Challenges for wireless mesh networks to provide reliable carrier-grade services

Provision of mobile and wireless services today within a competitive environment and driven by a huge amount of steadily emerging new services and applications is both challenge and chance for radio network operators. Deployment and operation of an infrastructure for mobile and wireless broadband connectivity generally requires planning effort and large investments. A promising approach to reduce expenses for radio access networking is offered by Wireless Mesh Networks (WMNs). Here traditional dedicated backhaul connections to each access point are replaced by wireless multi-hop links between neighbouring access nodes and few gateways to the backbone employing standard radio technology. Such a solution provides at the same time high flexibility in both deployment and the amount of offered capacity and shall reduce overall expenses. On the other hand currently available mesh solutions do not provide carrier grade service quality and reliability and often fail to cope with high traffic load. EU project CARMEN (CARrier grade MEsh Networks) was initiated to incorporate different heterogeneous technologies and new protocols to allow for reliable transmission over "best effort" radio channels, to support a reliable mobility and network management, self-configuration and dynamic resource usage, and thus to offer a permanent or temporary broadband access at high cost efficiency. The contribution provides an overview on preliminary project results with focus on main technical challenges from a research and implementation point of view. Especially impact of mesh topology on the overall system performance in terms of throughput and connection reliability and aspects of a dedicated hybrid mobility management solution will be discussed.European Community's Seventh Framework ProgramPublicad

Ubiquitous robust communications for emergency response using multi-operator heterogeneous networks

A number of disasters in various places of the planet have caused an extensive loss of lives, severe damages to properties and the environment, as well as a tremendous shock to the survivors. For relief and mitigation operations, emergency responders are immediately dispatched to the disaster areas. Ubiquitous and robust communications during the emergency response operations are of paramount importance. Nevertheless, various reports have highlighted that after many devastating events, the current technologies used, failed to support the mission critical communications, resulting in further loss of lives. Inefficiencies of the current communications used for emergency response include lack of technology inter-operability between different jurisdictions, and high vulnerability due to their centralized infrastructure. In this article, we propose a flexible network architecture that provides a common networking platform for heterogeneous multi-operator networks, for interoperation in case of emergencies. A wireless mesh network is the main part of the proposed architecture and this provides a back-up network in case of emergencies. We first describe the shortcomings and limitations of the current technologies, and then we address issues related to the applications and functionalities a future emergency response network should support. Furthermore, we describe the necessary requirements for a flexible, secure, robust, and QoS-aware emergency response multi-operator architecture, and then we suggest several schemes that can be adopted by our proposed architecture to meet those requirements. In addition, we suggest several methods for the re-tasking of communication means owned by independent individuals to provide support during emergencies. In order to investigate the feasibility of multimedia transmission over a wireless mesh network, we measured the performance of a video streaming application in a real wireless metropolitan multi-radio mesh network, showing that the mesh network can meet the requirements for high quality video transmissions

Estudio de vigilancia tecnológica sobre TV White Spaces, enfocado a la conectividad en zonas rurales en Colombia

The development of this research is aimed at knowing the most important aspects of TV White Spaces (TVWS) technology, operation, architecture, use cases, regulation and implementations in Colombia and in various parts of the world, as a starting point for evolution. of wireless communications in the rural sector. The first step to know the current state of technology, the technological surveillance process (VT) is adopted, of which the planning, search and capture, and analysis and organization phases are applied. In the first planning phase, it is found that there is no existing study of technological surveillance of TVWS technology in Colombia and that we make way for factors that we can achieve with this study, such as early anticipation of technological changes, minimization of associated technological risks. to innovation and to expose the early detection of opportunities and technological cooperation. Next, it exposes the existing needs in Colombia and the critical surveillance factors of the TVWS, such as the technology that reduces this gap of non-connectivity. As a general conclusion to this entire process of technological surveillance, it is to make known and recommend the use in Colombia of the base station-client architecture with georeferenced equipment that resolves which channels are available and achieves connectivity over long distances, overcoming interference and demonstrating advantages over other wireless technologies with reference to costs, infrastructure, uses, laws and regulations. It is disclosed that MESH topologies such as some of the existing wireless technologies (Wi-Fi, LTE, 5G) can be implemented in a hybrid way with TVWS technology for rural sectors with houses far from each other, where implementation with other technologies becomes unfeasible.La elaboración de esta investigación va dirigida a conocer los aspectos más importantes de la tecnología TV White Spaces (TVWS), como la operación, arquitectura, casos de uso, regulación e implementaciones en Colombia y en diversas partes del mundo, punto de partida en la evolución de las comunicaciones inalámbricas en el sector rural. Se adopta el proceso de vigilancia tecnológica (VT), aplicando las fases de planeación, búsqueda y captación, y análisis y organización, empezando con el estado actual de la tecnología TVWS. En la primera fase de planificación se encuentra que no existe en Colombia ningún estudio existente de vigilancia tecnológica en la tecnología TVWS y que da paso a factores que se alcanzan con este estudio, tales como la anticipación temprana de cambios tecnológicos, la minimización de riesgos tecnológicos asociados a innovación y a exponer la detección temprana de oportunidades y de cooperación tecnológica. Seguidamente se exponen las necesidades existentes en Colombia y los factores críticos en la vigilancia de la tecnología TVWS, evidenciando que esta tecnología reduce la brecha de la no conectividad. Como conclusión general a todo este proceso de vigilancia tecnológica es dar a conocer y recomendar el uso en Colombia de la arquitectura estación base–cliente con equipos georreferenciados que resuelven que canales están disponibles y logran conectividad a largas distancias, superando interferencias y demostrando ventajas sobre las demás tecnologías inalámbricas con referencia al costo, infraestructura, usos, legislaciones y regulaciones. Se da a conocer que las topologías MESH como algunas de las tecnologías inalámbricas existentes (Wi-Fi, LTE, 5G) se pueden implementar de manera hibrida con la tecnología TVWS para sectores rurales con viviendas distanciadas entre sí, en donde la implementación con otras tecnologías se vuelve inviable