Wireless communication is among technology’s biggest contributions to mankind. Wireless communication involves the transmission of information over a distance without help of wires, cables or any other forms of electrical conductors. The transmitted distance can be anywhere between a few meters (for example, a television’s remote control) and thousands of kilometres (for example, radio communication).

Some of the devices used for wireless communication are cordless telephones, mobiles, GPS units, wireless computer parts, and satellite television.

Advantages

Wireless communication has the following advantages:

i.      Communication has enhanced to convey the information quickly to the consumers. 

ii.        Working professionals can work and access Internet anywhere and anytime without carrying cables or wires wherever they go. This also helps to complete the work anywhere on time and improves the productivity. 

iii.       Doctors, workers and other professionals working in remote areas can be in touch with medical centres through wireless communication. 

iv.       Urgent situation can be alerted through wireless communication. The affected regions can be provided help and support with the help of these alerts through wireless communication. 

v.         Wireless networks are cheaper to install and maintain.

Disadvantages

The growth of wireless network has enabled us to use personal devices anywhere and anytime. This has helped mankind to improve in every field of life but this has led many threats as well.

Wireless network has led to many security threats to mankind. It is very easy for the hackers to grab the wireless signals that are spread in the air. It is very important to secure the wireless network so that the information cannot be exploited by the unauthorized users. This also increases the risk to lose information. Strong security protocols must be created to secure the wireless signals like WPA and WPA2. Another way to secure the wireless network is to have wireless intrusion prevention system.  

Types of wireless communication

The different types of wireless communication technologies include:

i. Infrared (IR) wireless communication:

IR wireless communication communicates data or information in devices or systems through infrared (IR) radiation.  Infrared is electromagnetic energy at a wavelength that is longer than that of red light.

Working:

IR wireless is used for short and medium-range communications and security control.  For IR communication to work, the systems mostly operate in line-of-sight mode which means that there must be no obstruction between the transmitter (source) and receiver (destination).  

Infrared is used in television remote controls and security systems.

In the electromagnetic spectrum, infrared radiation lies between microwaves and visible light, therefore, they can be used as a source of communication.

A photo LED transmitter and a photodiode receptor are required for successful IR communication. The LED transmitter transmits the infrared signal in the form of non-visible light, which is captured and retrieved as information by the photo receptor. In this way, the information between the source and the target is transferred.

The source and/or destination can be laptops, mobile phones, televisions, security systems and any other device that supports wireless communication.