http://www.guardian.co.uk/Print/0%2c3858%2c4489999%2c00.html
Making a mesh on the move
A new way to give us fast mobile net access spells further trouble for 3G,
reports Peter Rojas
Peter Rojas
Thursday August 29, 2002
The Guardian
Imagine being able to surf the net at speeds faster than DSL from
anywhere, at any time - you could watch a live video webcast while waiting
for the bus, email photos to your friends while sitting in the park, or
download the MP3 of the song that's playing in the pub before it finishes.
This is the vision of a high-speed wireless internet paradise that the
third-generation (3G) mobile phone companies have been promoting for
years. 3G services are just beginning to be rolled out, but a new
technology called mesh networking promises to deliver on this vision
sooner and more effectively than the mobile phone companies could ever
dream.
Two companies, US startup MeshNetworks and Moteran Networks of Germany,
are each developing their own competing version of mesh networking.
Instead of the current hub-and-spoke model of wireless communications,
with every device connecting to an overburdened central antenna, any time
"mesh-enabled" devices - mobile phones, PDAs, laptops - are in close
proximity to each other, they automatically create a wireless mesh
network. Every device in the area acts as a repeater or router, relaying
traffic for everyone else. Traffic hops from person to person until it
reaches the nearest internet access point, reducing the need for central
antennas, and improving wireless coverage.
As the number of mobile phones soars, and wireless PDAs, laptops, and
other devices begin to crowd the spectrum, this approach to wireless
networking may be inevitable.
Mesh networks also have several other advantages over 3G wireless
networks. While 3G operators roll out mobile services that offer users
connection speeds of up to 144 kbps (roughly three times faster than a
dial-up modem), Moteran and MeshNetworks are able to offer connection
speeds of up to 6Mbps, over a hundred times faster than dial-up. The
technologies they use include Wi-Fi - the emerging standard for high-speed
wireless networking also known as 802.11b. A similarly short-range
protocol called UltraWideBand, which is poised to succeed Wi-Fi, is even
faster and could, by 2005, approach 400 Mbps.
The range of a typical Wi-Fi network is generally too limited to be of
much use when travelling around a city. Mesh networks get around the
problem of coverage by having every device in the network relay traffic.
Even though the range of any individual device is relatively small,
because (in theory) there will be so many users in the surrounding area,
connections will be faster and better than that of a standard 3G wireless
connection.
Because mesh networks use Wi-Fi, the equipment and infrastructure needed
to create them is cheap and readily available. Instead of building
cellular phone towers that often cost hundreds of thousands of pounds, all
that is needed to get a network going are wireless access points (around
£100 now) placed strategically around town to relay traffic, and the
proper software. Existing laptops and PDAs can be mesh-enabled by
software.
It also means that anyone could set up their own mobile phone network.
Unlike with 3G cellular, the part of the spectrum that Wi-Fi operates on
is unregulated in the US, Britain. The mobile phone companies are none too
pleased about this, especially since many of them spent billions of pounds
acquiring 3G licences.
All that's needed are cheap relays and mobile phones equipped to connect
to the network. With every additional customer that signs up coverage gets
better, instead of getting worse, as is the case with mobile phone
networks.
But things get very interesting when you realise that when you have
high-speed internet connections everywhere, and everyone's laptops, PDAs,
and mobile phones are connected together at blazingly fast speeds, sharing
music, movies, or whatever else becomes ridiculously easy. When
UltraWideBand hits, all of this will just accelerate.
At 400Mbps, copying a pirated copy of the Lord of the Rings from the
person sitting across from you at the cafe would take about 15 seconds.
Sooner or later, playgrounds will be filled with kids swapping files of
their favourite songs, movies, and video games.
But the first mesh networks are not likely to be available to consumers.
MeshNetworks has no plans to offer its own high-speed wireless service.
Instead the company plans to sell its technology to others, such as cities
that want to provide wireless internet to police, fire, and public works
employees, or businesses that want to establish wireless networks on the
cheap. Moteran has similar aspirations for small businesses and for
enterprise networks.
The first place average users may use the technology is when it is
incorporated into vehicles, enabling motorists to access the internet at
high speeds, which both companies see happening soon.
When will you be able to wander around town with a 6Mbps connection in
your pocket? It's too soon to say, but just as broadband internet service
was initially available only to businesses and universities, eventually
someone will see the profit in bringing mesh networking to the masses.