Rooftop s wireless self-configuring technology bypasses local telcos. By David Isenberg okia s early September move to acquire Rooftop Communications may prove brilliant if Nokia can manage radically disruptive technology. In principle, the DSL-speed network formed by multiple devices could even run without an ISP, or with multiple ISPs indeed, multiple ISPs would make such a network more robust.
Network architecture emerges as a multihop, multipoint network.
Each device is both a customer s access device and a network infrastructure node. In theory, customers will be able to buy a device, take it home, plug it in, and log onto the Internet. In practice, today s installation issues include geography, roof rights, and how good a customer is with ladder, drill and screwdriver. Each customer node needs a line of sight to at least one other node, and preferably to more than one. Unlike LMDS, a line of sight directly to a point of presence is not necessary this is a benefit of multihop architecture.