science

Wireless local loop

Wireless local loop is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Wireless local loop rather than just read about it. In short: Wireless local loop (WLL) is the use of a wireless communications link as the "last mile / first mile" connection for delivering plain old telephone service (POTS) or Internet access (marketed under the term "broadband") to telecommunications customers. Various types of WLL systems and technologies exist.

Key takeaways

Wireless local loop belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Wireless local loop to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Wireless local loop from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Wireless local loop (WLL) is the use of a wireless communications link as the "last mile / first mile" connection for delivering plain old telephone service (POTS) or Internet access (marketed under the term "broadband") to telecommunications customers. Various types of WLL systems and technologies exist. Other terms for this type of access include broadband wireless access (BWA), radio in the loop (RITL), fixed-radio access (FRA), fixed wireless access (FWA) and metro wireless (MW).

Licensed Point-to-Point Microwave In 2017, a company called Climate Resilient Internet, LLC, formed to develop a new standard and certification for point-to-point microwave ("fixed wireless") for enterprise and government resilience to extreme weather, grid outages and terror attacks. The company was co-founded by David Theodore, founder of Microwave Bypass, who pioneered the first use of point-to-point microwave for internet access.

Unlicensed multi point wireless service

The growing interference problem Next-Web, Etheric Networks, Gate Speed and a handful of other companies founded the first voluntary spectrum coordination, working entirely independently of government regulators. This organization was founded in March 2003 as BANC.

Mobile technologies These include Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), time-division multiple access (TDMA), code-division multiple access (CDMA), and Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecommunications (DECT). Earlier implementations included such technologies as Advanced Mobile Phone System (AMPS).

Deployment

The wireless local loop market is currently an extremely high-growth market, offering Internet service providers immediate access to customer markets without having to either lay cable through a metropolitan area, or work through the ILECs, reselling the telephone, cable or satellite networks, owned by companies that prefer to largely sell direct. This trend revived the prospects for local and regional ISPs, as those willing to deploy fixed wireless networks were not at the mercy of the large telecommunication monopolies. They were at the mercy of unregulated re-use of unlicensed frequencies upon which they communicate. Due to the enormous quantity of 802.11 "Wi-Fi" equipment and software, coupled with the fact that spectrum licenses are not required in the ISM and U-NII bands, the industry has moved well ahead of the regulators and the standards bodies.

WLL methods Mobile: CDMA (USA). TDMA (USA). GSM (ITU – Worldwide). UMTS 3rd Generation (World). Personal Handy-phone System (PHS in Japan, PAS/Xiaolingtong in China) Fixed or local area network: DECT, for local loop LMDS IEEE 802.11, originally designed for short-range mobile Internet and network access service, it has emerged as the facto standard for wireless local loop. WiMAX or IEEE 802.16 may become the dominant medium for wireless local loop. Currently more operators are running on the 802.11 MAC at 2 and 5 GHz. 802.16 was unlikely to outperform 802.11 until at least late 2008. Intel is promoting this standard, while Atheros and Broadcom are still focused largely on 802.11. Satellite Internet access for autonomous building.

Manufacturers Huawei Airspan Alvarion Axxcelera Cambridge Broadband Intracom Telecom P-Com Redline Communications Sony Ericsson SR Telecom

See also 5G NR 8P8C (RJ-45) Antenna Basic exchange telephone radio service Electrical cable RF connector Wi-Fi Microwave Bypass Wireless Internet service provider (WISP)

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Wireless local loop

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Wireless local loop claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Wireless local loop before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Wireless local loop ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Wireless local loop

In research: Wireless local loop appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Wireless local loop in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Wireless local loop is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Local loop, Wireless Internet service providers, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Wireless local loop outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

Affiliate

Preply — study more efficiently by working with a personal tutor. 50% off.

How to study Wireless local loop in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Wireless local loop means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Wireless local loop out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Wireless local loop in simple terms?

Why does Wireless local loop matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Wireless local loop?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Wireless local loop.