Spread Spectrum − Secret Military Technology to 3G

Guglielmo Marconi probably made the first spread spectrum transmission without even realizing it. His primitive spark-gap transmitter used an RF bandwidth that was much wider than the information bandwidth. Little did he know that his experiment would spark a revolution in communications technology. Today, wireless communications plays an integral part in our daily lives. Cellular phones are quite commonplace and we can hardly imagine life without them. In the future, we would not only use them to have conversations, but to access the internet, watch the latest news updates or even manage our daily schedules – the possibilities are endless. Yet, at the heart of this technological marvel lies an idea that was born 60 years ago, and at that time, was scoffed at as being unrealistic and impossible. This article traces the evolution of spread spectrum technology from the pre-war days till today.