Wireless technology has profoundly evolved and substantially proliferated over the past 14 years, since its inception in 1997 as 802.11 or Wi-Fi. Since then, it has grown to encompass a broad range of wireless applications from private use to campuses, sports arenas, retail stores, enterprise-wide and common carrier wireless metropolitan area networks. Mobility and the elimination of a wired infrastructure, the key benefits of wireless operation, give users the flexibility to communicate from wherever they may be at any given time. This has dramatically changed the way the world does business.

This report addresses the three major domains of wireless technology: wireless personal area networks (WPANs), wireless local area networks (WLANs) and wireless metropolitan area networks (WMANs) provided by the common carriers.

Wireless Personal Area Networks

Wireless personal area networks have evolved to address a broad and growing range of application needs not addressed by other wireless technologies. WPANs provide communications over very short distances. Low power and long battery life are its attributes. This market study addresses IEEE 802.15 WPAN standards and technology; plus it also addresses the technology and standards developed by Bluetooth, Zigbee, and WiMedia. It examines the network architecture of these standards, their benefits and limitations and applications. It also addresses the mission of the associated WPAN alliances. The market study also provides a market forecast for WPANs and addresses the future direction of WPANs.

Wireless Local Area Networks

This market study addresses and explains the key elements of WLAN technology It also addresses the technology drivers for improving performance, capacity, range and management within Wi-Fi networks. And it examines how the industry is addressing these demands to remain viable to growing and future needs. This market study also addresses the key concepts of new applications that provide greater user flexibility and benefits. And it addresses Wi-Fi standards for substantially better future performance that are in development. This market study also includes a market forecast for Wi-Fi and it addresses its future direction. Wireless Broadband Access for Metropolitan Area Networks

Wireless Broadband Access for Metropolitan Area Networks The major wireless carriers are racing to complete a nationwide broadband access network. They refer to this network as a 4G (fourth generation) network, which is telecommunications jargon for broadband communications. The proliferation of smartphones and skyrocketing number of users with smartphones, tablets, and laptops place a heavy demand on existing networks for improved bandwidth. International airports, stadiums and heavily populated metropolitan areas exacerbate this situation. This demand is driving wireless carriers to pursue new broadband technologies and improved infrastructure to accommodate these growing demands.

This report addresses the major U.S. wireless carriers, AT&T, Verizon and Sprint, and how they are responding to these pressing bandwidth and traffic congestion demands. It also addresses the timeline for nationwide network coverage within their individual networks. The report also addresses Sprint’s two-year lead with the nation’s first broadband wireless access nationwide network using an existing 4G technology- WiMAX. The report addresses Sprint’s predicament with its nationwide WiMAX network and its need to remain competitive with the other major carriers.

In addition, this report addresses the international standards organizations and developers of wireless technology for global wireless carriers, and the evolution of 2G and 3G technologies that led to the development of LTE. It also points out the differences between WiMAX and LTE and why the carriers are adopting LTE as their broadband technology. And it explores the future of broadband networks.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Wireless Personal Area Networks (WPANs)

    The WPAN evolution
    Key WPAN benefits and limitations
    Types of WPANs
    The Bluetooth piconet network
    Bluetooth products
    ZigBee networks
    ZigBee products
    Expanding WPAN applications
    WPAN alliances and their mission- Bluetooth SIG, ZigBee, WiMedia
    Co-existence between WPANs, and WLANs or WMANs
    Ultra Wideband (UWB) WPAN technology • Market forecast
    Future direction

WLANs and Wi-Fi

    The Wi-Fi evolution, greatly-improved user benefits for wireless communication
    802.11n- The greatest achievement in performance and network flexibility since wireless emerged
    Channel Bonding, its function and benefit
    MIMO, A major benefit for enhanced wireless performance and signal quality
    MIMO configurations and examples • Spatial multiplexing- a key MIMO enhancement
    Beamforming and other performance enhancement techniques
    MU-MIMO- Multi User-MIMO in development for enhanced user flexibility
    802.11k & 802.11v- pending wireless management standards extend intelligence and save battery power
    Emerging technology promises to double data rates
    Vendor proprietary enhancements •
    Unified Communication
    Wi-Fi interface to WMANs- 802.11u; Unlicensed Mobile Access (UMA)
    Future trends in wireless LANs- Wi-Fi interconnection with Bluetooth and ZigBee and also 802.16
    Gigabit Wi-Fi- a giant leap forward in Wi-Fi performance
    802.11ac and 802.11ad
    Increased Wi-Fi spectrum and range through available TV white space
    802.11af TV white space access • Virtual networks
    Cloud Computing
    The Wi-Fi Alliance • Market forecast • Future direction

WMANs and 4G Wireless Technologies

    Bandwidth-consuming applications drive broadband access
    Evolution of cellular broadband networks
    IEEE 802.16 and WiMAX- The first wireless broadband access MAN
    The WiMAX Forum
    WiMAX 2 (802.16m) - A giant step forward for WiMAX
    LTE- A GSM-based wireless data standard
    LTE Advanced- The real 4G wireless technology
    WiMAX vs LTE- both similar 4G wireless technologies
    WiMAX- The first nationwide broadband network • The first LTE 4G network
    AT&T’s Growing LTE network
    Picocells
    International telephony standards organizations
    Future direction

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