1. 1 RURAL TELECON ’07 A HYBRID SECTORAL/AD HOC MESH NETWORK ARCHITECTURE FOR RURAL BROADBAND WIRELESS COMMUNICATIONS OCTOBER 15, 2007 KEN SCHLAGER, Ph.D., P.E. SOUTHEASTERN WISCONSIN REGIONAL PLANNING COMMISSION WAUKESHA, WISCONSIN and PRESIDENT HIERCOMM, INC. HARTLAND, WISCONSIN Supported by: SBIR PHASE II GRANT U.S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE COOPERATIVE STATE RESEARCH, EDUCATION AND EXTENSION SERVICE GRANT NUMBER: 2006-33610-16317 #131426

2. 2 Agenda Sectoral Cellular Broadband Wireless –Fourth Generation (4G) Performance –Low Infrastructure Costs –High Gain Active Antennas Sectoral Cellular Weaknesses –Serves only fixed users –Lacks redundancy –99.9% reliability (?) –Enter adaptive mobile mesh network –A Hybrid Sectoral/Adaptive Mesh Network Public Safety Communications and the 9/11 – Katrina Problem –Consistent failure of communications networks in major public emergencies –Ad Hoc Mesh Networks and the DOD –The Kenosha County 4.9/5.8 GHz Public Safety Communications Project Wirlwind –An Ad Hoc Routing System –Architecture Technology Corp. –USDA SBIR Grant Kenosha County Project –Fusion of Sectoral/Cellular and dynamic mobile mesh topologies –Long range, high performance WiFi –Wirlwind Ad Hoc networking The Hybrid Solution –Basic Sectoral Cellular Network –Peer-to-Peer Connect –The User Routing Node –Redundant, Reliable High Performance Network Current Status and Plans

3. 3 Conceptual Sectoral Cellular Network Source: SEWRPC.

4. 4 Conceptual Mesh Network Source: Tropos and SEWRPC.

5. 5 Sectoral Cellular Network – Cost and Performance Infrastructure Cost –Town of Wayne, Wisconsin –Land Area – 36 square miles –Access Point Infrastructure –Four (4) APs –AP Density = 0.1/square mile –Total Cost = $80,000 - $2,200/square mile –Including –Internet gateway –Network management system –Engineering, installation and training Mesh Network Alternative Costs –16 to 80 APs/square mile –Areal cost: $100,000 - $250,000/square mile Sectoral/Cellular Network Performance –10 – 30 megabits per second range Mesh Network Alternative Performance –1 – 3 megabits per second

6. 6 Sectoral Cellular Network – Cost and Performance  continued Basis of Technology Network Topology –Allows for use of higher gain directional antennas –Omnidirectional antenna –5 – 8 dBi –Directional antenna –14 – 17 dBi –8 times the signal intensity Active Antenna –Antenna with high gain, low noise amplifier –Additional gain of 20 dBi and more –100 times the signal intensity

7. 7 Four Access Point Locations, Town of Wayne, Wisconsin

8. 8 Backhaul Network, Town of Wayne, Wisconsin

9. 9 Sectoral Cellular System Weakness and Remedies Limited to Fixed Users –Directional antenna requires fixed location –Nomadic and mobile users require omnidirectional antennas –Limited distance from access point Lack of Redundancy –No alternative transmission paths –Reliability goal of 99.9% –Wireless networks now far below this target Solution: Users as Nodes –If each user could serve as a node to pass on signals to the sectoral AP, the performance of the network for nomadic users would be greatly enhanced –Enter Peer-to-Peer wireless communications and dynamic, mobile Ad Hoc mesh networks Solution: Higher Performance Laptop Computers –The Active Omnidirectional Antenna –As a laptop computer attachment –For 25 -30 dBi gain

10. 10 Public Safety Wireless Communications and the 9/11 – Katrina Problem Consistent Failure of Public Safety Communications in Major Public Emergencies –Oklahoma City –9/11 –Katrina Causes of Failure –Power outages –Tower damage –Flooding –Network saturation Problem with Current Public Safety Communications Systems –Very low data transfer rates –Networks do not survive a disaster event Solution –Networks that are independent of fixed infrastructure –Peer-to-Peer communications

11. 11 SEWRPC/HierComm/Architecture Technology Corp. and Kenosha County, Wisconsin Objectives –To bring broadband to public safety wireless communications –To solve the network survivability problem –To provide a public/private business model for broadband wireless communications –To extend the sectoral/cellular network model to nomadic and fixed users Task #1 – Long Range 4.9 GHz Wireless Communications –To demonstrate extended range, high gain throughput performance at 4.9 GHz –In mobile public safety vehicles Task #2 – Peer-to-Peer Communications –To demonstrate adaptive peer-to-peer wireless communications –With and without infrastructure –Selecting the optimal transmission path –Using Architecture Technology Corp. (ATC) Wirlwind 4.9/5.8 GHz Public/Private Wireless Communications Project

12. 12 Project Wirlwind Wireless Wide Area Incident Network Technical Partnership HierComm – RF hardware Architecture Technology – Network software USDA SBIR Grant Recipients HierComm – Rural Wireless Broadband Communications Architecture Technology – Wirlwind for US Forest Service Wirlwind Ad Hoc Mobile Mesh Network Software Package Connects user to strongest signal node Dynamic mobile or fixed location nodes Project 25 compliant communications Send/receive voice or data Geolocation-based communications –Two technologies –Ad Hoc routing Real-time geographic tracking of nodes and geomessaging

13. 13 Wirlwind: Ad Hoc Routing

14. 14 Wirlwind: Ad Hoc Routing—continued

15. 15 Wirlwind Ad Hoc Routing SARA – Source Initiated Adaptive Routing Algorithm Advantages/Features –Implemented working algorithm –Not just research –Multi-platform = Windows, Linux –Symmetric and Asymmetric Links DOD/DARPA funded Geolocation ATC’s GeoTIDES –Geographically Targeted Information Dissemination System –Communication often involves many different groups at various locations and requires knowledge of location of people and resources Advantages/Features –Dynamically tracks all nodes with GPS –Allows transmission of data to geographic coordinates or regions –Geotracking –Geocasting, Geomessaging The Technology

16. 16 Wirlwind Phase I Prototype

17. 17 Kenosha County Task I – Network Planning Preliminary County-Wide Network –Radio propagation modeling –Clutter database Demonstration Area Network –Two base Stations –Mobile vehicular users Task II – Equipment Planning Base Station Equipment –4.9 GHz Transceivers (3) –5.8 GHz Transceivers (3) –Amplifier Augmentations (6) – 3 inch each frequency band –4.9 GHz Sectoral Antenna (1) –5.8 GHz Sectoral Antenna (1) Mobile Vehicular user Equipment (4.9 GHz only) –4.9 GHz omnidirectional antenna –4.9 GHz high gain amplifier –4.9 GHz transceiver 4.9/5.8 GHz Public Safety/Commercial Wireless Network Demonstration Project

18. 18 Kenosha County 4.9/5.8 GHz Public Safety/Commercial Wireless Network Demonstration Project—continued Task III – Field Demonstration – High Performance, Low Base Station Density Network Test truck testing Public safety vehicular installation Public safety vehicular testing County-wide network plan confirmation Task IV – Field Demonstration – Peer-to-Peer Communications Training Test Truck testing Public safety vehicular testing Public emergency simulated testing Task V – Full-scale Deployment Planning

19. 19 The Upgraded Sectoral/Cellular Boardband Wireless Network Enhanced Sectoral/Cellular Network –Augmented by user repeater nodes –For service to nomadic (laptop) and mobile (cell phone) users –A cost effective solution A More Robust Network –For public safety –For commercial WiFi A Mostly Software Augmentation –Unlike the hardware-oriented Sectoral/Cellular Network –Wirlwind software in all fixed, nomadic and mobile nodes –Minor hardware adjustments The Hybrid Solution

20. 20 Current Status and Plans Wayne, Wisconsin Network –As a model high performance, broadband wireless, rural communications system –Technological demonstration –Performance –Reliability –Business model demonstration –Return on investment (ROI) –CPE cost problem Search for a National Partner –Convincing a major telecommunications partner of the viability of the technology and the business model –Otherwise, progress will be slow