Gourt Home::Gourt :: Wireless MAN
A wireless metropolitan area network (MAN) offers broadband network access via exterior antennas. Subscriber stations communicate with base stations which are connected to a core network. This is a good alternative to fixed line networks and it is simple to build and relatively inexpensive.
Protocols
IEEE 802.16
802.16 is an IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineering) standard which specifies the WirelessMAN Air Interface for wireless metropolitan area networks. The standard was completed in October 2001 and published on 8 April 2002.The protocol is a “last mile” technique which uses frequencies between 10 and 66 GHz. Because of the short wavelength, line of sight is required. The standard supports point-to-multipoint topology, frequency-division duplex (FDD) and time-division duplex (TDD) in a consistent framework and full quality of service (QoS). With QoS it is possible to send sound, video, and data with different priorities. Speed varies with distance but the theoretical maximum lies around 70 Mbit/s.
802.16a followed the 802.16 standard. It was completed in November 2002 and published on 1 April 2003. It uses frequencies between 2 and 11 GHz and also supports mesh networks instead of only point-to-multipoint network architecture. Another difference is that it doesn't need line of sight. With mesh support subscriber stations communicate with other subscribers rather than directly with the base station, adding robustness to the network.
See also
External links
"Wireless MAN"