The Last Mile: Wireless Technologies for Broadband and Home Networks

Until recently, limitations of the access networks have been the major obstacle to the “digital networked house”. The well-known “last mile problem” has hindered an effortless broadband access at home and, therefore, has impacted the home networking applications. However, recent advances in transmission and broadband access technologies are very promising and are capable of bringing information superhighway to the houses worldwide. More notably, broadband wireless access and home networking technologies are being warmly accepted by homeowners because of ease of installation, low cost, and high bandwidth. With this in mind, in this short course we investigate the concepts and technologies needed in between the consumers and the service provider, also known as last mile technologies. In other words, the focus of this chapter is to cover mainly WLL, WLAN, and WPAN systems. We begin with a discussion on the general concepts of broadband wireless communication, and then we delve into the enabling technologies of WLL such as MMDS, LMDS, satellite communications, the newly developed IEEE standard 802.16, HIPERACCESS, and so on. Next, we move on to WLAN technologies including IEEE 802.11a, 802.11b, and HIPERLAN. Finally, we depict the prominent WPAN systems such as Bluetooth, IrDA, HomeRF, and the IEEE standards 802.15.3 and 802.15.4.

[1]  Matthias Schr,et al.  IEEE 802 . 11 or ETSI BRAN HIPERLAN / 2 : Who will win the race for a high speed wireless LAN standard ? , 1999 .

[2]  Scott R. Bullock.  Broadband Communications and Home Networking , 2001 .

[3]  David Bull,et al.  Throughput performance of WLANs operating at 5 GHz based on link simulations with real and statistical channels , 2001, IEEE VTS 53rd Vehicular Technology Conference, Spring 2001. Proceedings (Cat. No.01CH37202).

[4]  J.W. Lechleider,et al.  Digital subscriber line technology facilitates a graceful transition from copper to fiber , 1991, IEEE Communications Magazine.

[5]  G. T. Hawley.  Systems considerations for the use of xDSL technology for data access , 1997 .

[6]  Vinod Tipparaju.  Local Multipoint Distribution Service ( LMDS ) , 2000 .

[7]  Peter Papazian,et al.  Local Multipoint Distribution Services (LMDS) , 2003 .

[8]  Reinaldo A. Valenzuela,et al.  Detection algorithm and initial laboratory results using V-BLAST space-time communication architecture , 1999 .

[9]  Dharma P. Agrawal,et al.  Mobile Ad hoc Networking , 2002 .

[10]  Abbas Jamalipour,et al.  Wireless communications , 2005, GLOBECOM '05. IEEE Global Telecommunications Conference, 2005..

[11]  デヴィッド アール トリーシー,et al.  Low-power multi-function cellular television system , 1996 .

[12]  Dharma P. Agrawal,et al.  Introduction to Wireless and Mobile Systems , 2002 .

[13]  David Bull,et al.  A study of the performance of HIPERLAN/2 and IEEE 802.11a physical layers , 2001, IEEE VTS 53rd Vehicular Technology Conference, Spring 2001. Proceedings (Cat. No.01CH37202).

[14]  W. W. Lu.  Compact multidimensional broadband wireless: the convergence of wireless mobile and access , 2000 .

[15]  M. V. Clark,et al.  A new path-gain/delay-spread propagation model for digital cellular channels , 1997 .

[16]  G. Ungerboeck,et al.  Trellis-coded modulation with redundant signal sets Part I: Introduction , 1987, IEEE Communications Magazine.

[17]  Larry J. Greenstein,et al.  A model for the multipath delay profile of fixed wireless channels , 1999, IEEE J. Sel. Areas Commun..

[18]  Jim Lansford,et al.  HomeRF: wireless networking for the connected home , 2000, IEEE Wirel. Commun..

[19]  P. Schramm,et al.  Structure and performance of the HIPERLAN/2 physical layer , 1999, Gateway to 21st Century Communications Village. VTC 1999-Fall. IEEE VTS 50th Vehicular Technology Conference (Cat. No.99CH36324).

[20]  A. Robert Calderbank,et al.  Space-Time Codes for High Data Rate Wireless Communications : Performance criterion and Code Construction , 1998, IEEE Trans. Inf. Theory.

[21]  Dharma P. Agrawal,et al.  A novel MAC layer protocol for space division multiple access in wireless ad hoc networks , 2002, Proceedings. Eleventh International Conference on Computer Communications and Networks.

[22]  Indra Widjaja,et al.  IEEE 802.11 Wireless Local Area Networks , 1997, IEEE Commun. Mag..

[23]  Gerard J. Foschini,et al.  Layered space-time architecture for wireless communication in a fading environment when using multi-element antennas , 1996, Bell Labs Technical Journal.

[24]  Larry J. Greenstein,et al.  An empirically based path loss model for wireless channels in suburban environments , 1999, IEEE J. Sel. Areas Commun..

[25]  David J. Goodman,et al.  General packet radio service in GSM , 1997, IEEE Commun. Mag..

[26]  Masahiro Morikura,et al.  New high-rate wireless LAN standards , 1999, IEEE Commun. Mag..

[27]  K. Joseph,et al.  Channel access protocols for Ku-band VSAT networks: a comparative evaluation , 1988, IEEE Communications Magazine.

[28]  Ieee . Wg.  Part11 : Wireless LAN Medium Access Control (MAC) and Physical Layer (PHY) specifications, High-speed physical Layer in the 5 GHz Band , 1999 .

[29]  David Gesbert,et al.  Smart antennas for broadband wireless access networks , 1999, IEEE Commun. Mag..

[30]  Luciano Lenzini,et al.  MAC protocols for wideband wireless local access: evolution toward wireless ATM , 1998, IEEE Wirel. Commun..

[31]  Marco Conti,et al.  Mobile Ad-hoc Networking - Minitrack Introduction , 2001, HICSS.