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IEEE Radio Communications • September 2004
S12
0163-6804/04/$20.00 © 2004 IEEE
Introduction
The global demand for multimedia data services has grown ata remarkable rate in recent years. The increase in demand islikely to grow at an even faster pace in the future due toadvances in multimedia distribution services. Network scala-bility thus becomes an important consideration for bothequipment manufacturers and service providers. The overallsystem capacity has to be made expandable in terms of thenumber of subscribers supported, data rate, and geographicalcoverage. There are many factors that influence the scalabilityof a network. Furthermore, the persistent demand forenhancement in multimedia data services is becoming animportant driving force for network expansion and deploy-ment so that the network is capable of supporting new ser- vices when they become available. At the same time, networkcapacity must keep up with demand. A scalable network pro- vides an economical means of expanding an existing networkto expeditiously meet future demands with minimal interrup-tion in service availability caused by the expansion process.Each hub in the network has its effective coverage, which isdetermined by important parameters such as the selection of modulation scheme, the amount of cell overlap, and, morepersuasively, climatic and environmental factors, such as rain-fall statistics.Fixed broadband wireless access (BWA) systems, such asthe local multipoint distribution service (LMDS) [1], providemultimedia services to a number of discrete customer sites with IP and offer numerous advantages over wired IP net- works. This is accomplished by using base stations to providenetwork access services to customer sites based on the IEEE802.16 WirelessMAN™ standard [2, 3]. First published in April 2002, the IEEE 802.16 standard has recently beenupdated to IEEE 802.16-2004 (approved in June 2004). Thestandard focuses on the “first-mile/last-mile” connection in wireless MANs. Its purpose is to facilitate the optimal use of bandwidth from 10 to 66 GHz, as well as interoperabilityamong devices from different vendors. Typical channel band- width allocations are 20 or 25 MHz (United States) or 28MHz (Europe), with Nyquist square-root raised-cosine pulseshaping with a rolloff factor of 0.25 [3]. IEEE 802.16 hasover the years developed into a family of standards as sum-marized in Table 1 (for more details on the standard, pleaserefer to http://www.ieee802.org/16/). The progress of thestandard has been fostered by the keen interest of the wire-less broadband industry to capture the emerging WiMax(worldwide interoperability for microwave access) market,the next-wave wireless market that aims to provide wirelessbroadband Internet services. The WiMax Forum, formed in2003, is promoting the commercialization of IEEE 802.16and the European Telecommunications Standard Institute’s(ETSI’s) high-performance radio metropolitan area network(HiperMAN). Among the several advantages offered by such BWA sys-tems, it is generally less expensive and faster to install them,especially in situations where a large number of locations haveto be covered. In addition, its deployment is based on demand, which makes the system expandable with its scalable architec-ture by using open industry standards. This way, network ser- vice providers can easily expand their existing networks without being bounded by the restriction of certain manufac-turers. Other advantages include flexible hub configurationsand the deployment of frequency reuse schemes within itsallocated frequency band of operation. The scalability of deploying LMDS in response to the ongoing network expan-sion demands stems from the fact that LMDS uses a wirelesslast mile access medium. This eliminates the need for costlyand time-consuming cabling and/or wire upgrading. Its wire-less nature also makes LMDS an attractive choice for cost-effective expansion of MANs. As pointed out in [4], theEthernet-supported IP-over-wavelength-division multiplexing(WDM) ring paradigm provides a flexible solution for thenext-generation metropolitan optical network. An LMDS sys-tem equipped with Ethernet-aware optical multiplex/demulti-plex components can easily be configured into a low-costscalable access aggregator to the MAN optical ring; thus, inessence, becoming an optical add-drop multiplexer (ADM) with wireless capability.Projection of BWA network scalability primarily dependson attributes associated with customer sites. These includeissues of geographic density of customer sites, node density oneach floor of the building, expected growth in demand, andquality of service (QoS) requirements such as peak/off-peakdata rates and concentration ratios. These attributes can betranslated into a specific demand in terms of data bandwidth
Abstract
Fixed broadband wireless access systems, such as the localmultipoint distribution service, use an open system architec-ture that supports a scalable solution for Internet servicesover IEEE 802.16 wireless networks. This article presents anoverview of various features of BWA systems toward realizinga high level of scalability to support a potentially fast expand-ing network. This is achieved by optimizing various networkresources, which include utilizing the available bandwidth effi-ciently, making a minor enhancement to an existing systemthat minimizes the disruption to network services during thenetwork expansion process, and combining the benefits of dif-ferent features to increase network capacity.
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On the Scalability of Fixed Broadband Wireless Access Network Deployment
 
IEEE Radio Communications • September 2004
S13
required by a unit area of coverage. LMDS/BWA is also atempting opportunity for incumbent operators to enhancetheir flexibility and competitive advantage.In this article we present an analysis of provisioning ascalable fixed BWA network by LMDS based on variousimplementation scenarios. The network can evidently bemade scalable in order to support future growth in demand with features such as versatile cell division, combined use of  various modulation schemes and multiple access methodolo-gies, optimization of frequency diversity, and application of alternate polarization. We describe how each of these fea-tures contributes to providing a scalable solution to supporthigh-speed multimedia network services. By giving anoverview of how scalability is supported by an open networkarchitecture and briefly describing ways of optimizing systemdeployment by carefully making in-bound interference, mod-ulation, and channelization schemes as flexible as possible,readers may be convinced that maximum network scalabilitycan be achieved in terms of both data capacity and sub-scriber capacity.
An Overview of the Network Architecture
In a fixed broadband wireless network such as an LMDS net- work, a switching component connects the system to the IPnetwork backbone. Figure 1 illustrates the connection betweenthe radio hub and the service provider via a 155 Mb/s OC-3link. However, because of the wide operating bandwidth of LMDS (usually above 1 GHz), the data rate at the base sta-tion radio unit can reach over 100 Mb/s. Therefore, in the sys-tem depicted in Fig. 1, the bottleneck would be at the OC-3link. Scalability should be guaranteed either by a properdesign of the radio hub architecture or by a proper functionaldistribution. For example, a local switching functionality maybe implemented at the base station (intelligent base station)so that communication among customers connecting throughthe same base station can be switched/routed by the base sta-tion rather than by the switches at the service provider. Thisarrangement reduces the traffic on the bottleneck link. Bothapproaches improve scalability at the cost of increased radiohub complexity. In addition, it is also possible to increase thenumber of sectors by using antennas with a smaller beamwidthat each hub and to add antennas with alternate polarity inorder to further increase the number of subchannels. Further-more, the network can be optimized by balancing a trade-off between fixed and adaptive bandwidth allocation based ondemand according to the density of subscribers and projectedgrowth in demand for different types of services. Finally,although not at the architectural level but rather at the proto-col level, fixed broadband wireless systems present a greatchallenge and rooms for improvement of data transportingprotocols for optimum utilization of the network resources.Naturally LMDS as wireless technology is subject to higherbit error rates (BERs) and signal strength fading than the wired medium. Weather conditions, such as lightning, and fly-ing objects, such as low altitude helicopters, can all cause tem-porary blackouts. Forward error correction (FEC) coding is aclassical way to combat the relatively high BER to a certainextent, but traditionally at the cost of higher hardware com-plexity of both the base station and the custom premisesequipment. With recent technological advances, however,FEC implementations such as a Reed-Solomon coder/decoderare becoming less complex and are often incorporated intochipsets.For more than two decades, TCP has been the dominanttransport layer protocol for Internet applications, particularlyfor bulk data transfer applications. Since these applicationsare most susceptible to the errors caused by high BER andblackouts, improvement of TCP to better deal with communi-cation errors in the wireless data link has been a very activearea of research. Among the various proposed solutions, soft- ware protocols based on end-to-end TCP modifications suchas TCP-Jersey [5] are the most flexible and scalable solutionsto achieving optimum utilization of the wireless link capacity.In fact, any TCP modifications are reasonably easy to add toclosed systems, but in general deployment can be a problemdue to a lack of support by end users’ operating systems. Scal-ability of these protocol solutions, specially designed for wire-less links, also stems from their compatibility with the wirednetwork versions and the ability of partial and gradual deploy-ment.
I
Table 1.
The family of IEEE802.16 standards.
DesignationClassificationRemarksStatus
802.16Air InterfaceWirelessMAN™ standard (air interface for fixed Published April 2002broadband wireless access systems) for wirelessmetropolitan area networks802.16aAir InterfaceAmendment to 802.16; purpose is to expand the scope Published April 2003to licensed and license-exempt bands from 2 to 11 GHz802.16cAir InterfaceAmendment to 802.16; purpose is to develop 10–66 GHz Published January 2003system profiles to aid interoperability specifications802.16REVdAir InterfaceConverted from 802.16d, now published as the most Approved as 802.16-2004 in June 2004recent update to the standard802.16.2CoexistenceRecommended practice on coexistence of broadband Published September 2001; now replacedwireless access systems for 10–66 GHzby 802.16.2-2004802.16.2aCoexistenceAmendment to 802.16.2; purpose is to expand scope to Subsequently converted and published asinclude licensed bands from 2 to 11 GHz and to enhance 802.16.2-2004 in March 2004the recommendations regarding point-to-point systems802.16/Conf01ConformanceConformance01 PICS for 10–66 GHzPublished August 2003802.16/Conf02ConformanceTest suite structure and test purposes for 10–66 GHzPublished February 2004802.16/Conf03Conformance10–66 GHz radio conformance testsApproved May 2004802.16/Conf04ConformancePICS for < 11 GHzPending
 
IEEE Radio Communications • September 2004
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Scalability Analysis
The deployment of BWA networks has scalability implicationson a number of factors. Many BWA systems operate in the verycongested portion of the spectrum, where bandwidth limitationis a major constraint to network scalability. Therefore, parame-ters other than channel frequency bandwidth must be con-trolled to maintain a high degree of network scalability. Factorssuch as cell planning and utilization of subchannels within thelicensed range of available frequencies have to be addressed inthe early stage of network planning. Subsequent modification toan operational system may be difficult once the hub locationsare fixed, especially when the narrow beamwidth antennas atsubscriber sites need to be adjusted to facilitate new hubs.Other factors, such as routing and multiple access methods, canbe changed according to demand without causing much inter-ruption to the network operation. With an ever-increasingdemand in data density that requires an increase in both datathroughput and coverage to support future multimedia services,a scalable network architecture is an essential parameter forBWA network implementation. This is particularly so given thelimitation in spectrum allocation, which is usually determinedby local authorities, and the fact that the network must operateonly within its allocated band.In summary, we can ensure a high level of scalability by:•Cell planning for addition of sectors and cell splitting intomicrocells with hub spacing, coverage, and number of sec-tors per hub optimization.•An appropriate modulation scheme that offers optimal per-formance in both spectral efficiency and geographical cov-erage. It should be noted, however, that sometimes thechoice of modulation scheme may be limited in a standard-ization process due to interoperability and regulationrequirements. Some adaptation is still possible as part of the standard, as is evident in the evolution of IEEE 802.11.The IEEE 802.16 standard provides even greater latitude inthis regard.•Access options that provide efficient downstream andupstream links to maximize utilization of channels to sup-port both constant and variable bit rate services.•Optimal application of frequency reuse and alternate polar-ization where a combination of frequency diversity andcross-polarization between sectors can be deployed toincrease data capacity.The following sections will discuss these factors in moredetail.
Cell Planning
More closely packed cells with smaller coverage per cell canincrease geographical coverage and lead to a decrease in hubspacing [6]. The location of each adjacent hub can be offset byas much as 1/3 to maintain comprehensive coverage withoutleaving any out-of-coverage areas between cells. A two-layerIP-LMDS network architecture [7] provides additional cover-age by further splitting each cell into microcells. This resultsin an extended coverage without the requirement of the lineof sight (LOS) at carrier frequencies below 25 GHz (typicallyin the range of 5–17 GHz). At higher frequencies, the LOSrequirement obviously affects the scalability of the system interms of its geographical coverage (e.g., a new building risesup in front of an existing subscriber building blocking theLOS path). On the other hand, using an ultra high operatingfrequency allows very high gain directional antennas to be fab-ricated in small physical form factors, which will reject multi-path signals arriving from directions other than LOS.In addition, high gain antennas, especially those mountedat a high elevation, and high signal transmission power using ahigh gain amplifier facilitate cell enlargement. This leads to atrade-off between cell coverage and the cost of providing suchcoverage. In general, scalability can be controlled by transmit-ter and antenna gain adjustments to improve geographicalcoverage. Optimizing the antenna aperture efficiency to mini-mize signal loss due to free space attenuation can maximizethe range as well.The number of sectors per hub can be increased to achievehigher data capacity. Normally, a system is set up with four90˚ sectorized antennas, each covering one sector. The datarate can be (very nearly) doubled by increasing the number of sectors from four to eight while maintaining omnidirectionalcoverage. The network can be further expanded by anothersectorization as shown in Fig. 2a, where an initial deploymentof a 7 MHz channel with four sectors gives each hub a maxi-mum data rate of 32 Mb/s. Each sectorization yields a dou-bling in data capacity, giving 64 Mb/s with eight sectors.However, each doubling of sectorization reduces link coverageby approximately 33 percent. Network capacity increase cantherefore be achieved by splitting a cell into more sectors inorder to effectively generate more subchannels that can sup-
I
Figure 1.
The system layout of an LMDS system that offers a high degree of scalability. The system consists of three major compo- nents: switching: provides a connection point for the system to be linked to the internet; transport: the radio hub connects the base sta-tion to a wired IP network backbone with an OC-3 connection and converts the data into a form that is suitable for modulation; access: at the customer end, each remote site has an outdoor antenna with a subscriber radio unit for signal reception. The received sig- nal is then processed by a subscriber access system where demodulation takes place followed by forwarding data to the destination node. Each of the black “zigzag” lines between the radio hub and each customer site’s antennas in the figure represensts both a single link serving a customer’s premises as well as the return channel.
Corporate network (service provider)SwitchingRadio hubIPnetworkbackboneOpticalmultiplexerOpticalmultiplexerOpticalmultiplexerBasestationBasestationradio unitRouterOC3Customer siteIP/ EthernetTransportAccessCustomer site
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