The promise of communications in the future A quick overview of next-generation mobile communications Communications technology is moving toward a major milestone. Rapid innovation, the growth of the wireless industry, the move to optical networks, and the new areas opened up by the Internet are spurring us toward explosive developments in communications technology. Drawing together the best articles from IEEE publications, Wireless Communications in the 21st Century presents the state of the art of research in the field and offers a picture of things to come in an area that is likely to transform people's lives in significant and even radical ways. What are the key visions of wireless communications that are driving the technology innovations to come? How are the standards evolving? What kind of constituent technologies are likely to be adopted by future systems? What are the key features of the new systems currently being introduced? In this volume, more than twenty world-renowned experts answer these and other critical questions. They provide: An overview of wireless standards A comprehensive survey of radio channel propagation An overview of IMT 2000 radio systems An overview of wireless ATM In addition, the chapters discuss such matters as modulation and coding issues pertinent to the physical layer, spatial and temporal signal processing, and the characteristics of new packet radio systems. Providing a comprehensive review of the technological breakthroughs under way and upcoming, Wireless Communications in the 21st Century opens a window on the next generation of mobile communications.