Mesh networks solve infrastructure problem for wireless
The internet is a mesh network, as defined by a self-forming, self-healing collaboration of network nodes formed in accordance with standards to allow the seemingly infinite expansion of the network. In a mesh network, each node is a router and messages can hop from node to node to access external databases or communicate with other networks. As public safety agencies struggle with interoperability problems and network connectivity that enables wireless communictions between a multitude of agency users, mesh networks offer an intuitively attractive way to create interoperability on an incident scene.
The military, through DARPA, who had a lot to do with the internet itself, has developed this kind of self-forming, self-healing network to allow high-speed interaction between and among nodes on a wireless network. Now Intel and others are working on both fixed and mobile mesh networks to cut the cost of implementation.
This is truly a disruptive technology, one in which new companes will form and older companies will either adapt or lose market share. As an example, a company called Mesh Networks has licensed the technology that DARPA created for the military and adapted it for public safety use. Their initial test system is up and running and shows the effectiveness of this technology in making wireless broadband a reality across the boundaries of a city.
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