electromagnetic radiation in 1860. Later German physicist Heinrich Hertz demonstrated the existence of long-wavelength electromagnetic waves. He also managed to prove that the properties of long-wavelength electromagnetic waves are consistent with those of the shorter-wavelength visible light.

Emergence of TV and Satellites

The first live transatlantic broadcast was made possible by Telstar satellite which was built by AT&T and researched in Bell Labs. Millions of people watched the first satellite broadcast on their television from Europe and America on July 23, 1962.

Major Attributes of Wireless Technology

Wireless can be divided into four major parts including:

• Fixed wireless
• Mobile wireless
• Portable wireless
• IR wireless

Fixed wireless

Using fixed wireless technology, you can access broadband connectivity over a specified range wirelessly. Fixed wireless offers faster and reliable Internet speed & connectivity and offers alternative to busy hard-wired networks that mostly get congested over time. Fixed wireless utilizes radio frequencies which are delivered direct from a base station with wireless capabilities to a receiver.

With fixed wireless connection the base station tends to broadcast and receive data via radio signals from highly mounted access point. This access point could be situated at a high altitude for better connectivity. As the internet connection is transmitted to the subscriber from a fixed location, thus it is known as a fixed wireless.

Mobile wireless

Under mobile wireless, wireless devices or systems are used aboard motorized, moving vehicles such as PCS (Personal communications services) and automotive cell phones. The mobile wireless has evolved significantly in many decades from 0G to 5G technology. It progressed from 0G or Zero generation to proposed fifth generation offering convenience to communicate easily around the world. While 1900s to 2000 was primarily years of 1G and 2G, 3G came into light in the year 2001. Later, 4G was started from the year 2008. Now we are listening to assumptions of how 5G technology is going to change lives.

Portable wireless

Laptops, palmtop computers with wireless connectivity, and cordless phones fall into the portable wireless technology. You can use these powerful devices to connect with people, share data and more. Thus, it includes autonomous battery powered devices that are connected to Internet wirelessly. You can use these devices in office, home, in vehicle, or anywhere else with ease.

IR wireless

IR or Infrared wireless enables users to transfer data using infrared radiation. Here, infrared works as an electromagnetic energy at a wavelength or wavelengths somewhat longer than those of red light. It is used to control and communicate between short and medium range. IT technology is used in home-entertainment control units like TV remote, line-of-sight laser communications, modems, headsets, microphones, printers, and more.

Wireless Communication

The recent development in wireless technology has eases the wireless communication across globe. Now people are free to attend calls and receive data on their compact smartphone devices effortlessly. From the time in 19^th century when the wireless communication term was first introduced a lot has been improved over the subsequent years.

People are relying on wireless communication to transmit data from one device to another across nations. Under wireless communication information is transmitted through air without relying on wires or other electronic conductors. It uses electromagnetic waves such as RF, IR, satellite, etc. While wireless communication is not limited to smartphones, you can also use this technology to connect different devices to the Internet at home or office wirelessly.

Conclusion

So wireless technology has changed a lot and it is still changing things for good. Do share your experience with wireless technology in the comments.