REWIND project examines backhaul-less relay station implementations for WiMAX and supports the relevant standardisation process with interoperability, lab and field information on possible implementations of the WiMAX relay. The research is carried out in Greece, Spain and Israel.

Main Objectives

The main scientific and technological objectives of the REWIND project are in the area of design, development and integration of advanced wireless relay stations based on OFDM technology, in order to foster and exemplify the WiMAX technology by delivering to the subscriber broadband multimedia content. It aims to increase the bandwidth and quality of service to the end users.

The REWIND approach is the creation of a complete European “food-chain” of industry and research actors that are fundamental to the creation of the relay based wireless network. Creation of a consortium consisting of: Network Operator, System Integrator, Interoperability and Conformance Lab, Equipment Provider, Technology Provider and Research Institute, must be based on a European-wide approach for the following reasons: 1) Such a complete (in terms of their roles) actors list is not located in any single European country. 2) The European approach enables the creation of a large and synchronized group that will address European requirements and interests in international standardization bodies. 3) Creation of partnerships at the European level between industry actors will ensure exploitation of the deliverables created by REWIND for the benefit of Europe whether by internal usage in European networks or through export of equipment by European vendors. 

AT4 wireless will be ready to include the future certification program for WiMAX Relay Stations TEI as an academic institution will exploit significant experience that has been accumulated from past and ongoing research projects, OTE will proliferate by verifying the technical feasibility off-shelf configurable wireless Relay stations and by evaluating their flexibility in challenging terrain environments, DesignArt and CODIUM expect higher visibility to the market needs for Relay products, which will contribute to their adequate product architecture and market positioning within the future market for 802.16j products Ubiqam, aims to  become a leader in WiMAX coverage solutions following its successful execution in 2G and 3G in-building solutions.

Technical Approach

The work is divided into four main groups structured in nine (9) workpackages:

Support (WP1, WP9). The first group of workpackages encompasses support activities, such as project management and dissemination/exploitation issues undertaken by the project.

Requirements & Specification (WP2, WP4). The second group of workpackages comprises the first part of the core activity within the project. After establishing the system requirements and performing extensive surveys of state-of-the-art technologies, the formal specification of the pursued system will follow.

Development (WP5, WP6). The third group of workpackages comprises the second part of the core activity within the project. It will employ a feedback model for the system development, so as to refine and update the specification in the course of action, so as to finally deliver flexible and powerful system components.

Integration & Trials (WP7, WP8). In the fourth group of workpackages, the project will finalise the built platform by integrating the distinct components in WP7, and perform trials for actual results in WP8.

WP3 is the workpackage referring to contribution to international standardization bodies and is common in the second, third and fourth group.

Key Issues

The key aspects that the project aims at are:

• Increased Coverage
• Increased Throughput/QoS
• Support of Mobility
• Decreased Cost with respect to base station installation
• Improved frequency planning

Use cases

1. Increased coverage requirements

A relay station could be used in case of coverage constrains such as presence of physical obstacles or indoor coverage. The presence of a relay station near the subscriber’s premises will provide the required coverage without the cost that a normal base station would introduce. This scenario could be widely applied in urban areas where coverage is obstructed by buildings around the Subscriber Station  and extended indoor coverage is required. Additionally, range can be extended in suburban areas by using multiple relay stations.

2. Increased throughput requirements

WiMAX uses adaptive modulation in order to achieve certain bit error rate levels on the data transmitted to the subscribers. In case the distance between the base station and the subscriber is long or the environment introduces a lot of interference, the modulation used will be adapted accordingly, reducing thus the available data rate of the user. This scenario could be used in suburban environments, where distance between the base station and the user is long, or environments with increased interference.

3. High mobility cases

Another scenario where MMR stations could be used is the case of high mobility users with increased bandwidth requirements such as trains.

Expected Impact

Global standards for a new generation of ubiquitous and extremely high capacity network and service infrastructures.

Reinforced European industrial leadership in wireless networks, developing stronger synergies between various sector actors and contributing to new business models

New industrial/service opportunities in Europe, especially in the field of wireless networks.