EU-MESH's goal is to develop, evaluate, and trial a system of software modules for building dependable multi-radio multi-channel mesh networks with QoS support that provide ubiquitous and ultra-high speed broadband access. The system will be based on a converged infrastructure that uses a wireless mesh network to aggregate the capacity from both subscriber broadband access lines and provider fixed broadband links to form a virtual capacity pool, and provide access to this capacity pool for both stationary and mobile users. It will support low operation and management costs, through novel configuration and management procedures that achieve efficient usage of both the wireless spectrum and fixed broadband access lines. This will increase the competitiveness of existing providers, lower the barrier for small enterprises to enter the mobile broadband access market, and enable innovative services.

Existing mesh systems do not achieve efficient resource utilization, have sub-optimal channel and power control that prohibits large-scale deployment, and lack a comprehensive security solution combining proactive and reactive mechanisms.

To address the above, EU-MESH’s objectives are to develop

• algorithms that combine channel access with power and channel control to reduce interference,
• QoS and opportunistic routing algorithms to support scalable end-to-end QoS and efficient usage of the virtual capacity pool,
• location-aware automated (re-)configuration procedures that adapt to varying network conditions to provide robust connectivity,
• lightweight application layer procedures for seamless mobility over heterogeneous and multi-operator mesh networks,
• secure routing and handover in single and multi-operator mesh networks, and intrusion detection and mitigation mechanisms that exploit cross-layer monitoring.

The system will be assessed through metropolitan scale trials, from the perspective of a pure wireless network operator and a wired/wireless telecom operator.

EU-MESH (FP7 ICT, project no. 215320) is a 30 month collaborative project which started January 2008, and is funded by the European Commission under Call 1 of ICT (Information and Communication Technologies) in FP7 (7th Framework Programme), targeting the objective “The Network of the Future” of Challenge 1: Pervasive and trusted network and service infrastructures.