A PMP-Friendly MANET Networking Approach for WiMAX/IEEE 802.16/sup TM/

WiMAX Forum certifiedtrade broadband wireless equipment is now available to military users and consumers alike. This equipment is based on the IEEE 802.16/sup TM/-2004 and IEEE 802.16e/sup TM/-2005 standards. This commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) equipment promises to greatly reduce the cost of broadband wireless access and lead to cost-effective solutions for the military. However, existing COTS equipment has performance deficiencies when considered for military and national security operational scenarios. One deficiency is the lack of mobile ad-hoc and mesh networking capabilities compatible with the currently fielded point-to-multipoint (PMP) mode. While the IEEE 802.16-2004 standard includes a mesh capability, it does not interoperate with the PMP mode, and is not being considered for implementation. The IEEE 802.16e-2005 amendment addresses subscriber mobility but does nothing to address the ad-hoc and mesh shortcomings in WiMAX and IEEE 802.16-2004. This paper reviews some current and planned capabilities of WiMAX, and recommends extensions to the IEEE 802.16 standard to facilitate mobile ad-hoc and mesh networking protocols that can interoperate with planned WiMAX deployments