The AT&T Labs broadband fixed wireless field experiment

Author

Kim, Byoung-lo ; Shankaranarayanan, N.K. ; Henry, Paul S. ; Schlosser, Kevin ; Fong, Thomas K.

Author_Institution

AT&T Bell Labs., NJ, USA

Volume

37

Issue

10

fYear

1999

fDate

10/1/1999 12:00:00 AM

Firstpage

56

Lastpage

62

Abstract

We describe an ongoing broadband fixed two-way wireless field experiment conducted by AT&T Laboratories-Research in Monmouth County, New Jersey. Our experiment, which is one of the first two-way broadband fixed wireless systems offers an end-to-end broadband packet access service, with telecommuting as the primary application for our employee users. It operates in the 2.6 GHz MMDS spectrum, and is based on cable modem technology. We have developed a Web-based network monitoring/management tool that greatly enhances the ability to manage, diagnose, and optimize the system. The lengthy period of operation has allowed us to make observations about user behavior, weather-related channel impairments, and equipment performance. We have identified several design issues related to the application of cable modem technology to the fixed wireless environment. Also, we have measured a significant path loss effect arising from a combination of rain and foliage

Keywords

Internet; UHF radio propagation; broadband networks; home working; information resources; intranets; loss measurement; modems; packet radio networks; rain; telecommunication computing; telecommunication network management; tropospheric electromagnetic wave propagation; 2.6 GHz; AT&T Laboratories; Internet access; MMDS spectrum; Monmouth County; New Jersey; UHF; Web-based network monitoring/management tool; broadband fixed wireless field experiment; broadband packet access service; cable modem technology; equipment performance; foliage; high-speed intranet access; multichannel multipoint distribution service; path loss effect; rain; system diagnosis; telecommuting; two-way wireless field experiment; user behavior; weather-related channel impairments; Data systems; Downlink; Hybrid fiber coaxial cables; Internet telephony; Laboratories; Media Access Protocol; Modems; Monitoring; Power cables; Teleworking;

fLanguage

English

Journal_Title

Communications Magazine, IEEE

Publisher

ieee

ISSN

0163-6804

Type

jour

DOI

10.1109/35.795590

Filename

795590