Re: what is cck modulation?
Yes CCK is some kind of spread spectrum modulation. You begin with a data signal with a certain bitrate. Next the stream is chopped in pieces of 1,2,... bit, symbols. For every symbol, we have an equivalent code. Now, instead of sending the bits for the symbol, we send a code consisting of more bits. This means the transmitted bit data rate is higher, but the information data rate keeps the same. In the frequency domain: a broader bandwidth.
Then why the heck is this interesting? Because we can define orthogonal codes. If different transmitters send their data with orthogonal codes on the same carrier, a receiver can distinct them although their spectra overlap! And the receiver is much less sensitive to zeroes in the receiving antenna pattern, caused by destructive interference!