Wireless local area networks (WLANs) designed as wireless ATM systems to extend the services of fixed ATM networks to mobile users appear best suited to provide a guaranteed quality of service (QoS) for wireless IP networks. HiperLAN/2 is an ETSI/BRAN standard providing convergence layers for both IP and ATM classes of service. Besides a description of HiperLAN/2 and its Home Environment Extension, the performance for IP traffic flows is presented from analysis and from simulating a prototype implementation. Coexistence with the IEEE 802.11a WLAN is discussed and the ability of HiperLAN/2 to guarantee QoS even when coexisting is analyzed. Ad hoc networking of HiperLAN/2 is analyzed and two possible extensions of the system are introduced and their performance evaluated, namely, adaptive antennas and wireless base stations.
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