Implementing 802.11, 802.16, and 802.20 Wireless Networks: Planning, Troubleshooting, and Operations : 9780750678087

For nearly a century, voice communications networks have been king of the
hill. The growth of the Internet in the 1990’s has given rise to the need for data
communications networks that are as well developed and flexible as the voice
networks that are currently in place. Broadband connectivity has become available
in certain places using the wired infrastructure of Telephone and CATV companies,
but the coverage provided by these systems is far from ubiquitous. While
these systems can address the low speed data requirements of many individual
users, the high speed (>2 Mbps) data communications requirements of corporate
entities cannot be easily and economically met using copper wires. Fiber optics
can and does offer the possibility of enormous speeds, but operational fiber
cable to the home or business is not commonly available, and will not be for the
foreseeable future.

In addition, the need for instant data is becoming as urgent as the need for instant
voice communications. Instant voice communications needs are met by cellularlike
services. Although these same providers have begun to offer data services,
just like their wired counterparts, their speeds are constrained by the limitations
inherent in systems that were originally designed for voice communications.

Wireless-based data networks have the ability to meet the data requirements of
corporate networks as well as the broadband fixed and mobile requirements of
individuals. There are numerous spectral allocations that can be used to provide
these services, and while some are licensed, thus limiting their deployment to
those who have access to the spectrum, others are not. It is in this unlicensed spectrum
where many wireless data needs are being met.