Preparing the Wireless Workforce - Assignment Example

Preparing the Wireless Workforce Introduction Wireless technology has witnessed tremendous growth in the past 25+ years of history. It was introduced in 1983 with the help of some conventional analogue equipment. Gradual improvements in wireless technology resulted in the development of 2G, 2.5G, 3G, analogue and digital technologies. Today the number of wireless users crossed the 2 billion mark worldwide and it is still expanding rapidly. This paper briefly summarises a power point presentation, Preparing the Wireless Workforce, prepared by Susan Sloan in 2005 in order to learn more about the tremendous growth witnessed in the wireless industry. Preparing the Wireless Workforce David Hughes first discovered the wireless waves with his experimental devices such as carbon microphone detector, battery and crude automatic transmitter in 1879. When we analyse the history of wireless technology from 1983 onwards, we can see the tremendous growth witnessed in the wireless technology area. In 1983, the first and second cellular systems were launched in Chicago and Washington respectively. Within 2 years time the number of cellular systems launched was became 100 as the 100th system launched in New Bedford in 1985. The popularity of wireless systems was tremendous so that by 1990, the subscribership of cellular systems crossed the 5 million mark in US whereas in 1992 it crossed the 10 million mark and in 1997 it crossed the 50 million mark. Cellular systems became operational in Europe a little late. It came to Europe in 1991. A wire band spread spectrum technology, CDMA which is 10 times more capacity than the conventional wireless systems were introduced in US in 1993 whereas TDMA-136,which has three times more capacity than the analogue systems introduced in US in 1994. The commercial launching of CDMA networks happened in 1995. 2G and digital wireless communication systems introduced in America in 1997. In 2000, the number of wireless subscribers in US crossed 100 million and more than half of them were the digital subscribers. 2.5G networks introduced in 2002 and in 2003 (which is the 20 th anniversary of the wireless systems) a new method of encoding which squeeze up to 54 mbps of raw data across a single channel, was introduced. In 2004, the mobile users became 1.5 billion worldwide whereas in US it crossed 182 million (Sloan, p.3-6). Digital technology has brought revolutionary changes in the wireless communication. The quality and quantity of communication enhanced many times better than the analogue communication because of the developments in the digital technology based wireless communication. The conventional analogue technologies caused lot of distortions in the signals whereas in digital signals, the distortions were far too less. One of the interesting things about the growth of wireless technology is that the scope for growth is enormous and saturation is not expected at least in the near future. The new concepts like radio tagging, instant messaging, wireless network security etc introduced in 2005. Around 960 billion text messages were sent in 2004 alone and 1360 billion predicated for 2005. The above figures clearly show the importance and popularity of wireless communication. In fact most of the analogues equipments given way for digital equipments and hence the quality of the wireless communication improved a lot. Such improved quality and advanced facilities offered by the digital wireless communication systems can further enhance the growth prospects of wireless systems. The popularity of wireless applications is not limited to the communication field alone. It is used extensively in medicine/healthcare,(sensors, monitors, telemedicines etc), automobiles/transport vehicles (GPS location and critical need monitoring), utilities such as remote meter reading, monitoring, transfer of power etc, military (spectrum management, satellite surveillance etc), Police and fire response units, child-elder and pet caring, retail and construction sectors etc. In short, it is difficult for us to think in terms of a world without wireless technology applications anymore. Most of our life activities are nowadays one way or other indebted to wireless technologies. While using, mobile phones, watching television programs, surfing the internet etc, we are using the services of wireless technology one or other. In short, “everything that is wireless is already computerized and everything that is computerized will very soon be wireless” (Sloan, p.11). Personal area network (PAN), Local area network (LAN), Wide area network (WAN), Metropolitan area network (MAN) etc are some of the popular wireless networks of the modern era. PAN covers only a small access area of below 10 meters whereas LAN covers below 100 meters area. MAN covers below 50 kms area whereas WAN covers more than 50 kms area. 3G is another innovation brought in wireless technological communications in the recent past. “3G cellular services enable users to tap the Internet via cellular networks at speed comparable to wired Web connections” (Sloan, p.13). Earlier, internet was accessible only through the computers. But the introduction of 3G helped the public to use internet using their cellphones also. It is not necessary for a person to carry the heavy laptops always to access internet. The much lighter mobile phones can help a person to access internet even while traveling. It is an accepted fact that wireless is the future of communication, but it doesn’t mean that wireless communication doesn’t have any challenges. In fact along with the progress, wireless industry facing many challenges also. One of the major challenges faced by the wireless industry is the shortage of skilled manpower. This is because of the explosive growth of the wireless industry and the reluctance of the current youths in taking the more difficult science, technology and engineering stream during their school and college days. “What is needed most for the next 20 years is the talented, smart sophisticated business people who are technologically literate, globally astute, and operationally agile” (Sloan, p.18) Global Wireless Education Consortium (GWEC) “Founded in 1997, GWEC is a membership organization committed to the development and expansion of current wireless technology curricula in academic institutions worldwide” . Te major mission of GWEC is to ensure “adequate supply of highly skilled and knowledgeable engineers, technicians and IT specialists for productive employment in the wireless and related industries” (Sloan, p.21-22). GWEC has 70 institutions worldwide which offers, two year, four year, masters and PhD programs in wireless technological areas. GWEC has institutions in some of the prominent countries like United States (including Puerto Rico), Canada, Finland, Spain, England, China, India, Mexico etc. GWEC curricula stress more on improving Teamwork, communication, problem-solving, ethics and critical thinking skills through theory and practical applications. Moreover, GWEC ensures collaboration between industry and education in order to give the students real industry experiences before they actually start their career. GWEC has developed specific courses for the undergraduates, graduates and the master graduates; all based on their assessment of the current industrial needs. They have 60+ modules in flexible formats and that also in different languages to cater the needs of the students. In addition to the curriculum GWEC offers the following facilities also GWEC hosts Regional Seminars on Wireless Technologies Facilitates Practical Work Experiences (PWE) – internship and co-op opportunities for students Annual Wireless Educators of the Year Award – in conjunction with CTIA Secures discounts on wireless textbooks; conference registration; etc. Wireless World – lesson plans for middle school teachers Licenses corporate learning materials to educators (Sloan, p.37) Conclusions The importance and popularity of wireless technology in human life is growing rapidly. But the growth is so rapid and enormous that even the preparation of enough manpower needed for wireless technology area is difficult. GWEC concentrates on preparing skilled manpower needed for the wireless technology oriented industry with the help of well formulated curricula and collaboration with the industries. Works Cited 1. Sloan, Susan. 2005. “Preparing the Wireless Workforce”. 11 October 2010. < http://www.gwec.org/> Read More