The wireless mesh

Today, the demand for wireless access outside the corporate office is satisfied by an unwieldy patchwork of technologies—GPRS, CDMA and Wi-Fi hotspots. There's no easy way to access your corporate network or even the Internet on the move. That's where the concept of a wireless mesh makes sense by supporting today's technologies and providing a foundation for seamless wireless access outside the cocoon of the office. This type of Internet infrastructure is decentralised, relatively inexpensive, and very reliable and resilient as each node needs to only transmit as far as the next node. Nodes act as repeaters to transmit data from nearby nodes to peers that are too far away to reach, resulting in a network that can span large distances, especially over rough or difficult terrain. Mesh networks are also reliable as each node is connected to several other nodes. If one node drops out of the network due to hardware failure or any other reason, its neighbours simply find another route. Extra capacity can be installed by simply adding more nodes. Mesh networks may involve either fixed or mobile devices. The solutions are as diverse as communications in difficult environments such as emergency situations, tunnels, oil rigs, battlefields and high-speed mobile video applications on board public transport. Evolution of the mesh Rajan Mehta, Vice-president, Nortel Networks, highlights the need for this technology and how it evolved. “In the past, municipalities and public service agencies have faced a number of obstacles when attempting to integrate high-speed and/or wireless services. Many have found that the traditional fixed-line broadband service is difficult and expensive to deploy, especially in larger communities or areas in which services are highly dispersed.” According to him, attempts to use Wi-Fi hotspots to provide citywide or regional coverage have been hampered by the need for wired network backhaul for each Wi-Fi hotspot. Also, cellular networks have been prohibitively expensive and lack the bandwidth capacity to adequately support hundreds of users. In order to attract customers in the government and public service sectors, wireline service providers must find a way to overcome these barriers without increasing their own management and operating expenses. Mesh networking technology provides a powerful solution that lets them offer high-performance wireless broadband coverage in a city or region at a price their customers can afford. More...

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