Broadband wireless access solutions based on OFDM access in IEEE 802.16

Broadband wireless access is the most challenging segment of the wireless revolution since it has to demonstrate a viable alternative to the cable modem and DSL technologies that are strongly entrenched in the last mile access environment. The Analysis, Research, and Consultancy (ARC) Group forecasts that the fixed wireless deployments in both homes and businesses will reach almost 28 million by 2005, with North America and Western Europe accounting for 24 percent and 27 percent of these, respectively. Whether the promise of BWA will materialize depends on its appeal to telecom operators from the perspective of deployment economics, where the critical factor is the ease of installation of broadband wireless subscriber units. This ultimately leads to nonprofessional installation of integrated all-indoor BWSUs. Consequently the physical layer (PHY) has to mitigate the very tough impairments that characterize these non-line-of-sight environments. In this context we overview the work of the one of the IEEE 802.16 standard subcommittee projects that deals with a BWA solution based on OFDM access (OFDMA) aiming at the most challenging NLOS scenarios.