RF Engineering for Wireless Networks

Chapter 7 Indoor Networks

1. Behind Closed Doors

Indoor environments are defined by walls, floors, ceilings, and, where applicable, windows and doors. Inside these constraining structures we find incidental obstacles such as the human occupants. The structural features and interior contents determine the propagation characteristics of indoor environments. Because major features don’t change rapidly within a building, it makes some sense to give thought to their effects on propagation, but after thinking is done we shall certainly need to measure. Finally, buildings are occupied by people, often users of electronic equipment that can interfere with wireless local area networks (WLANs).

In view of these observations, we pursue an understanding ...