Department of informatics
Functionality of Alternative Broadband Access and Impact on Market
Master thesis
60 credits
Saqib Rana
26. 05. 2007
Acknowledgements
Thomas Haslestad
Josef Noll
Abstract
Today’s wireless access is dominated by mobile networks with GSM/ UMTS and private WLAN networks based on 802.11 standard. The market situation can change quickly owing to the fact that new access methods are expected to be introduced in the market soon.
WIMAX (802.16), 802.20, CDMA2000 and Cognitive Radio (802.22) are such promising technologies. These radio technologies uses methods for better spectrum utilization like MESH network technology, Adhoc routing and dynamic frequency allocation.
This thesis is looking into functionality of new access methods, actors in the Nordic market and how these actors plans to use this functionality.
Table of Content
Acknowledgements
Abstract
Table of Content
Introduction
Part A – Technical Analysis
Alternative Access Technologies for Wireless Broadband
Part B – Market Analysis
Forord
Innledning
Bakgrunnstoff
Overordnet diskusjon
Beskrivelse av det man har gjort
Mer finkornet diskusjon
Oppsummering og videre arbeid
Vedlegg
Concluding remarksLiterature references
Literature references
Appendices
Wi-Fi: IEEE802.11 Wireless local Area Network (WLAN)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Uses
Wi-Fi at home
Wi-Fi in Business
Wi-Fi at Hotspots
Technical information
Channels
Advantages of Wi-Fi
Disadvantages of Wi-Fi
Standard Devices
Wireless Access Point (WAP)
Wireless Adapter
Wireless Router
Wireless Ethernet Bridge
Range Extender
Antenna connectors
Non-Standard Devices
DIY Range Optimizations
Long Range Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi and its support by operating systems
Microsoft Windows
Apple Mac OS
Open source Unix-like systems
Embedded systems
Social concerns
Unintended and intended use by outsiders
Wi-Fi vs. amateur radio
Health risks
History
Origin and meaning of the term 'Wi-Fi'
IEEE 802.11
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Protocols
Summary
802.11 legacy
802.11a
802.11b
802.11g
802.11n
Channels and international compatibility
Standard and Amendments
Standard or Amendment?
Nomenclature
Community networks
Security
WiMAX: IEE802.16
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Definitions of terms[1]
Uses
Broadband Access
Mobile applications
Technical information
MAC layer/ Data Link Layer
Physical layer
Comparison with Wi-Fi
Spectrum Allocations issues
Standards
IEEE 802.16e-2005
WiBro
Associations
WiMAX Forum
WiMAX Spectrum Owners Alliance - WiSOA
Competing technologies
3G and 4G Cellular Phone Systems
Mobile Broadband Wireless Access
Internet Oriented Systems
Comparison
Future Development
Current Deployments
IEEE 802.16
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
802.16 standards
Amendments in progress
802.16e-2005 Technology
PHY
MAC
Certification
Mesh networking
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Examples
Cognitive radio
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
History
Terminology
Technology
IEEE 802.20
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
IEEE 802.22
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Technology
Overview of the WRAN Topology
An approach to the PHY layer
An approach to the MAC layer
IEEE 802
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Introduction
The thesis is divided into two segments, a technical analysis part A, and a market analysis part B.
In the technical part A new alternative access technologies for Broadband Wireless/ Radio Access is discussed. The focus is on WiFi and WiMax. Factors that make these technologies alternatives to today’s mobile access areemphasized. Especially opportunities that exist in such alternative access are thrown light on.The concepts of Cognitive Radio in the VHF/ UHF bandsare described along with regulatory situation in Norway. How Cognitive Radio can be used in public mobile services is also considered.
In the market analysis part B an overview of WiFi and WiMax operators in the Nordic Countries is presented. Position in the value chain, size, product portfolio and market position for every major actor are illustrated. This information is then used to predict a picture of the situation in the alternative broadband market. The market analysis part also covers how new functionality in form of chosen features could influence the existing market. These selected features in this regard are MESH Networking and Switched WiFi/ CAPWAP for both WiFi and WiMax. The potential market impact of Cognitive Radio is also evaluated.
Part A – Technical Analysis
Alternative Access Technologies for Wireless Broadband
Part B – Market Analysis
Forord (ca 1/3 side)
Innledning (5 sider)
Problemestilling
Kort gjennomgang av kapitlene
Bakgrunnstoff (20 sider)
Innføring i støtteområder etc. for oppgaven
Overordnet diskusjon (ca 15)
Hovedvalg og vurderinger for disse
Beskrivelse av det man har gjort (ca 25 sider)
Gå gjennom hovedlinjene
Mer finkornet diskusjon(ca 20 sider)
Diskusjon trenger “kontekst”
Se på alternative utvidelser
Oppsummering og videre arbeid (5- 10 sider)
Tilbakeblikk, med kommentarer (gjerne kritiske)
Hvor står man i forhold til problemstillingen
Retninger å gå videre I (Råd til neste hovedfagsrtudent)
Vedlegg
Concluding remarksLiterature references
[1] Wikipedia. (2006).Internet [online]. Available at <URL:
[2] Philippe Le Hégaret. (2006). Web Services Activity [online]. Available at
URL:
[3] Haas H. (2006). Web Services Activity Statement [online]. Available at <URL:
[4] Wikipedia. (2006). Web service [online]. Available at <URL:
[5] Bayer j et el. (2006). Implementation Roadmap for ASG-based services[online].
Internally available at<URL:
twiki/viewauth/Internal/RoadmapForSemanticServices>
[6]
84A9809EC588EF21&catID=2By Tim Berners-Lee, James Hendler and Ora Lassila
[7] Wikipedia. (2006). Common Object Request Broker Architecture [online]. Available at
URL:
[8] Wikipedia. (2006). Java remote method invocation [online]. Available at <URL:
>
[9] Wikipedia. (2006). Distributed component object model [online]. Available at <URL:
[10] Brown P et al. (2006). Reference Model for Service Oriented Architecture 1.0 [online].
Available at <URL:
2changes.pdf>
[11] Panda D. (2005). An Introduction to Service-Oriented Architecture from a Java
Developer Perspective [online]. Available at <URL:
[12] By Raghu R. Kodali. (2005). What is service-oriented architecture? [online]. Available
at <URL:
[13] Wikipedia. (2006). SOA [online]. Available at <URL: Wikipedia.
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[14] Updegrove A. (2005). The Semantic Web [online]. Available at <URL:
[15] Wikipedia. (2006). Semantics [online]. Available
Appendices
Wi-Fi: IEEE802.11 Wireless local Area Network (WLAN)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Official Wi-Fi logo
Wi-Fi, popularly known as an acronym for wireless fidelity (see below for origin), but, in actuality is simply a play on the term "Hi-Fi," was originally a brand licensed by the Wi-Fi Alliance to describe the embedded technology of wirelesslocal area networks (WLAN) based on the IEEE 802.11 specifications. Use of the term has now broadened to generically describe the wireless interface of mobile computing devices, such as laptops in LANs. Wi-Fi is now increasingly used for more services, including Internet and VoIP phone access, gaming, and basic connectivity of consumer electronics such as televisions, DVD players, and digital cameras. More standards are in development that will allow Wi-Fi to be used by cars on highways in support of an Intelligent Transportation System to increase safety, gather statistics, and enable mobile commerce (see IEEE 802.11p). Wi-Fi and the Wi-Fi CERTIFIED logo are registered trademarks of the Wi-Fi Alliance - the trade organization that tests and certifies equipment compliance with the 802.11x standards.
Uses
A person with a Wi-Fi enabled device such as a pc, cell phone or PDA can connect to the Internet when in proximity of an access point. The region covered by one or several access points is called a hotspot. Hotspots can range from a single room to many square miles of overlapping hotspots. Wi-Fi can also be used to create a mesh network. Both architectures are used in community networks.
Wi-Fi also allows connectivity in peer-to-peer (wireless ad-hoc network) mode, which enables devices to connect directly with each other. This connectivity mode is useful in consumer electronics and gaming applications.
When the technology was first commercialized there were many problems because consumers could not be sure that products from different vendors would work together. The Wi-Fi Alliance began as a community to solve this issue so as to address the needs of the end user and allow the technology to mature. The Alliance created the branding Wi-Fi CERTIFIED to show consumers that products are interoperable with other products displaying the same branding.
Wi-Fi at home
HomeWi-Fi clients come in many shapes and sizes, from stationary PCs to digital cameras. The trend today is to incorporate wireless into every electronic where mobility is desired.
Wi-Fi devices in home or consumer-type environments connect in the following ways:
- Via a broadband Internet connection into a single router which can serve both wired and wireless clients
- Ad-hoc mode for client to client connections
- Built into non-computer devices to enable wireless connectivity to other devices or the Internet
Wi-Fi in Gaming
Gaming consoles and handhelds make use of Wi-Fi technology to enhance the gaming experience. Examples include:
- The Nintendo DS handheld is Wi-Fi compatible, and is compatible with WEP encryption.
- The Wii is Wi-Fi compatible, and is compatible with WEP and WPA encryption.
- The PlayStation 3 Premium model features built-in Wi-Fi which is compatible with WEP and WPA encryption, while the Basic model can be upgraded with a separate wireless adapter.
- The PlayStation Portable is Wi-Fi compatible, and is compatible with WEP and WPA encryption.
- The Xbox 360 can be made Wi-Fi compatible if the user purchases a separate wireless adapter.
Wi-Fi in Business
Business and industrial Wi-Fi has taken off, with the trends in implementation varying greatly over the years. Current technology trends in the corporate wireless world are:
- Dramatically increasing the number of Wi-Fi Access Points in an environment, in order to provide redundancy,support fast roaming and increasing overall network capacity by using more channels and/or creating smaller cells
- Designing for wireless voice applications (VoWLAN or WVOIP)
- Moving toward 'thin' Access Points, with more of the network intelligence housed in a centralized network appliance; relegating individual Access Points to be simply 'dumb' radios
- Outdoor applications utilizing true mesh topologies
- A proactive, self-managed network that functions as a security gateway, firewall, DHCP server, intrusion detection system, and a myriad of other features not previously considered relevant to a wireless network.
Wi-Fi at Hotspots
The most publically visible use of Wi-Fi is at hotspots. These trends include:
- Free Wi-Fi at venues like Panera Bread, It's a Grind Coffee House, and over 100,000 locations in the USA has been growing in popularity. According to a door-to-door survey in San Jose, CA, the number of venues and users is growing fast.
- Paid Wi-Fi at venues like Starbucks, McDonalds, and at hotels. This trend is flat.
- According to Muni Wireless, metropolitan-wide WiFi (Mu-Fi) already has more than 300 projects in process.
Technical information
Wi-Fi: How it Works
Wi-Fi networks use radio technologies called IEEE 802.11 to provide secure, reliable, fast wireless connectivity. A typical Wi-Fi setup contains one or more Access Points (APs) and one or more clients. An AP broadcasts its SSID (Service Set Identifier, "Network name") via packets that are called beacons, which are usually broadcast every 100 ms. The beacons are transmitted at 1 Mbit/s, and are of relatively short duration and therefore do not have a significant effect on performance. Since 1 Mbit/s is the lowest rate of Wi-Fi it assures that the client that receives the beacon can communicate at at least 1 Mbit/s. Based on the settings (e.g. the SSID), the client may decide whether to connect to an AP. If two APs of the same SSID are in range of the client, the client firmware might use signal strength to decide with which of the two APs to make a connection.
The Wi-Fi standard leaves connection criteria and roaming totally open to the client. This is a strength of Wi-Fi, but also means that one wireless adapter may perform substantially better than another. Since Wi-Fi transmits in the air, it has the same properties as a non-switched wired Ethernet network, and therefore collisions can occur. Unlike a wired Ethernet, and like most packet radios, Wi-Fi cannot do collision detection, and instead uses an acknowledgment packet for every data packet sent. If no acknowledgement is received within a certain time a retransmission occurs. Also, a medium reservation protocol can be used when excessive collisions are experienced or expected (RequestToSend/ClearToSend used for Collision Avoidance or CA) in an attempt to try to avoid collisions.
A Wi-Fi network can be used to connect computers to each other to the internet and to wired networks (which use IEEE 802.3 or Ethernet). Wi-Fi networks operate in the unlicensed 2.4 (802.11b/g) and 5 GHz (802.11a/h) radio bands, with an 11 Mbps (802.11b) or 54 Mbps (802.11a or g) data rate or with products that contain both bands (dual band). They can provide real world performance similar to the basic 10BaseT wired Ethernet networks.
Channels
Except for 802.11a/h, which operates at 5GHz, Wi-Fi devices historically primarily use the spectrum in 2.4GHz, which is standardized and unlicensed by international agreement, although the exact frequency allocations and maximum permitted power vary slightly in different parts of the world. Channel numbers, however, are standardized by frequency throughout the world, so authorized frequencies can be identified by channel numbers. The 2.4 GHz band is also used by microwave ovens, cordless phones, baby monitors and Bluetooth devices.
The maximum number of available channels for Wi-Fi enabled devices are:
- 13 for Europe
- 11 for North America. Only channels 1, 6, and 11 are recommended for 802.11b/g to minimize interference from adjacent channels.[1]
- 14 for Japan[2]
Advantages of Wi-Fi
Wireless Internet on the beach, Taba,Egypt
- Allows LANs to be deployed without cabling for client devices, typically reducing the costs of network deployment and expansion. Spaces where cables cannot be run, such as outdoor areas and historical buildings, can host wireless LANs.
- Built into most modern laptops, getting a laptop without a built in WiFi has become an exception.
- Wi-Fi chipset pricing continues to come down, making Wi-Fi a very economical networking option and driving inclusion of Wi-Fi in an ever-widening array of devices.
- Wi-Fi products are widely available in the market. Different competitive brands of access points and client network interfaces are inter-operable at a basic level of service. Products designated as Wi-Fi CERTIFIED by the Wi-Fi Alliance are backwards inter-operable.
- Wi-Fi is a global set of standards. Unlike cellular carriers, the same Wi-Fi client works in different countries around the world.
- Widely available in more than 250,000 public hot spots and tens of millions of homes and corporate and university campuses worldwide.
- As of 2007, WPA is not easily cracked if strong passwords are used and WPA2 encryption has no known weaknesses.
- New protocols for Quality of Service (WMM) and power saving mechanisms (WMM Power Save) make Wi-Fi even more suitable for latency-sensitive applications (such as voice and video) and small Form-Factor
Disadvantages of Wi-Fi
- Spectrum assignments and operational limitations are not consistent worldwide; most of Europe allows for an additional 2 channels beyond those permitted in the US (1-13 vs 1-11); Japan has one more on top of that (1-14) - and some countries, like Spain, prohibit use of the lower-numbered channels. Furthermore some countries, such as Italy, used to require a 'general authorization' for any Wi-Fi used outside an operator's own premises, or require something akin to an operator registration.
- Equivalent isotropically radiated power (EIRP) in the EU is limited to 20 dBm (0.1 W).
- Power consumption is fairly high compared to some other low bandwidth standards (Zigbee and Bluetooth), making battery life a concern.
- The most common wireless encryption standard, Wired Equivalent Privacy or WEP, has been shown to be easily breakable even when correctly configured. Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA and WPA2) which began shipping in 2003 aims to solve this problem and is now available on most products.
- Wi-Fi Access Points typically default to an open (encryption-free) mode. Novice users benefit from a zero configuration device that works out of the box but without security enabled providing open wireless access to their LAN. To turn security on requires the user to configure the device, usually via a software GUI.
- Many 2.4GHz 802.11b and 802.11g Access points default to the same channel on initial start up, contributing to congestion on certain channels. To change the channel of operation for an access point requires the user to configure the device.
- Wi-Fi networks have limited range. A typical Wi-Fi home router using 802.11b or 802.11g with a stock antenna might have a range of 45 m (150 ft) indoors and 90 m (300 ft) outdoors. Range also varies with frequency band. Wi-Fi in the 2.4 GHz frequency block has slightly better range than Wi-Fi in the 5 GHz frequency block. Outdoor range with improved antennas can be several kilometres or more with line-of-sight.
- Wi-Fi pollution, of an excessive number of an access point with other access points in the area, especially on the same or neighboring channel, can prevent access and interfere with the use of other access points by others caused by overlapping channels in the 802.11g/b spectrum as well as with decreased signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) between access points. This can be a problem in high-density areas such as large apartment complexes or office buildings with many Wi-Fi access points. Additionally, other devices use the 2.4 GHz band: microwave ovens, cordless phones, baby monitors, security cameras, and Bluetooth devices can cause significant additional interference.
- It is also an issue when municipalities[3] or other large entities such as universities seek to provide large area coverage. Everyone is considered equal for the base standard without 802.11e/WMM when they use the band. This openness is also important to the success and widespread use of 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi, but makes it unsuitable for "must have" public service functions or where reliability is required. Users sometimes suffer network "frustrations" or a total network breakdown if gaming because a neighbour microwaves some pop corn.
- Interoperability issues between brands or proprietary deviations from the standard can disrupt connections or lower throughput speeds on other user's devices that are within range. And, Wi-Fi devices do not presently pick channels to avoid interference.
- Wi-Fi networks that are open (unencrypted) can be monitored and used to read and copy data (including personal information) transmitted over the network unless another security method is used to secure the data like a VPN or a secure web page.
Standard Devices
Wireless Access Point (WAP)
Main article: Wireless access point