LONDON – Professor William Webb, CTO and cofounder of Neul, has authored a 200-page book outlining the Weightless standard for machine-to-machine communications (M2M) using white-space radio. Warren East, CEO of ARM, likes it as does Tim Whitley, managing director of research and technology at the development arm of communications service provider BT. The book's title is:
Understanding Weightless: Technology, Equipment and Network Deployment for M2M Communications in White Space.
Weightless is the standard being developed by a group formed around Neul (Cambridge, England), a startup company pioneering the use of white space radio for machine-to-machine communications (M2M) otherwise known as the Internet of Things (IoT). White space is name given to the unused and underused parts of the wireless spectrum. The most often referenced example is TV channels left vacant in most locations to prevent TV signal to TV signal interference.
Webb is one of the lead developers of the Weightless standard and the book is described as "essential for getting to grips with the Weightless standard for M2M communications."
The book includes several chapters setting up the problems Weightless seeks to address as well as chapters on the standard and how it performs as a network and at the MAC and physical layers. Network security and design and capacity planning are also covered before going on to discuss application support and use cases for the standard. The claim is made that the book serves as a guide to the key decisions and requirements involved in designing and deploying a Weightless network.
The hardback book covers more than 200 pages and is published by Cambridge University Press. It is available from
Amazon priced at $65.
Professor Webb's credentials are impressive. He is cofounder and CTO of Neul, but prior to that in 2003 he joined Ofcom, the U.K. government's communications regulatory body as senior technologist and head of R&D. At Ofcom he led major reviews of policy including the Spectrum Framework Review, the development of Spectrum Usage Rights and on cognitive radio and white space policy. Web also spent three years in Chicago providing strategic management across Motorola's entire communications portfolio.
Webb has published eleven books, eighty papers and four patents and he is a visiting professor at Surrey and DeMontfort universities.
According to Amazon, Warren East said of the book: "The Internet of Things is an important enabler to a better world, Weightless is likely to be a key component of this, and Professor Webb's book is an excellent introduction to the technology and more widely the applications and business cases. I strongly recommend it to anyone who wants to get involved in this exciting area."
BT's Whitley was quoted saying: "William is well known for his ability to express complex ideas in a clear and concise manner and as lead designer of the Weightless standard is ideally placed to write the definitive guide. This book is essential reading for anyone who is interested in machine communications and the Weightless standard."
Neul, founded in 2010 by some of the original founders of Cambridge Silicon Radio, is included in
version 13.0 of the Silicon 60 list of emerging startups published by
EE Times. Neul joined the list in version 12.5 published in April 2011.
Related links and articles:
Amazon page for book
www.neul.com
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