Experimental analysis of the sensitivity to interferences in geographical unlicensed wireless networks

Local, and Metropolitan Wireless Networks are often used to provide basic connectivity services, especially in areas where wired solutions are not yet implemented or not applicable. Unlicensed wireless networks have attracted a large interest, thanks to their low realization cost, with several limitations caused by regulatory, power restrictions and the presence of interferences. The paper analyses the possibility to increase the insensitivity to interferences by introducing new constraints on the antenna pattern and adopting transmission diversity techniques. To this purpose, a network has been designed and realized, providing coverage to a wide rural area in the hills of Piedmont, a region located in North-Western Italy. Once constructed, the network performance has been monitored and characterized, in terms of coverage capabilities, signal quality, data delivery throughput, and noise immunity.