Broadband wireless access

Encyclopedia : B : BR : BRO : Broadband wireless access

Three 45 Mbit/s wireless dishes on top of 307 W. 7th Street Fort Worth TX

Broadband wireless access is a technology aimed at providing wireless access to data networks, with high data rates. According to the 802.16-2004 standard, broadband means 'having instantaneous bandwidth greater than around 1 MHz and supporting data rates greater than about 1.5 Mbit/s'. From the point of view of connectivity, broadband wireless access is equivalent to broadband wired access, such as ADSL or cable modems. It is planned to be used in the next few years and is estimated to have a range of 50km (30 miles). A Public Domain [Wireless Internet] Map is currently charting the progress online.

Most widely used technologies are LMDS and MMDS. One particular broadband wireless access technology is being standardized by IEEE 802.16 also known as WiMAX.

Wireless Internet Service Providers (WISP) are usually found in rural areas where cable or DSL is not available. A common case scenario is that a WISP will get large connection such as a T1 or DS3 and deliver it to a high point in the area such as a high rise or water tower. Then the consumers will mount a small dish to the roof of their home or office and point it towards the high area. Line of sight is usually necessary for wireless access to work.

A wireless connection can be either licensed or unlicensed. In the US, licensed connections use a private spectrum the user has secured rights to from the FCC. In other countries, spectrum is licensed from the country's national radio communications authority (such as the ACMA in Australia). Licensing is usually expensive and often reserved for large companies who wish to guarantee private access to spectrum for use in point to point communication. Because of this, most wireless ISP's use unlicensed spectrum which is publicly shared and therefore more prone to interference.

Fact - This wireless technology has been around since the 1950s. MCI stands for Microwave Communications Inc.

See also

• WiMAX
• IEEE 802.16
• HIPERMAN

External links

• [Universal Broadband Access - Going Wireless and Mobile] Strategy White Paper from Alcatel
• [broadband wireless access home page] Broadband Wireless Association
• [WISPA]Wireless Internet Service Provider Association, a WISP trade association
• [Wireless Internet Service Provider WISP] User Driven Global Google Map.
• [Wireless Professionals Forum] Community for wireless professionals

From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License See Wikipedia Copyrights for details.