Does WIMAX use Mesh

Mesh technology is not new. It is a technique that has been tried with varying success by a number of vendors of proprietary broadband wireless technology for some time. Some firms have met with great success in developing mesh technology for military applications for example. It is basically a physical network based NLOS workaround approach dependent on enhanced radio and routing capability. WiMAX does incorporate support for mesh networks into its technology. Several Forum members are prominent mesh technology vendors. Work is currently ongoing to define the 802.16m standard for mesh systems. The Municipal mesh network explosion of the past year has proven to be a strong driver of the broadband wireless marketplace. Conceptually, mesh technology makes a great deal of sense. In a mesh network, a wireless or wireline backhaul circuit provides main bandwidth to an area with, for example, heavy tree cover or small hills or geographic features that reduce line of sight coverage. Networks, especially those using license-free frequency bands with such features are ideal candidates for mesh networks. In one example, a residential subdivision or series of subdivisions receives a single bandwidth signal from a distant relay tower. Then each home with service receives signal using a mesh radio, which acts as both a base station and a CPE radio thus leapfrogging service about the neighborhood from rooftop to rooftop or in the case of a city from streetlight to streetlight. This means that any other home could conceivably get signal access from several different other houses and in the event of an obstruction or failure of one node, the radios could switch access paths. Technically, many experts consider mesh somewhat more difficult to deploy with large networks. Older mesh techniques often used a CSMA/CD approach to signal polling meaning that the level of crosstalk between radios could become very high, choking the network itself with overhead. The cost of a radio able to function in the dual base station/CPE radio modes is usually higher. Also, if there is failure and one leg of the mesh is fed through a single node this can create chokepoints. Those successful in deploying older mesh networks typically took conservative approaches. They did not load the mesh networks very heavily. They strove to avoid creating choke points when circling around hills by creating new cells (using independent wireless backhaul to reach over hills where possible and then re-distributing with mesh) rather than pushing the mesh configuration. Some of the newer techniques for mesh rely more on pre-mapped multiple routing paths for example. In this method, the radios scan for the optimum routing for each node to receive signal as well as potential fail-over paths. However, only the one routing system is used unless there is an outage. This can significantly reduce system cross-talk and overhead. This is just one of the innovative new mesh techniques available today. The current trend appears to run towards equipping mesh radios with multiple radios in multiple spectrum ranges. For example, a mesh radio may handle its backhaul and crosstalk tasks with a 5.2/5.3 GHz band radio and then deliver service through a 2.4 GHz WI-Fi channel. This also reduces overhead on the customer side. Some companies have launched dual WiMAX/Wi-Fi mesh solutions utilizing licensed band WiMAX frequencies for backhaul with traditional Wi-Fi techniques to deliver service to users. Innovations in multiple-input, multiple-output (MIMO) antenna systems offer promise of improved service. In fact, the past year has seen an explosion in the number of vendors fielding mesh technology solutions. The innovation curve for mesh is the highest in history and the solutions being fielded today are without a doubt the best overall product ever delivered for mesh systems. Mesh technology, like many wireless techniques is another tool in the belt of the creative wireless service provider for reaching customers that other broadband methods cannot. It should be used when cost effective and technically justified.

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