What you can learn from this chapter is what services are being commonly deployed in Municipal Wireless networks, for what type of customers, some of the networking considerations that each service may drive, and some high-level architectural diagrams. As you will see, one of the key issues is where and how much network control should be implemented. One of the fundamental decisions that a network operator has to determine for an IP network is whether to centralize or distribute the network control. In this context, network control is based on the control of data flow associated with each user. There are advantages and disadvantages to both approaches. Note that this chapter does not intend to make any recommendations regarding this design issue. The high-level diagrams shown throughout this chapter convey the design concepts that network operators will encounter as they build their network infrastructures.

Introduction

Municipal Wireless networks are a hot new topic that is changing the face of telecom today. With the ability to offer broadband speeds over the airwaves, governments and service providers have all looked at this network approach as a way to enhance their services to the community. Over 300 governments have created Municipal Wireless networks, ranging in size up to 2 square miles. Many more governments are planning deployments with the world's largest cities planning deployments of over 100 square miles.

The drivers for the creation of these networks are varied.