Ibikunle Frank^1,, Jakpa Orunta¹, Ike Dike¹

Broadband wireless access networks are enterprise level networks that provide more capacity as well as coverage. In rural inaccessible areas, wired networks are not at all cost effective. Wireless networking offers an alternative solution for such problem of information access in rural areas. They have definitely changed the way people communicate and share information among themselves by overcoming problems nowadays associated with distance and location. This paper describes the frame work for deploying Wi-Fi and WiMAX technologies in Jeddo, a rural community in Warri, Nigeria. Wi-Fi / WiMAX technologies have not only the potential to compete on a cost-per-megabyte basis with cable and Digital Subscriber Line (DSL), but also make ubiquitous broadband access a reality. If engineering and economics are correctly applied, a Wi-Fi network can be built around an entire rural community with a WiMAX backhaul, instead of providing limited coverage for hotspots. This paper further outline the technical aspects of WiFi and WiMAX, discuss the network planning issues to implement these technologies, survey their network infrastructure and different components as well as explore how they are leveraged by service providers to offer wireless broadband internet connectivity and services.

Wi-Fi, WiMAX, Broadband wireless access networks, Jeddo community