TDMA for Long Distance Wireless Networks
Sam Leffler, Errno Consulting · 2009
regions. Their goal was to “address the challenges in bringing the Information Technology revolution to the masses of the developing regions of the world ” [1]. Out of that work came plans for WiFi Based Long Distance Networks (WiLDNet) that leveraged commodity 802.11 wireless parts to preserve cost savings [2]. WiLDNets were specifically intended for deployments where station separation far exceeded normal 802.11 use (e.g. 30-100 kilometer station separation). A key component of the WilDNet design was the use of a Time Division Multiplex Access (TDMA) MAC [3] in place of the standard DCF MAC that is part of the 802.11 specification [7]. About the same time the Intel Research Laboratory in Berkeley, CA developed the Rural Connectivity Platform (RCP). TIER was a joint project between UC Berkeley and Intel and the RCP was an offshoot focused more on easy setup, low maintenance, and production use. For TDMA the RCP project developed a unique scheme to leverage the capabilities of Atheros wireless devices to implement TDMA almost entirely in hardware [4]. The scheme has proven to work very well and has been incorporated in commercial products. In 2008 the RCP software base was moved from Linux to