Before the emergence of ultra-wideband (UWB) radios, widely used wireless communications were based on sinusoidal carriers, and impulse technologies were employed only in specific applications (e.g. radar). In 2002, the Federal Communication Commission (FCC) allowed unlicensed operation between 3.1–10.6 GHz for UWB communication, using a wideband signal format with a low EIRP level (−41.3dBm/MHz). UWB communication systems then emerged as an alternative to narrowband systems and significant effort in this area has been invested at the regulatory, commercial, and research levels.