Pervasive Communications Handbook

In an emergency, availability of the pervasive communications environment could mean the difference between life and death. Possibly one of the first guides to comprehensively explore these futuristic omnipresent communications networks, the Pervasive Communications Handbook addresses current technology (i.e., MAC protocols and P2P-based VoD architecture) and developments expected in the very near future, when most people and places will be virtually connected through a constant and perpetual exchange of information. This monumental advance in communications is set to dramatically change daily life, in areas ranging from healthcare, transportation, and education to commerce and socialization.

With contributions from dozens of pioneering experts, this important reference discusses one-to-one, one-to-many, and many-to-one exchanges of information. Organized by the three key aspects—technology, architecture, and applications—the book explores enabling technologies, applications and services, location and mobility management, and privacy and trust. Citing the technology’s importance to energy distribution, home automation, and telecare among other areas, it delves into topics such as quality of service, security, efficiency, and reliability in mobile network design, and environment interoperability.

Dr. Syed Ijlal Ali Shah is a data path systems architect at Freescale Semiconductor. There, he has defined and worked on the architecture of the company’s traffic management co-processor, the RapidIO Fabric, which is an alternative backplane interconnect technology to Ethernet, and preferred for use in base stations. He has also been a key contributor to several other network-related projects. He was a key member of the team that worked on ATM switches and networks when the technology was first introduced. Dr. Shah holds a Ph.D and an MS in electrical engineering from Columbia University, as well as a master’s in engineering management from the University of Ottawa. He has more than 15 years of experience in the telecommunications and datacom industries, having contributed to leading-edge technology through academic papers, industrial contributions (products), and patents—including four of his own for call admission control algorithms for switches/routers and dynamic IP/ATM congestion management, with several more pending.

Dr. Mohammad Ilyas received his BSc in electrical engineering from the University of Engineering and Technology, Lahore, Pakistan, and he completed his Ph.D at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. Since September 1983, he has worked at the College of Engineering and Computer Science at Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, where he is currently associate dean for research and industry relations. Before that, from 1994 to 2000, he was chair of the Department of Computer Science and Engineering. Dr. Ilyas has conducted successful research and been published in various areas, including traffic management and congestion control in broadband/high-speed communication networks, traffic characterization, wireless communication networks, performance modeling, and simulation.

Hussein T. Mouftah received his BSc and MSc from Alexandria University, Egypt, and his Ph.D from Laval University, Quebec, Canada. He joined the School of Information Technology and Engineering (SITE) at the University of Ottawa in 2002 as a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair Professor. He later became a University Distinguished Professor in 2006. He has also worked at the ECE Department at Queen’s University, where, prior to his departure, he was a full professor and associate department head. He has six years of industrial experience, mainly at Bell Northern Research of Ottawa (now Nortel Networks). Dr. Mouftah has won numerous prestigious awards for his work and is highly regarded as both a writer and speaker.