Prepared by Vardan Hovsepyan

Wireless ApartmentWireless Apartment Area NetworkArea Network

Technology OverviewTechnology Overview

Today there are a number of solutions which can be used for the wireless

home network. They are designed for either Personal Area Networks

(PANs) or Local Area Networks (LANs).

Typical network coverage in the PAN is up to ten meters, but the

performance varies depending on the standard employed.

Standards Data Rate Range

802.15.1 1 Mbps ~10 meters

802.15.3 400 Mbps ~10 meters

The IEEE 802.15.1 standard (also called Bluetooth) is primarily used for

unwiring computing and communication peripherals, such as a computer to a

printer or a handset to a headset. Bluetooth is rated up to 1 Mbps.

The second standard, the IEEE 802.15.3 standard (also called ultra-wide

band-UWB), is designed for delivering multimedia services. UWB supports

data rates over 400 Mbps.

Typically Wireless LANs (also called Wi-Fi “Wireless Fidelity”) service more

applications and users than PANs and cover a greater distance than PANs

up to 100 meters. The IEEE 802.11 standard was designed specially for

Wireless local area network.

Standards Data Rate Radio frequencies

802.11a up to 54 Mbps 5 GHz

802.11b up to 11 Mbps 2.4 GHz

802.11g up to 54 Mbps 2.4 GHz

802.11n up to 540 Mbps 2.4 GHz or 5 GHz

The 802.11a standard operates in the 5-GHz frequency band with a

maximum 54 Mbps rate. (Currently not approved for use in Sweden)

The 802.11b standard operates in the 2.4-GHz Industrial, Scientific and

Measurement (ISM) band and provides rates of up to 11 Mbps. This is a very

commonly used frequency. The cordless phones, medical and scientific

equipment, as well as Bluetooth devices, all work within the 2.4-GHz ISM band.

The 802.11g standard is similar to 802.11b, but this standard supports data

rates of up to 54 Mbps. It also operates in the heavily used 2.4-GHz ISM band

but uses a different radio technology to boost overall throughput. It is

compatible with 802.11b.

The 802.11n standard operates in either 2.4 GHz or 5 GHz frequency band.

The 802.11n standard builds upon previous 802.11 standards by adding MIMO

(multiple-input multiple-output). The real data throughput is estimated to reach

a theoretical 540 Mbps, and should be up to 50 times faster than 802.11b, and

up to 10 times faster than 802.11a or 802.11g. The standardization process is

expected to be completed by the second half of 2008.

Solution DefinitionSolution Definition For definition of the most suitable solution for wireless apartment network it is

necessary to compare the features of the mentioned technologies as well as

to take into account the specific requirements such as data rates support for

HD-TV, coverage, simplicity and cost of deployment.

The first criterion for the selection of the solution is the possibility to use the

HD-TV and at least two computers at the same time. It means that wireless

network must have at least 40-45 Mbps bandwidth, since 20-24 Mbps is

necessary for provision of HD-TV and at least 10 Mbps for each PC or laptop.

The second criterion is the coverage requirement. The wireless network

must cover the whole apartment area which can make about 100 squire

meters in multi-room apartments and more in private houses.

The table shows the features of technologies based on which the most

suitable wireless solution for apartment area network will be defined.

Analyzing the table and guided by our criteria and requirements we come to the

following conclusion.

Bluetooth is not applicable for the apartment wireless network needs, since it has

very low data rate and coverage.

UWB provides high data rate but its coverage is very limited, it can be used for

one room apartments only.

Wi-Fi technology with 4 standards:

802.11a standard works at 5 GHz frequency which is not authorized in Sweden

802.11b standard does not support the required data rate

802.11g standard meets our requirements on bandwidth and coverage and can

be used for the wireless apartment network, moreover there are models

supporting Supper G technology allowing to increase throughput up to 108Mbps.

802.11n standard is the best one for building apartment wireless network,

since it supports 540 Mbps data rate and has large coverage, however it

can be used only in the second half of 2008 when the standardization

process is completed.

Therefore, the analysis reveals that for the time being the most suitable Therefore, the analysis reveals that for the time being the most suitable

solution for the solution for the wireless network wireless network implementationimplementation in apartments in apartments is Wi-Fi is Wi-Fi

technology, in particular its 802.11g standard. It is worth to mention that technology, in particular its 802.11g standard. It is worth to mention that

802.11n standard is more preferable for near future. 802.11n standard is more preferable for near future.

Thank you for attention !