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Mobile WiMAX gathers steam as every week heralds launches of new products!

One of the tests of how ready a technology is to take off is to witness the number of products which are launched. Mobile WiMAX has been one of the technologies which has been constantly under the gaze as one which is “ too expansive” or “ does not work satisfactorily”. However many of these observations are hasty as is evident in the steady progress the technology is now making, week after week.

Earlier most products which were available were for Fixed WiMAX ( IEEE 802.16-2004) or for WiBRO. However the recent trends have accelerated towards increased availability of Mobile WiMAX products such as base stations, Mobile WiMAX embedded devices and external attachments. Many of these are now available with wave 2 compliance ( though the forum certifications may be some time away).

The attachments seem to target all markets and different types of devices such as PDAs, UMPCs, Laptops, gaming devices and Handsets. All these products are in fact signaling the emergence of new carriers with nation wide services in the not too distant future.

Examples of some the recent releases for mobile WiMAX include the Siemens Express PC Card (SE68) which is wave 2 compatible with both MIMO A and B support as well as beamforming. This will enable this device to be used in mobile Wimax networks in an indoor environment. The frequencies supported are in the 2.5 Ghz and 3.5 GHz bands.

POSDATA has already announced its Mobile WIMAX products under the FLYVO series. It provides the full mobile WiMAX ecosystem from base stations to CPEs , embedded user devices and attachments. In fact FLYVO was the first to come out with a gaming device ( G100) based on the IEEE 802.16e-2005 technology.It also has USB modems compatible with Windows XP and Vista.

Motorola already has USB adapters and PC cards and has recently announced its wave 2 compatible Mobile WiMAX base stations under its WAP 450 series of products. The base stations support multi-sector operation with different carrier options and are MIMO capable with mobility support. Being an outdoor unit, it provides a low cost start up option for mobile WiMAX coverage.

But it is Samsung, which today has by far the largest range of products in the mobile WiMAX ecosystem ranging from base stations ( both indoor and outdoor), a wide range of mobile WiMAX embedded products and a range of multi-network external WiMAX attachments. In the embedded products area it has handsets, UMPCs and Internet tablets. Its mobile internet product, PMP (SWT-W100K) for example supports mobile WiMAX for Internet, TDMB for mobile TV and GPS for position location services. A perfect traveling companion! Even its USB dongles are multi-network, supporting Mobile WiMAX along with either 3G( HSDPA), EV-DO or WiFi. It also has PCMCIA cards which go in PDAs and other compatible devices.

We continue to see an increase in the chipsets available, reference designs as well as new devices from various manufacturers incorporating the latest features. All waiting for the Year of the WiMAX!

OFDMA-TDD ( technology used in Mobile WIMAX ) adopted as an approved Terrestrial interface in ITU IMT2000
The inclusion of Mobile WiMAX as one of the interfaces under ITU IMT-2000 has the implication that Wimax would be considered as a potential candidate for discussions on allocation of spectrum for IMT-2000 services. At present the 2.5 to 2.69 GHz is reserved for IMT-2000 services (IMT-advanced) and WiMAX would be a candidate for such allocations in various countries and also in any future bands reserved for IMT-2000.
The inclusion of WiMAX OFDMA-TDD as an air interface in the IMT-2000 has additional far reaching implications. First, this means that the band 2.5-2.69, which has been reserved in Europe for IMT-advanced services would be a candidate for allocation to mobile WiMAX services. In USA it is already allocated for mobile WiMAX use. This has the potential of making the band of 2.5-2.69 GHz a prime band for mobile WiMAX where global roaming will be possible in future. Secondly, having a common acceptable band will bring down the cost of chipsets and customer premises equipment (CPEs) owing to a much higher scale of usage. Thirdly it removes impediments in licensing of mobile WiMAX services in various countries which were getting delayed while the governments considered the different frequency bands for licensing WiMAX services. Finally the announcement of including OFDMA-TDD as air interfaces in 3G

technologies comes at a time when many of the countries are just on the verge of entering the 3G services such as India. The inclusion of OFDMA-TDD as an approved interface could lead to mobile WiMAX being deployed much faster than had otherwise be the case.
This also sets the stage for “IMT-Advanced”-the next generation of interfaces to be developed for the 3G evolution and 4G services to also be based on OFDMA-TDD technologies. IMT advanced services are expected to be available between 2010-2015.

Initiating Mobile WiMAX Coverage- Self contained base stations

Feb 2008

Initiating mobile WiMAX coverage in areas where broadband wireless overlays are required has become much easier with the fully self contained base stations similar to MacroMAXe® from Fujitsu.

These base stations operate with the approved WiMAX Forum profiles and support the 2.3 and 2.5 GHz frequency bands, the prime bands for mobile WiMAX. With 20 Mhz channels and MIMO bit rates of 75 Mbps can be supported. The base stations are outdoor versions and feature power outputs of 10W.

Indian regulator TRAI issues Policy guidelines for growth of Broadband Services in India

Issue of licenses for WiMAX and 3G figure high in the list of recommendations made by the Indian regulator TRAI for enhancing the growth of broadband services in India. perhaps this sets the stage for auctions of the prime spectrum in the 2.5-2.6 GHz band which is earmarked for mobile WiMAX services.

The new recommendations of TRAI come in the face of abysmal growth in broadband subscribers which is evident from the data provided by the regulator itself. Despite an earlier policy issued in 2006, and declaring 2007 as ‘the year of the broadband” the number of broadband subscribers in India stands at just 2.42 million, a reflection of the facts that wishes can not be turned to reality without the basic framework.

Some of the recommendations made include urging the incumbent wireline holders ( MTNL and BSNL holding 95% of wireline phones) to aggressively promote broadband services and urging the government to auction 3G and WIMAX spectrum at the earliest.

It has also recognized the role of DTH operators and Cable TV Operators in providing broadband services and the fact that these networks have the potential to reach rural areas. Cable TV subscribers today at 85 million are nearly twice of the wireline telephone falls.

However while expressing dismay at the low rate of growth of broadband in India, the regulator has neither sought to go into the basic reasons why the penetration is so low, nor bring out concrete measures to address them. It has also stopped short of recommending any measures for DTH and Cable TV operators to increase broadband penetration, which it has recognized form a very important segment.

The systemic ills begin from the broadband policy itself, where VoIP calls are not allowed to any wireline phone in India. This policy was framed way back in 2001 to protect the turf of incumbent wireline operators. This has no relevance today. There is today no major country with a liberalized telecom structure which prohibits VoIP calls or interconnections.

The problems of DTH operators arise from the policy framework whereby they are prevented from providing any broadband or value added service. The cable operators can provide internet, but they must possess an ISP license for the purpose. However the latest release from TRAI stops short of recommending any relaxations for these very operators which it recognizes do reach the rural areas.

The regulator also laments the slow progress of e-governance i.e. the use of broadband by the government agencies themselves. India today stands in stark contrast with its asian neighbors such as Korea (with highest DSL penetration in the world) or the M-Taiwan initiative, the biggest of its kind in the world.

Till now the integration of Web2.0, VoIP and broadcasting has been very limited- these have operated as virtually independent networks. The trend towards a unified offering is getting accelerated as the core networks begin to move to all IP and be reorganized as next generation networks (NGN).WiMAX networks present an important facet of making this transition. It is now becoming increasingly clear that the next generation networks will not be focused towards wireline devices, as previously envisaged. Wireless devices and applications including transmission of multimedia content in various forms will be an important requirements of these networks. It also help take broadcasting wireless. The networks ( both fixed and mobile WiMAX) provide features to guarantee QoS even in wireless environments, a feature which has been missing in the WiFi or streaming mobile TV. They can provide for high user densities with mobile broadcasting and multicasting services (MBS) and high data rates with special techniques of advanced antenna systems and beamforming. They can provide spectral densities close to 4 bits/Hz and in urban and rural environments can be used to provide data rates ranging from 16 Mbps to over 75 Mbps.

More about WiMAX

WiMAX networks are now providing an element for the seamless extension of broadband wireless or mobile Web 2.0 services to marry the traditional broadcast and on-demand media which has been missing so far. This element is the quality of service and service flows per application, which is a basic feature of WiMAX networks. WiMAX networks provide city wide roaming and high data rates to support media and internet applications, each with guaranteed QoS. However QoS can only be achieved if the end to end configurations support the same. It is lost if the media under transmission traverses unprotected internet without parameters to guarantee the QoS. It requires a planned integration of the IP networks with the WiMAX including the mobile stations or client devices. How do we achieve it? How do we integrate cellular systems and WiFi hot spots which are already interoperable with each other in many mobile networks? How do we integrate IPTV and DSL systems to provide a complete network with WiMAX as access medium?

WiMAX as a new technology will be very disruptive to traditional broadcast or mobile web applications and therefore the need for its early recognition and using it to advantage. It can shift business models, technologies and processes. There can be no excuse for not using it to advantage. The spectrum allotted for mobile WiMAX has just begun to fall in place in most countries and WiMAX forum certified Mobile WiMAX devices are beginning to roll off the assembly lines. The adoption by the ITU of ODDMA-TDD as one of the air interfaces for IMT-2000 can only help to accelerate the process.