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Summary: The Way to Learn About cdma2000
Review: The cdma2000 system is enormously complicated. The standards are publically available---all many thousands of pages of them. (Amazon does not like URLs in reviews but if you go to 3gpp2 dot com you can find the standards.) The standards are designed to tell the reader what must be implemented to conform with the standard---they generally lack any discussion of context or motivation. For example, the standards just present the rules for open loop power control without explanation. (See Physical Standard for cdma2000 Spread Spectrum Systems, Release A, 2.1.2.3.1.2 Open Loop Output Power When Transmitting on the Enhanced Access Channel.)In contrast, this book provides three pages of explanation and motivation before presenting the open loop power control algorithm. That explanation is well written and easy to follow. The information in this book can be absorbed much more quickly and easily than in the standards. I suspect that many who have to interpert those standards will buy a copy of this book to serve the role of "cheat sheet" or "cliff notes" or "experienced guide" to the wilds of the standards themselves. I recommend this book to anyone who wishes to understand how cdma2000 works. The book assumes that the reader is generally familiar with communications engineering but does not presuppose knowledge of mobile communications. Although the book is targeted at engineering professionals, many sections of the book are accessible without substantial prior engineering knowledge. Modern wireless systems are one of the wonders of our age---they are invisible cathedrals in the sky. This book provides an excellent route for one to gain an appreciation of the complexity and beauty of these systems. This book is also an excellent tool for engineers who work with cdma2000 systems or otherwise need to understand cdma2000.
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Summary: More than a good reference for practitioners
Review: This book is a useful guide to those that want to learn about CDMA systems, as well as a reference to practitioners. It is well organized and not only it covers lot of ground, but it does so without sacrificing discussion of the details. I found this book to be more than about summarizing the 1000s of pages of the cdma2000 specifications. It gives insight of the rationale behind protocol design and explains the trade-offs involved. System implementation details and algorithms are explained. The chapters on power control, handovers, and packet data operation are well written and very insightful. The chapter on the signaling layer has useful call flows and is an excellent reference. I found the last chapter on end-to-end network operations a bit unique and very useful. But I must say that this chapter could use some more details in the text describing the call flows. If you need a reference book on cdma2000 or if you are new to this technology and need a guide book, this book is the best available in my opinion.
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Summary: Timely Book
Review: This is a very timely book for those in the wireless communication industry involved in the design and testing of cdma2000 1x and 1xEV-DV products (chips, handsets, base stations). It not only covers cdma2000 1x at a level of detail that is not available in other books on cdma2000, but also goes into the details of 1x EV-DV, which is currently being designed by various companies worldwide. In particular, the chapters on Layer 2 and 3 protocol, power control, handoff, and packet data operation cover material not available in other textbooks. The authors also explain the reasoning behind design choices in cdma2000/1xEV-DV, which I found helpful. Compared with Lee and Miller's "CDMA System Engineering Handbook", this textbook covers a broader scope of material, but with a less analytical approach.
Overall, highly recommend this textbook. I found it to be the best and most accurate one dealing with the practical issues of cdma2000 and 1xEV-DV.
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