Kyushu Univ. and PicoCELA Unveil Ultra Wide-Range Wireless LAN System Enabled by World's Largest-Scale Indoor Wireless Backhaul

FUKUOKA, Japan, March 1 /PRNewswire/ -- Kyushu University and PicoCELA Inc., both based in Fukuoka City, Fukuoka Prefecture, have successfully developed and put into use technology to build a wide-area wireless LAN at a drastically reduced cost.

The newly developed wireless multihop backhaul connects multiple wireless LAN access points to make them work with one another as a single radio network, cutting back on installation costs by reducing wiring for Internet connection. Hundreds of wireless LAN access points incorporating the technology were installed in the commercial complex Canal City Hakata (*Note 1), resulting in the successful operation of one of the world's largest indoor wireless multihop backhauls. This type of wide-area wireless LAN is expected to serve as a platform for the next generation of Internet-based content or services.

Small wireless access points supplied by PicoCELA connect with one another by radio multihop relay, eliminating the need for troublesome Internet wiring and making it possible to add wireless LAN spots to the network with ease. Any wireless LAN-ready device, such as smart phones, laptop PCs and portable game machines, can be hooked up with the network. If capable of roaming, any wireless devices can be used while the user walks around (*Note 2). The wireless network built inside Canal City Hakata realized a wireless multihop relay of up to 11 access points, making it one of the largest indoor wireless multihop backhauls in the world.

PicoCELA was set up for the purpose of commercializing the fruits of the MIMO-MESH Project led by Professor Hiroshi Furukawa of the Faculty of Information Science and Electrical Engineering, the Graduate School, Kyushu University. The project is part of the "Silicon Sea Belt Fukuoka Project" promoted by the Fukuoka prefectural government to build an East Asian belt of advanced semiconductor R&D sites. It is funded by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (under the Knowledge Cluster Creation Project Phase 2 program) and the Fukuoka Industry, Science and Technology Foundation (Fukuoka IST). The new wide-area wireless LAN was built as one of government-commissioned undertakings to do demonstration experiments in three aspects: technology for building a wireless broadband area with ease and at low cost, technology for a high-precision position-tracking system, and services using the position-tracking system. The experiment contract was given to Fukuoka IST by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications under the ministry's ICT advanced demonstration experiment program. PicoCELA will seek to promote further technological development of the next generation of mobile networks through the wide-area wireless LAN operation and to help revitalize the content market, which is expected to play a major role in the future mobile communications market, through the test use of various future applications software.

Outline of wide-area wireless LAN

Venue: 1st basement level through 4th floor, Canal City Hakata (some areas excluded), 2, Sumiyoshi 1-chome, Hakata-ku, Fukuoka City, Fukuoka Prefecture

Duration: February 1 through March 14, 2010

*Notes

1: Canal City Hakata is a major commercial complex located in Hakata-ku, Fukuoka City, with a total floor space of 234,500 square meters and about 13 million visitors a year.

2: Instantaneous interruptions may occur during communication.

SOURCE Kyushu University