Wideband random access for the last mile

Abstract

Data network access options available today employ either some variant of a narrowband connectionless ALOHA channel or a connection-oriented network architecture ill suited to the traffic characteristics of many data applications. But first-generation ALOHA is difficult to implement in networks operating at more than a few lens of kilobits. When connectionless access with aggregate data rates in the megabits are required it is possible to combine conventional ALOHA with the wide-bandwidth operation of spread spectrum to provide the high data rates required for today's applications. This combination is called spread ALOHA multiple access (SAMA).