f alternative paths through the mesh to maximise network throughput and automatically taking advantage of any new backhaul links that become active in the mesh operating area. Proprietary (i.e. non standards based) equipment is currently available that operates a pseudo 802.11b mesh, with fixed "mesh routers" providing metropolitan scale coverage for mobile 802.11b devices (see the Section "Wireless LAN Resources by Standard, p. 367"). Summary Although the WiMAX Forum members are yet to bring IEEE 802.16 compliant products to the marketplace, it looks set to become the de facto standard in this sector of the wireless networking market. The 802.16 MAC enables bandwidth allocation and quality of service to be specified for individual connections, provides adaptive burst profiling to allow the most efficient modulation and coding methods to be used according to each subscriber station's capabilities and environmental conditions, and provides a variety of mechanisms to vary bandwidth allocation according to the requests of individual subscriber stations. Through these features, the 802.16 standard meets the scalability, flexibility and quality of service requirements for metropolitan area networking. The rapid development of the WiBro standard by the South Korean consumer electronics industry is the first visible chink in the IEEE's armour. Targeted at a specific niche-need in the highly "net-savvy" South Korean consumer market, it shows that speed of development of standards is one area where the IEEE process can fall short of market needs. Nevertheless, WiBro remains based on the 802.16 specifications, stressing the importance of standardisation in global markets. Chapter 13 now turns to the practical aspects of planning and implementing wireless MANs. CHAPTER Implementing Wireless MANs When setting out on the implementation of a wireless MAN project, the starting point will be a specific area envisaged as the general target area of the network. This may be an urban area such as a town or city centre, where potenti