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Analysis of a Metropolitan-Area Wireless Network

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Abstract

We analyze a seven-week trace of the Metricom metropolitan-area packet radio wireless network to find how users take advantage of a mobile environment. Such understanding is critical for planning future large-scale mobile network infrastructures. Amongst other results, we find that users typically use the radios during the day and evening. Of the users who move around during the trace (over half), we find that the more locations a user visits on a daily basis, the closer together, on average, those locations are. While these results are only known to be valid for this particular network, we hope future analysis of other networks will add to a growing understanding of mobile network behavior.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Stanford University, Gates 3A, Stanford, CA, 94305-9030, USA

    Diane Tang

  2. Stanford University, Gates 4A, Stanford, CA, 94305-9040, USA

    Mary Baker

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  1. Diane Tang
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  2. Mary Baker
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Tang, D., Baker, M. Analysis of a Metropolitan-Area Wireless Network. Wireless Networks 8, 107–120 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1013739407600

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1013739407600

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