Tactical Wireless Communications and Networks: Design Concepts and Challenges

1.5 Historical Perspective

One can argue that computer networking has its roots in the T-carrier system developed by Bell Labs in the 1960s for digital telephony. The term integrated services digital network (ISDN) was coined when a worldwide telephone network was developed. Following IBM's introduction of the OSI concept, many proprietary networking techniques started to appear. The DARPA NET project was a major breakthrough in linking computers, not only the telephone sets. This project then turned into the Internet, and IP began taking root. Now, the tactical communications and networking field is in the path to be completely IP-based. The vision of the global information grid reaching the tactical theater requires that a network of networks should offer seamless communications to the warfighter anywhere in the world, and IP was selected to be the way forward for this vision. Today, the war theater could potentially be full of sensors, robots, unmanned vehicles, and so on. Also, there is a new generation of warfighters who are from the information age and are used to texting and sending images and short video clips. In addition, there is an explosion of potential applications that can aid the warfighter in his mission. All these factors created the need for greater capacity in the tactical theater and the need for seamless communications between the different subnets, leading to a new generation of tactical radio such as the Joint Tactical Radio System (JTRS) radios and the ...