Point-to-multipoint communication

In telecommunications, point-to-multipoint communication (P2MP, PTMP or PMP) is communication which is accomplished via a distinct type of one-to-many connection, providing multiple paths from a single location to multiple locations.[1]

A point-to-multipoint radio base station manufactured by CableFree installed for a wireless internet service provider in Rotterdam. The station has four radio interfaces each connected to a separate sector antenna, each providing 90 degrees coverage. Within 20 km of this base station, customer-premises equipment with high gain directional antennas are installed on sites which can then connect to the base station to receive broadband data connections of typically 10–200 Mbit/s capacity.

Point-to-multipoint telecommunications is typically used in wireless Internet and IP telephony via gigahertz radio frequencies. P2MP systems have been designed with and without a return channel from the multiple receivers. A central antenna or antenna array broadcasts to several receiving antennas and the system uses a form of time-division multiplexing to allow for the return channel traffic.