December
8, 2006: The U.S. Army conducted its first successful test of CNRS
(Communications Network Radio System.) This is basically battlefield wi-fi,
which supplies everyone on the network, including infantry, with access to a
common network. The test used Stryker armored vehicles, which already have a
pretty heavy duty commo setup, and radio equipped infantry. Taking a cue from
the Internet, CNRS is self-forming and self-healing. That means, every
user who logs on to the net, can serve as an access point for anyone within
range. This is called a MESH network, and is being used to establish wi-fi over
a large area, for things like municipal wi-fi. The military is taking a lot of
civilian Internet technology, adding some security (encryption) and making it a
bit more robust, so it can handle battlefield use.
