

Differences between IPN remotely-deployed
internets and the terrestrial Internet
Terrestrial
“Wired”
Terrestrial
“MANET”
IPN in-situ
“Wireless”
Power
availability
Not critical
Important
Of overriding
importance
Signal-to-
Noise Ratios
Fiber clean
Low SNR
f(power, node
density)
Very low SNR
f(power)
Infrastructure
Fixed
Deployable,
mobile
Transmission
medium
Fiber, copper
Free space
RF, IR
Primarily free space
RF
Deployment $
Relatively low
Moderate
High, f(mass)
Operations $
Relatively low
TBD
Relatively low
TBD
Very high
Deployable,
mobile
High, f(reliability)