802.16 Mesh Networks

The IEEE 802.16-2004 standard [1] supports two operating modes of the Medium Access Control (MAC) sublayer: 1) point to multipoint (PMP), where traffic occurs only between the Base Station (BS) and Subscriber Stations (SSs), and 2) mesh topology, where traffic can be routed through other SSs and can occur directly between SSs. The mesh mode is an extension to the PMP mode, with the advantage of having a lower path loss, increased coverage and improved robustness as more subscribers are added. In mesh mode, system throughput can be increased by using multiple-hop paths [2-3]. Thus, wireless mesh networks (WMNs) can be used to extend cell ranges, cove