Invented by Theodore S. Rappaport

The market for broadband repeaters with security for ultrawideband (UWB) technologies is experiencing significant growth as the demand for high-speed internet connectivity and secure data transmission continues to rise. UWB technology is a wireless communication technique that enables high-speed data transfer over short distances, making it ideal for applications such as internet of things (IoT), smart homes, and industrial automation.

Broadband repeaters play a crucial role in extending the coverage and range of UWB signals, ensuring seamless connectivity in large areas or buildings with multiple obstacles. These repeaters amplify and retransmit the UWB signals, effectively increasing the signal strength and eliminating dead zones. With the increasing adoption of UWB technologies in various industries, the demand for broadband repeaters is expected to witness substantial growth in the coming years.

One of the key factors driving the market for broadband repeaters with security for UWB technologies is the need for enhanced data security. As more devices and systems become interconnected, the risk of cyber threats and data breaches also increases. Therefore, ensuring secure data transmission is of paramount importance. Broadband repeaters with built-in security features provide encryption and authentication mechanisms to protect sensitive data from unauthorized access, ensuring a secure and reliable connection.

Moreover, the growing popularity of smart homes and IoT devices is also fueling the demand for broadband repeaters with security for UWB technologies. These technologies require a robust and stable internet connection to function effectively. Broadband repeaters enable seamless connectivity throughout the home or office, ensuring uninterrupted access to smart devices and IoT applications. The integration of security features in these repeaters adds an extra layer of protection to the connected devices, safeguarding them from potential cyber threats.

Furthermore, the increasing adoption of UWB technologies in industrial automation and manufacturing processes is driving the market for broadband repeaters. UWB enables real-time monitoring and control of industrial processes, improving efficiency and productivity. Broadband repeaters with security features ensure secure and reliable communication between different components of the industrial automation system, minimizing the risk of data loss or unauthorized access.

In terms of geographical regions, North America and Europe are expected to dominate the market for broadband repeaters with security for UWB technologies due to the high adoption rate of UWB technologies and the presence of key market players in these regions. However, the Asia-Pacific region is also witnessing significant growth, driven by the increasing demand for high-speed internet connectivity and the rapid expansion of IoT and smart home applications.

In conclusion, the market for broadband repeaters with security for UWB technologies is witnessing substantial growth due to the increasing demand for high-speed internet connectivity, secure data transmission, and the proliferation of UWB-enabled devices and applications. The integration of security features in these repeaters ensures the protection of sensitive data and enhances the overall reliability of the UWB network. As the adoption of UWB technologies continues to expand across various industries, the market for broadband repeaters is expected to experience significant growth in the coming years.

The Theodore S. Rappaport invention works as follows

The ultrawideband radio repeater is a low-cost infrastructure solution for combining wireless and wired networks. It provides connectivity to the plant and network, security, monitoring, provisioning and traffic control, as well as wired or wireless connectivity. Ultrawideband radio repeaters can be implemented discretely, in integrated, distributed, or embedded form.

Background for Broadband Repeater with Security for Ultrawideband Technologies

Field of Invention

The present invention relates in general to electronic signal and information repeaters, and more specifically to a repeater that can be used with ultrawideband technology.

Background Description

In the future, ultrawideband transmission technologies (UWBs) will dominate high-data rate communications within the last 10 to 1000 meters of wireless/portable connectivity to a telecommunications network. UWB’s high data rates and location-based capabilities will allow small environments, such as doctor’s offices, vehicles or small buildings, to rely on UWB devices for connecting consumer electronics devices and computers.

As UWB devices become more common, it will be easier to achieve data rates of up to 480 Megabits/second or even higher, to enable wireless Universal Serial Bus (USB), home/enterprise networks, and other applications. Cameras, smartphones, computers, home entertainment systems, and video and computer systems will be able to transmit data at very high rates over short distances (say, 10 to 50 feet). UWB’s high data rates will create a new world of personal area networks with high speeds that currently do not exist. UWB communication products are likely to come from companies such as Time Domain Inc., Xtreme Spectrum Inc., Motorola, Intel, and Texas Instruments.

In typical doctor’s offices, homes and apartment buildings as well as large warehouses, storerooms, etc., there are Wireless (WiFi), access points which can be connected to an ethernet network backbone to provide WLAN and internet access for computer platforms. Backbone cabling is usually Cat-3 or Cat-5 with 10baseT,100baseT or 1-GHz ethernet signals. In the future, this backbone may be wireless, for example, where cable companies or telephone/wireless/internet service providers may use mesh networks, WiMax, or last mile MIMO modem devices that bring broadband video, audio, and data/internet traffic to homes from lampposts or street corners. Satellite radio and fiber cables are other viable ways to deliver the backbone plant into buildings and cars.

The cost of WiFi access points today is between $100 and $300, depending on the hardware used. The access points allow multiple WLAN users to access the internet from a mobile device (typically a computer or PDA). Hot spots like those at Schlotzskys Deli, Starbucks and other places are becoming more popular around the world. These WiFi access points allow users to connect to the internet. This is a very different approach and use than UWB networks that are likely to be used to connect devices in close-in network.

John McCorkle et al. published US Patent Application 20030096578, May 22, 2003. This describes ultrawideband technologies. al. Xtreme Spectrum, Inc., U.S. Pat. No. Multispectral Solutions, Inc., Robert Fonatna, has published a paper entitled ‘Recent Applications of Ultra Wideband Radar and Communications Systems. IEEE 802.15.3 standard bodies are developing Physical (PHY), and MAC Layer standards for dynamic channel select and repeater services for UWB. This falls under the IEEE 802.15.3 general standards body.

The IEEE 802.15.3 MAC operates in a way that allows for both repeater service requests and repeater services grants. This is explained in Nishant Kumar’s powerpoint presentation, from Virginia Tech’s MPRG as well as the IEEE standards proceedings. The devices use passive scanning to listen out for beacon frames, or any nearby user devices. A device can establish its own piconet if there are no nearby devices radiating. There are a variety of superframe and frame structures and subsections that allow for different types of access. These include contention-based schemes, using carrier sense multiple access for example (CSMA), and guaranteed time slots for asynchronous and isochronous streams of data, as well as management time slots.

The IEEE 802.15.3 standard recommends that IEEE 802.15.3 devices use repeater services when links are not satisfactory. However, these links can only be created if the device involved in repeating the operation has enough time to see the channel. There will be a lot of contention as UWB devices are likely to proliferate rapidly. The current mode of MAC-repeater operation, envisioned in the proposed 802.15.3 standard is unlikely to provide sufficient security, bandwidth provisioning or network management features. The current 802.15.3 standard and proposed UWB devices are based on the assumption of a single chip performing necessary repeater functions. However, this functionality will not suffice for the rapid proliferation of UWB, and the onslaught wireless data that’s certain to happen.

IEEE 802.15.3a is currently working to create a standard for either Multiband OFDM Transmission (MBOA) with 500 MHz channel bandwidths, or Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum Impulse Radio Standard (UWB Forum), which has wider channel bandwidths. According to a paper coauthored by this inventor and submitted to High Frequency Electronics in 2004, one or both standards could be ratified by the end 2004.

The High-Tech article written by Woz Ahmad and Bipin Paramar (the Chilli), provides a look at the activities of the Ultrawideband Standard bodies. The New Technology Bulletin, March 2001 Vol. Before the multiband OFDM was proposed, Ultra-Wideband Technology was also discussed in March 2001’s New Technology Bulletin. Paul Withington, Time Domain’s Paul Withington, presented the Time Modulated Ultra Wideband talk. Federal Wireless User’s Forum, May 2001. Robert X. Cringely’s article titled “Good News!” published on August 8, 2002, described the situation as follows: Robert X. Cringely’s article titled “Good News!” published on August 8, 2002, described a UWB chip that was capable of 100 Megabits Per Second over 10 Meters.

In ‘Ultrawideband.ca Mesh Networking explained?, Ultrawideband.ca explains that they have software which allows a user?to install, on their computer, a MeshBoot disc which attempts to find internet gateways using a DHCP Client. The software will make the user’s PC act as a wireless cell if no gateway is found. The CD software is required to control this type of operation. “In the future, it will be necessary to embed network hardware capabilities into PCs rather than provide them on CDs to install on PCs to support the massive traffic that is expected to occur in and around offices and homes (rather than the internet or world-wide web).

Repeaters have been used for years in the cellular, PCS, and wireless LAN industries. (See WiDeFi’s web pages for their patent pending designs to extend range and bridge for Wireless LAN standard). Buffalo Technology announced on June that it would be releasing a bridge-repeater product to support IEEE 802.11g wireless standard WiFi. 17 2003 (See SmallNet Builder Website Page) and stated that its repeater provided point-to point or 6 station multi-point point-to operation. Buffalo stated that it has security features like WiFi Protected access (WPA), WEP and Password protection. The configuration is done via a web-based interface. It has a 10/100 Ethernet connection port and retails at $149. SMC Networks released its SMC2671W 2.4 GHzGHz 11 Mbps Wireless Ethernet Adapter on June. SMC Networks introduced, on Jun.6, 2003, the SMC2671W 2.4 GHzGHz11 Mbps Wireless Ethernet Adapter. This adapter provides an interface for the wired backbone of the internet and wireless LAN networks. It has also wireless repeater capability for WLAN range expansion, as well as Ad-Hoc and Infrastructure operating modes (client to AP), WEP encryption, WPA and SSID broadcast disabling. Configuration is done via a web-browser or Windows-based administration software. Andrew Corporation manufactures classic PCS/Cellular Repeaters such as the PROPAGATOR fully integrated repeater, shown on their website. The repeater is powered by standard 110VAC and contains all the signal processing components in a single unit. Qualcomm recently developed repeater technologies for CDMA.

This document describes a type of wireless device that will become necessary as UWB devices spread rapidly. We disclose a low-cost repeater/transceiver designed for rapid deployment and easy installation to enable the interconnection between network devices that use ultrawideband radio. This technology is expected to be standard by 2005 or earlier. Ultrawideband signals are electromagnetic signals with a bandwidth of at least 100 MHz, either instantaneously or over time. They can be used to communicate between two or more devices or for positioning. Due to the Power-Bandwidth formula, wide bandwidths with the same RF transmitter power levels as wireless devices today require receivers within much shorter propagation distances. For a given RF transmission power level, a wider passband (e.g. The RF channel bandwidth is generally associated with a higher noise floor power, so UWB devices must be physically closer to one another to achieve a strong signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), compared to devices of equal power but smaller passband bandwidths. Repeaters will be needed to connect devices that are further apart than the range of one UWB device.

The adoption of UWB is expected to be rapid. Wireless UWB devices are likely to face an increased level of interference and spam traffic. They will also be vulnerable to security attacks from rouge or spoofed transmitters or message sources. The ability to detect, filter, ensure security, and provide sufficient or prioritized bandwidth will be required for repeater functionality. This includes the ability to detect unwanted traffic on a local or personal network as well as the capability to report attempted breaches of security to a host device or network controller connected to the Internet (for example, a home computer, media center, gaming console, or remotely located server, security server, that may be located in another neighborhood or city, but is connected via Internet). Future wireless networks will require the ability to process, filter, provide security, or prioritize bandwidth. This will be due to future wireless networks which will allow devices to stay connected to outdoor wireless networks through roaming protocols and systems, such as those proposed by Dong Ho Cho in US Patent Application 02 0198977 published Dec. 26, 2002. Wireless Communications: Past events and future perspectives, IEEE Communications Magazine, June 2002.

In the future, UWB applications will likely only require one or two devices to be connected to an ethernet/internet network backbone, which is the plant that enters the office or home, or the car. ), while many other devices, such as home entertainment systems, telephones, portable computers, video monitors, and display/video/audio/entertainment devices in the home or office will be untethered within the same room or within several tens of meters of these ?fixed? Internet-connected devices can be mobile or stationary. As wireless technology becomes more prevalent, it is possible that these fixed devices, connected to the plant, may also be mobile or portable. UWB technology will allow for high-speed data transmission in hospitals, hotels, offices, homes and other small spaces. Piconets can be imagined in vehicles, trains and aircraft.

The invention described here is an ultrawideband repeater that can be quickly deployed by a user in a home, office, or business. This allows the owner to avoid installing wiring, such as Cat-5 cables, throughout their office or home. The UWB repeater will replace the wires that carry Internet traffic to the device from the cable, T1, or DSL jacks of today. The UWB repeater invented here will allow just one or a handful of internet-connected devices to serve as the?internet source? “The local hub or accesspoint can be used to connect a wide range of UWB portable and fixed devices within a home or an office.

The present invention is intended to achieve at least one or more of the objectives listed in the application.

The invention aims to provide a system and method that allows Internet, Cable TV or satellite, telephone or other communication sources to be connected to the external wired plant or wireless and distributed via UWB radio in an indoor or vehicle environment.

It is another object of this invention to provide a system and method that allows ultrawideband radio signal to be repeated within an indoor environment or vehicle.

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