Wi-Fi Technologies and Applications

Book excerpt: Wi-Fi has become the mainstream technology for fixed and mobile operators, as well as the retail and hospitality industry in meeting business challenges. Wi-Fi data rates and spectral efficiencies have continued to improve over the past two decades. This book covers the foundational principles of Wi-Fi, including the latest technologies and applications. It is the first book to discuss the technical details of the emerging 802.11ax amendment and provide a comparative assessment of 802.11ac and 802.11ax. The book also describes practical issues in Wi-Fi performance optimization and LTE-unlicensed coexistence. More specifically, it covers orthogonal frequency division multiple access, multi-user multi-antenna technologies, beamforming protocols, dynamic channel switching, operating range versus rate tradeoffs, Internet of Things (802.11ah), cognitive radio (802.11af), and challenging Wi-Fi deployments such as large-scale mesh networks, long-range point-to-point networks, unmanned aircrafts, drones and flying hotspots, naval sensors and sonobuoys, undersea environmental monitoring, communicating balloons, and location management systems. As you will discover, Wi-Fi technologies are never standing still but constantly evolving. At the same time, Wi-Fi applications are becoming more pervasive and diverse than before.