Air interface
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The air interface, or access mode, is the communication link between the two stations in mobile or
wireless communication Wireless communication (or just wireless, when the context allows) is the transfer of information between two or more points without the use of an electrical conductor, optical fiber or other continuous guided medium for the transfer. The most ...
. The air interface involves both the
physical Physical may refer to: * Physical examination, a regular overall check-up with a doctor * ''Physical'' (Olivia Newton-John album), 1981 ** "Physical" (Olivia Newton-John song) * ''Physical'' (Gabe Gurnsey album) * "Physical" (Alcazar song) (2004) * ...
and
data link A data link is the means of connecting one location to another for the purpose of transmitting and receiving digital information (data communication). It can also refer to a set of electronics assemblies, consisting of a transmitter and a recei ...
layers (layer 1 and 2) of the
OSI model The Open Systems Interconnection model (OSI model) is a conceptual model that 'provides a common basis for the coordination of SOstandards development for the purpose of systems interconnection'. In the OSI reference model, the communications ...
for a connection.


Physical Layer

The physical connection of an air interface is generally
radio Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30  hertz (Hz) and 300  gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a tr ...
-based. This is usually a point to point link between an active
base station Base station (or base radio station) is – according to the International Telecommunication Union's (ITU) Radio Regulations (RR) – a "land station in the land mobile service." The term is used in the context of mobile telephony, wireless c ...
and a
mobile station A mobile station (MS) comprises all user equipment and software needed for communication with a mobile network. The term refers to the global system connected to the mobile network, i.e. a mobile phone or mobile computer connected using a m ...
. Technologies like Opportunity-Driven Multiple Access (ODMA) may have flexibility regarding which devices serve in which roles. Some types of wireless connections possess the ability to broadcast or
multicast In computer networking, multicast is group communication where data transmission is addressed to a group of destination computers simultaneously. Multicast can be one-to-many or many-to-many distribution. Multicast should not be confused wi ...
. Multiple links can be created in limited spectrum through
FDMA Frequency-division multiple access (FDMA) is a channel access method used in some multiple-access protocols. FDMA allows multiple users to send data through a single communication channel, such as a coaxial cable or microwave beam, by dividing ...
, TDMA, or SDMA. Some advanced forms of transmission multiplexing combine frequency- and time-division approaches like
OFDM In telecommunications, orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) is a type of digital transmission and a method of encoding digital data on multiple carrier frequencies. OFDM has developed into a popular scheme for wideband digital commu ...
or
CDMA Code-division multiple access (CDMA) is a channel access method used by various radio communication technologies. CDMA is an example of multiple access, where several transmitters can send information simultaneously over a single communicatio ...
. In cellular telephone communications, the air interface is the radio-frequency portion of the circuit between the cellular phone set or wireless modem (usually portable or mobile) and the active base station. As a subscriber moves from one cell to another in the system, the active base station changes periodically. Each changeover is known as a handoff. In radio and electronics, an antenna (plural antennae or antennas), or aerial, is an electrical device which converts electric power into radio waves, and vice versa. It is usually used with a radio transmitter or radio receiver. In transmission, a radio transmitter supplies an electric current oscillating at
radio frequency Radio frequency (RF) is the oscillation rate of an alternating electric current or voltage or of a magnetic, electric or electromagnetic field or mechanical system in the frequency range from around to around . This is roughly between the up ...
to the antenna's terminals, and the antenna radiates the energy from the current as electromagnetic waves (radio waves). An antenna focuses the radio waves in a certain direction. Usually, this is called the main direction. Because of that, in other directions less energy will be emitted. The gain of an antenna, in a given direction, is usually referenced to an (hypothetical) isotropic antenna, which emits the radiation evenly strong in all directions. The antenna gain is the power in the strongest direction divided by the power that would be transmitted by an isotropic antenna emitting the same total power. In this case the antenna gain (Gi) is often specified in dBi, or decibels over isotropic. Other reference antennas are also used, especially: •gain relative to a half-wave dipole (Gd), when the reference antenna is a half-wave dipole antenna; •gain relative to a short vertical antenna (Gv), when the reference antenna is a linear conductor, much shorter than one quarter of the wavelength.


Data Link Layer

The data link layer in an air interface is often divided farther than the simple
Media access control In IEEE 802 LAN/MAN standards, the medium access control (MAC, also called media access control) sublayer is the layer that controls the hardware responsible for interaction with the wired, optical or wireless transmission medium. The MAC sublay ...
(MAC) and Logical link control (LLC) sublayers found in other OSI terminology. While the MAC sublayer is generally unmodified, the LLC sublayer is subdivided into two or more additional sublayers depending on the standard. Common sublayers include: *
Radio Link Control Radio link control (RLC) is a layer 2 Radio Link Protocol used in UMTS, LTE and 5G on the Air interface. This protocol is specified by 3GPP in TS 25.322 for UMTS, TS 36.322 for LTE and TS 38.322 for 5G New Radio (NR). RLC is located on top of th ...
*
Packet Data Convergence Protocol Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) is specified by 3GPP in TS 25.323 for UMTS, TS 36.323 for LTE and TS 38.323 for 5G. PDCP is located in the Radio Protocol Stack in the UMTS/LTE/5G air interface on top of the RLC layer. PDCP provides its ...
* Radio Resource Control Especially in mobile telecommunication and internet broadband (...) Maximal combined input ratio with respect to signal to noise ratio estimation # The signals from each channel are added together # The gain of each channel is made proportional to the RMS signal level and inversely proportional to the mean square noise level in that channel. # Different proportionality constants are used for each channel. smart matrix array for combine input signal gain separated them with filters and different types of output multiplexed schemes are used for approach to multiple users for example CDMA, FDMA, WCDMA, TDMA, and ODMA. Such way calls and network services are approach and authenticate to unique subscriber. core network link protocols


Standards

*
GSM The Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) is a standard developed by the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) to describe the protocols for second-generation ( 2G) digital cellular networks used by mobile devices such ...
/
UMTS The Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) is a third generation mobile cellular system for networks based on the GSM standard. Developed and maintained by the 3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project), UMTS is a component of the In ...
* various
UTRA The Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) is a third generation mobile cellular system for networks based on the GSM standard. Developed and maintained by the 3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project), UMTS is a component of the Int ...
*
5G NR 5G NR (New Radio) is a new radio access technology (RAT) developed by 3GPP for the 5G (fifth generation) mobile network. It was designed to be the global standard for the air interface of 5G networks. As with 4G (LTE), it is based on OFDM. The ...


References

Vocabulary for 3GPP Specifications, ETSI TR 21.905 V7.2.0
/ref> {{Cellular network standards, state=collapsed Radio technology