UP Paper 1479 US-M-GDOWN
A PMP-Friendly Mesh Approach for WiMAX/IEEE 802.16TM
Sherman,MatthewBAE Systems
McNevin,TimothyBAE Systems
McNeill,KevinBAE Systems
Khuu,PhongBAE Systems
Conner,KeithBAE Systems
WiMAX-certified broadband wireless equipment is available to consumers and DoD alike. This equipment is based on the IEEE 802.16-2004 TM and IEEE 802.16e TM standards and promises to greatly reduce the cost of broadband wireless access. However, existing equipment has shortcomings in scenarios of interested to DoD and DHS. One deficiency is the lack of mesh networking capability compatible with the currently-fielded point-to multi-point (PMP) mode. While a mesh capability exists within the IEEE 802.16-2004 standard, it does not interoperate with the PMP mode and is not being considered for deployment. The IEEE 802.16e amendment addresses mobility but does nothing to address the mesh shortcomings in WiMAX and IEEE 802.16. This paper will review the current and planned capabilities of WiMAX, and recommend extensions to the IEEE 802.16 standard to facilitate a mesh networking protocol that can interoperate with planned WiMAX deployments.
Dr. Matthew James Sherman, Senior Member Technical Staff, Advanced Communications, BAE Systems – NES, Education: PhD, Steven Institute of Technology, 1992 M.S.E.E, University Steven Institute of Technology, 1983 B.S., Steven Institute of Technology, 1983 Bio: Dr. Sherman first joined BAE Systems (then Singer Kearfott) in 1984 and spent 10 years working on various military spread spectrum and satellite systems projects. In 1995 he joined that part of AT&T Bell Laboratories which became AT&T Labs when the Lucent spin-off occurred in 1996. While at AT&T, Dr. Sherman worked on many access related projects, including the VoiceSpan satellite system, “Project Angel” fixed wireless efforts, 802.14 and DOCSIS cable activities, Home Phone-line Networking (HomePNA), Ultra-Wideband (UWB), Power Line Carrier (PLC), Free Space Optics (FSO), High Altitude Platforms (HAPs) and AT&T’s IEEE 802.11 activities. Dr. Sherman has been active in 802.11 since the year 2000 particularly in Task group E. In 2003 he left AT&T Labs – Research to return to BAE Systems. He is actively developing networking technologies and waveforms for satellite and tactical communications. He is focused on support BAE Systems 802.16 activities as well as various DARPA pursuits and programs such as WIN-T. Dr. Sherman is a member of 802.11, a member of 802.16, and Vice Chair of the IEEE 802 LAN/MAN Standards Committee (LMSC). He has written many technical papers and holds several patents.