Indoor Wireless Communications

3System Requirements

An indoor wireless system is based on a set of requirements that should be met if the system is to deliver the required quality-of-service (QoS) for each of the offered services. These requirements, for example, could be specified in signal strength or path loss levels above or below a certain threshold, at various places inside and outside the building, which are taken as targets at which the design should aim for. The definition of such requirements is strongly related to the type of technology that is being deployed in the building and also depends on specific facility needs.

This chapter describes the definition of such requirements in a general context for any wireless communication system. Specific requirements depending on technology may vary and differences will be highlighted and explained.

3.1 Environments

The mobile propagation channel is particularly characterized by a strong influence of surrounding clutter and objects around transmitters and receivers in a wireless system. These obstructions mainly determine the way in which the signal propagates along a specific path, and therefore should not be underestimated. Furthermore, indoor scenarios have stronger effects as they are more densely populated by clutter, walls and partitions of different materials and open spaces such as windows, doors and atriums. Thus, it is very important to identify the characteristics of such obstructions and their distribution, in order to account for these changes ...