The combination of copper wires, optical fibers, terrestrial microwave relays, satellite links, mobile trunks, and cellular phone networks forms a versatile and reliable telecommunications system, facilitating the infrastructure for a knowledge-base society in the information age.  Except the first two, the remaining elements of communications are wireless.  Ironically, wireless technologies managed to stay out of limelight until the advent of cellular phones a quarter century ago.  Without any doubt, introduction of mobile phones has dramatically changed our daily lives because it allows us to talk to anyone anywhere anytime at an affordable price.  Pulled by market demands and pushed by technological advances, the industry was expanding progressively in the last two decades, and today it is a trillion dollar one.  Actually, the ubiquitous mobile phone is unique in the history of technological developments as it has achieved extraordinarily high rates of penetration in both industrialized and developing countries in a short interval, well ahead of the most optimistic projection.  To this end, Hong Kong is proud to lead the world in usage of mobile phones with over 8 million subscribers and SIM card users in a population of only 6.8 million.

Overwhelmed by the convenience provided by mobile phones, making a telephone call or using other forms of communications without the constraint of a cable is now considered as natural as breathing air, analogous to the removal of the cable between a telephone and its socket on the wall.  Answering this call, wireless local area networks are being installed in airports, universities, and shopping malls.  The last-mile system between our home/office and the local office of a service provider of telephone, cable television, and computer network are also being substituted by a wireless link such as LMDS.  In reality, this technology has been extensively used in mountainous terrains, outlying islands, and remote areas.  Wireless technology is, of course, not a monopolistic tool of major network operators, it can be used to establish a linkage between two or more devices under a layman control.  In this connection, many short-range wireless communications devices can be found in the market using different technologies under various platforms, including Bluetooth, WiFi, ZigBee, and Ultra-Wide-Band.  Similar technologies are being used to convert the bar-code system found in practically all points-of-sales into a wireless one, the so-called radio-frequency identification system, RFID in short.  It is foreseen that RFID will induce revolutionizing changes in logistics managements, retailing outlets, and other industries that require a large-scale mass control such as public transportation, entertainment, and tourism.  It is also forecast that the spaghetti of cables behind our computer and audio-visual equipment will be replaced by wireless links.  We are, perhaps, witnessing the dawning of a new era in which all tethers are eradicated.   

The phenomenal mobile phone is, in fact, only a facet of the industrial revolution brought forth by computers.  Digital technologies have practically altered every aspect of our operations in office and at home, let alone the manufacturing and service industries.  By converting the contents of communications into digital formats, the telecommunication infrastructure can be better utilized on the one hand, and on the other hand, the error on transmission can be significantly reduced.  The ever increasing computational speed is complemented by the invention of optical fiber as the latter makes possible the digital transmission of data at an incredibly high speed, say a trillion bits per second.  This super high-speed optical backbone enables, in turn, the cellular phone system.  On the other hand, the unbelievable progresses made in the design and manufacturing of semiconductor devices have facilitated the developments of many advanced digital communication technologies at the base-band level and mobile communications techniques at the modulation stage, including multiple access techniques, anti-collision schemes, and spectrum management protocols.  In addition, the amazing computational power allows us to analyze a complex physical problem by numerical means.  The codes thus obtained can then be used to develop a computer-aided package for designs of antennas, electronic devices, and other hardware in wireless communications.

Addressing the immediate and potential needs of the community, the manufacturing and the service industries in the Greater Pearl River Delta, the Wireless Communications Research Center is staffed and equipped to conduct basic and applied researches in theoretical studies, hardware designs, and software developments at the system level and for consumers in some strategically selected areas, including those mentioned previously.