Redes sem fio 802.11 em malha (mesh networks): uma alternativa para projetos de redes sem fio em regiões metropolitanas

Abstract

A region where there's no access to the Internet and Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) is considered digitally excluded.One way of supporting policies of digital inclusion is to make possible low cost projects with the objective of building an infrastructure of networks of data communication with capacity to serve Metropolitan areas. The technology that has been atracting most attention from the market in projects of digital inclusion is wireless network technologies, because it can be used as alternative to wired solutions. Wireless Metropolitan Area Networks (Wireless MANs) supply the current needs of network projects, reaching more users at larger distances and acting as agents in the process of information dissemination. Wireless network technologies currently available in the market are the IEEE Standards 802.16 (WiMAX), for Metropolitan Area Networks (MANs) and IEEE 802.11 for Local Area Networks (LANs). In the search for alternative solutions for low cost projects, the market chose the IEEE Standard 802.11 technologies to cover metropolitan areas. This new tendency is sustained by improvements in the standard, by its low cost and availability of 802.11 terminals, in contrast to WiMAX infrastructure and terminal cost and availability. In believing in this perspective, the objective of this work is to apply the 802.11 Mesh technology as a solution for both network backbone projects and last mile network implementation, to act as an alternative to WiMAX. The proposal consists of the presentation of a net Architecture Metropolitan WMesh to be explored as solution of project of low cost by access providers, organ publics' initiatives and private seeking the offer of band services releases without thread.