Enhanced, Ubiquitous and Dependable Broadband Access using MESH Networks

Fig. 1. Architecture framework. EU-MESH (ICT-215320) is a 30 month project, which started January 2008, and is funded by the European Commission within the 7th Framework Programme, under the Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) objective ”Network of the Future”. EU-MESH’s goal is to develop, evaluate, and trial a system of software modules for building dependable multiradio multi-channel mesh networks with QoS support that provide ubiquitous and high speed broadband access. The system will be based on a converged infrastructure that uses a wireless mesh network to aggregate capacity from both subscriber broadband access lines and provider fixed broadband links to form a virtual capacity pool, and provide access to this capacity pool for both stationary and mobile users. It will support low operational and management costs, through novel configuration and management procedures. This will increase the competitiveness of existing providers, lower the barrier for small and medium enterprises to enter the mobile broadband access market, and enable innovative services. Existing mesh systems are based on non-standard solutions, do not achieve efficient resource utilization, have sub-optimal channel and power control that prohibits