| （英） |
With the advancement of digitalization and the widespread adoption of IoT devices, the demand for network infrastructure across various environments is rapidly increasing. In particular, wireless LAN systems are gaining attention in indoor networks due to their low deployment and maintenance requirements. However, structural factors such as walls and room layouts significantly impact communication performance, making it difficult for a small number of access points to provide full indoor coverage. To address this issue, this paper proposes a novel network system that utilizes the interior of metal pipes in buildings as radio wave propagation paths to efficiently extend WLAN coverage. This approach has the potential to enable cost-effective network expansion without the need for large-scale renovation. Nevertheless, since metal pipes act as waveguides, their communication characteristics differ from free-space propagation due to reflections and diffractions, necessitating detailed evaluation. In this study, we conducted empirical experiments using IEEE 802.11 WLAN across different frequency bands to evaluate communication performance inside metal pipes. Accordingly, this paper evaluates the communication performance of IEEE 802.11 WLAN across different frequency bands inside metal pipes through empirical experiments. Based on these results, we discuss future prospects and challenges for constructing building-wide wireless network systems that leverage existing metallic infrastructure. |