JULY 1982

CALL FOR PAPERS

Special Issue IEEE Transactions on Communications on Packet Switched Voice and Data Communications

BOOK REVIEWS
Book Reviews express the opinions of the reviewer and not necessarily those of IEEE COMMUNICATIONS MAGAZINE its Editors. Anyone wishing to express or a different opinion should write to the Editor.
DIGITAL COMMUNICATIONS: MICROWAVE APPLICATIONS K. Feher (Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1981, 269 pp., $30.00)
Douglas H. Morais, Reoiewer
T o my knowledge, Digital Communications: Microwaoe Applications is thefirst book written specifically on digital line-ofsight microwave communications. It covers digital theory and techniques that are applicable line-of-sight to microwave systems, as well as other transmission modes such as satellite and cable systems. On practical state-of-the-art the side, implementations of the above techniques in line-of-sight microwave systems are described. This book is intended for use by engineers and managerswho are associated with microwave communicationssystems and hardware, and as a textbook in universities and other technical institutions. Mr. Feher has written and organized his material well, and, since it is biased towards the practical aspects of digital communications, it should be understood by all interested readers, including those without the mathematical sophistication of research engineers. E,xcellent references are presented at theend of eachchapter for those readerswith a bias towards derivation. The book contains twelve chapters, and the first two are introductory. Chapter 1 covers transmission trends in the telecommunications industry, and the basics of digital microwave communications, pulse code modulation, existing and digital hierarchies. Chapter 2 presents the essential statistical methods required for digital transmission systems analysis. The books main subject is covered in Chapters 3 through 1 1. Chapters 3 and 6
27

A special issue of the IEEE Transactions on Communications will be devoted to Packet Switched Voice and Data Communications. Papers are requested in the following areas: 0 Traffic characteristics of packetizedvoice and interactive data; End-to-end voice anddatarequirements (fixed and variable delay, packet loss, etc.); 0 Access and internal protocols (including network resourcesmanagement and packet voice synchronization); 0 High-throughput low-delay packet switching fabrics; Overall network performance assessment. Emphasis will be given to papers describing realizations and experimentations of integratedvoice and data communications systems using packet switching, multiplexing, and transmission techniques. Applications will covercarrier,radio,and local area networks. There will be less interest in highly theoretical papers. Prospective authors should prepare manuscripts in accordance with theInformation for Authors published on the inside back cover of the IEEE TRANSACTIONS on Communications and send five copies of their manuscripts to either of the guest co-editors listed below. Manuscripts must be received before February 1, 1983.
DavidVlack Bell Laboratories Room 6B-302 Naperville-WheatonRoad Naperville, IL 60566 (312) 979-2322 MaurizioDecina University o Rome f Institute of Electrical Communication Via Eudossiana, 18 00184 Rome, Italy (39-6) 460522

through 10 present detailed and lucid descriptions of digital modulation methods of current interest, along with possible applications of these methods to microwave radio systems. The discourse on the theory and microwave application of correlative techniques (Chapter 7) was written by Dr. Adam Lender, the best known authority in that field. Dr. Lender has contributed a clear, concise treatment of an interesting and useful design concept. In Chapter 4, written by Dr. Wolfgang Hoefer, the characteristicscurrent and status of microwave amplifiers are described. This is a n important contribution as real digital radiosystemsare continually faced with performance limitations that result from the use of such amplifiers. In Chapter 5, reliability objectives of typical microwave systemsare presented andsystems gain requirements necessary meet to these objectives specified. In addition,multipath fading and its effects on digital microwave radio performance is discussed. Specialized measurement techniques required for evaluating digital transmission systems are presented in Chapter 1 1, and Chapter 12, the concluding chapter, reports on research and development trends in the field. DigitalCommunications:Microwaoe Applications is an excellent, upto-date book and should be included in any book collection that aims to-encompass modern telecommunications technology.
Douglas H.Morais received the BSc. degree fromtheUniversity o Edinburgh,Scotland, in f 1965, the M.Sc. degree from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1969, and Ph.D. the degree from the Universityo Ottawa, Ontario,in f 1981, all in Electrical Engineering. He has $een with Farinon Canada Ltd., a subsidiary of the Harris Corporation, since1966, and is currently general president manager. and 8