The Wireless Personal Communications Revolution

It is q~ite likely that wireless communication systems will, before the end of this century, provide ubiquitous voice and data communications to a significant number of citizens In the developed nations of the world. The societal changes that will be brought about from wireless personalcommunication services are going to be profound. This paper provides an overview of how rapidly the wireless communications field is growing, and highlights major activities around the world that are making wireless personal communications a reality. The paper concludes with a discussion of propagation and system design research at Virginia Tech aimed at properly designing emerging high-density personal-communications systems.