Characterization of Unplanned Metropolitan Wireless Networks

Abstract

Mobile Internet penetration has grown steadily over the last few years. Although most of today’s users have access through their 3G Mobile Operators, there are still regions that are under-covered for various reasons. Wireless Mesh Networks (WMN) can play an important role by providing the means to fully cover those underserved regions. Due to their intrinsic nature, WMN require a critical mass of nodes belonging to the mesh in order to be effective. In this paper we present a study conducted in Aveiro, Portugal which intends to draw some conclusions on the feasibility of deploying a WMN in small to medium cities based on the cooperation of its inhabitants and on off-the-shelf wireless equipment.