Home | Chipsets | Contact Us | WiMAX Customer Premises Equipment | WiMAX Profiles | WiMAX News | WiMAX Regulatory Developments
WiMAX News

WiMAX News

This section brings latest news on WiMAX  with analysis! 

XOHM Launch delayed again

CTIA Wireless, April 2008

The launch of XOHM, the pioneer mobile WiMAX service from Sprint which was expected in April 2008 after the commercial trials in three markets ( Chicago, Washington and Baltimore), has been put off ahgain, with no announcement yet on the exact launch dates.

The launch delay in the XOHM service was expected considering that the bulk of new mobile WiMAX devices are expected to be available only by June 2008 onwards. The Wave 2 certified devices (Certification by the WiMAX forum) are also expected to be available at the same time.

 

On the whole it is better to have a well matured launch rather than one with unwired turnouts.

http://www.wimax-home.com

 

 

WiMAX Forum Announces Certification Roadmap for 700 MHz Band

 Mobile World Congress, Barcelona, Feb 2008

 

The WiMAX forum has now announced support for Certification of WiMAX devices in the 700 MHz band. The Forum announced a roadmap for this at the Mobile World Congress 2008.

 

The introduction of digital TV and consequent vacation of the 700 MHz band from analog carriers ( “Digital Dividend”) has generated high interest amongst operators including broadcasters for use of the 700 MHz band  for WiMAX. The US auctions of the 700 MHz band, which commenced in Jan 2008 had garnered over $ 18 Billion of  bids by end of Jan 2008, signifying the high interest in this band.

 

Lower bands are better suited for use in non-line of sight conditions as well as for mobility than the higher frequency bands ( See Chapter 11 of the book “Mobile Broadcasting with WiMAX”). The cell sizes can also be larger making it better suited as an overlay in semi-urban and rural areas. This coupled with the WRC-2007 adopting the OFDMA-TDD technology ( used in Mobile WiMAX) as one of the approved air interfaces under the IMT2000, is set to make the 700 MHz band on of the prime bands for mobile WiMAX and new applications including interactive broadcasting and broadband.

WiMAX Forum Congress Asia 2008 and Exhibition, 9-10 April 2008, Singapore to showcase "Disruptive Potential" of WiMAX

The WiMAX Forum Congress and Exhibition, a much sought after event by the WiMAX  industry and users is set to be held at Singapore in April 2008. The excitement in the WiMAX camp is increasing as the launch of XOHM in United States will showcase the differentiating features of the mobile WiMAX technology. Not surprisingly the Forum also features WiMAX Vs. LTE and UMB debate as well as winning strategies for next generation technology. The fact that the disruptive technology of WiMAX is now coming to fruitation  is in fact featuring as one of the session topics. The same theme will be echoed in a parallel track “ from walled gardens to fat pipes”, being the way the WiMAX industry wishes to project this technology.The Congress will also provide updates on WiMAX testing and certification and regulatory developments. With Asia being one of the regions where WiMAX has advanced rapidly for providing broadband wireless services, the interest is high.

The Congress will also throw more light on the new opportunities arising from the OFDMA-TDD being accepted by an air interface by WRC-2007 and becoming one of the approved air interfaces under IMT advanced.

A number of new WiMAX devices are also readying for their entry, which include the likes of Nokia 810/830 Internet tablet and ASUS UMPC amongst others. The Exhibition will perhaps provide the best opportunity to see everything from wave 2 devices, base stations, networking equipment and consumer devices.

Almost around the world, in Las Vegas the NAB show(11-17 April 2008)  will also open with its theme of IPTV and streaming media. WiMAX TV System is one of the products being highlighted by UDCast. As the new WiMAX networks go live, Video streaming and multicast is expected to be one of the most important applications of the new technology which provides an assured QoS for services, which go a long way from frozen frames or flickering windows of video delivered by the internet.

 

Mobile WiMAX: Updates from NAB 2008

NAB has not been a fora where wireless or WiMAX technologies take centre stage. This privilege is normally associated with events such as the WiMAX Forum World Congress, CTIA wireless or CES. Of late, with the broadcasting moving to the digital domain and the convergence technologies such as IPTV being the theme ( i.e. at NAB 2008) and  mobile TV attracting extraordinary interest, operators attention has also been attracted to the new technologies. In the NAB, keynote speakers have also emphasized on the increasing importance of delivering a multimedia portal rather than just a mobile TV transmission to mobile devices. This has led to considerable attention being focused on the mobile WiMAX technologies in being able to deliver the new “ 4th Generation broadcasting”.

                  WiMAX broadcasting had moved into the domain of possible new technologies for new generation broadcasting after the demonstration of WiMAX Tv by MobiTV in NAB 2007, which also saw Nortel demonstrating its Mobile WiMAX service with TV streaming capabilities. With the mobile WiMAX wave 2 profiles just having been defined by the WiMAX forum  at that time and no certified wave 2 devices being available at that time, that is as far as they could go at NAB 2007.

                  Considerable water has flown under the bridge since NAB 2007 and the NAB 2008 did not disappoint the viewers except for the delay of the expansion of the XOHM network beyond the initial three cities of Chicago, Baltimore and Washington.

                  Firstly the Mobile WiMAX is the only wireless technology using which Mobile TV can be delivered in the broadcast mode. This is owing to the multicast and broadcast (MBS) feature of the mobile WiMAX which can enable transmission to tens of thousands of mobile devices without the usual limitations of unicast connections. Wave 2 also supports MIMO and advanced antenna systems which are necessary to provide connectivity to mobile and handheld antennas subject to multipath propagation and low antenna gains. NextwaveŽ has come out with a WiMAX TV product based on multicasting (called MxTV), which was unveiled just prior to the NAB 2008( at CTIA wireless). At the NAB, UDcast unveiled its product for the same application i.e. WiMAX TV. The demonstrations included the complete ecosystem including the chipsets which will be used in receivers for such an application. Nextwave for example demonstrated its Wave 2 compliantNW2000 series WiMAX subscriber device System-on-a-Chip (SoC). Receiver devices based on this chipset should be available by Mid 2008.

                   Secondly a number of other Mobile WiMAX compatible devices have been unveiled earlier this year. This includes the Nokia N810 internet tablet, Samsung UMPCs, POSDATA gaming devices and UMPC and Samsung handsets. Over 100 types of CPEs and attachments such as PC cards, USB modems etc are now available which can enable a range of devices for mobile WiMAX. WiMAX laptops have been announced by other vendors as well, such as Acer(Acer Aspire 5920).

                  Third, the Wave 2 certification of devices by the WiMAX forum has commenced in earnest and at least 8 devices, having been certified were available at the time of the NAB 2008. These included wave 2 base stations as well as receiving devices. While the present certifications have been in the 2.3 GHz band, middle of 2008 should also see a range of devices in the 2.5 GHz band as well.

                  Fourth, services such as Internet radio have found increasing user acceptance and WiMAX is seen as one of the most effective ways to deliver continuously streaming internet radios to a range of mobile devices. IPTV and mobile TV ( such as ATSC- MPH based on IP data casting)  are all based on IP based delivery of multimedia content and WiMAX is seen as the most effective means to deliver these as user portals with embedded news, mobile TV and RSS feeds  as compared to terrestrial broadcast media.

                  Fifth news continued to flow in from many countries of successful commercial launches of mobile WiMAX networks as well as major investments. This included the Wateen Telecom, $ 500 million investment by Tata communications in India and $ 500 million by Intel in Taiwan. This is in addition to investments in Brazil, Malaysia and other countries.

                  Will WiMAX broadcasting target only mobile handsets for mobile TV where a number of technologies are already jostling for space? Far from it, as NAB has unveiled, it is likely to target the full range of mobile devices from music players and gaming devices to location based products, geographic information systems and multimode WiMAX/ WiFi and mobile devices.

                  Of great interest at the NAB 2008 were the keynotes and Super sessions, one of the notable ones being from Enrique Rodriguez from Microsoft’s connected  TV division whose thrust of  delivery was to convey how the broadcast devices ( such as TV) are today isolated from the connected world, such as web portals and social networking which form the core of user interest. The new generation technologies, especially for mobile devices will be of the “connected TV types” involving internet and TV. Mobile WiMAX is one of the most powerful medium to deliver such products.

Mobile WiMAX- What to Expect at NAB 2008?

WiMAX has not been a very visible feature in the NAB at least in the past. NAB with its focus on broadcast products, media processing and broadcast services has found little in common with a wireless technology which was known to provide only broadband internet in some trials. WiMAX of course has been very prominent in wireless and mobile fora such as WiMAX World Forum Congress,CES, Mobile World Congress, CTIA Wireless and many others. Many of the developments reported have been drawing the attention of the NAB attendees. These included the demonstration of WiMAX TV by MobiTV in 2007.

            With the increasing convergence of IPTV and broadcast networks as well as coming of age of mobile WiMAX technologies including their imminent major launch via the XOHM network, Mobile WiMAX is now being seen as a mainstream technology for streaming multimedia to the mobiles. This brings it squarely in the domain of Mobile TV and also a part of the Broadcast portfolio of many companies.

            NAB 2008, which has its theme as IPTV is also expected to provide surprising insight into a number of convergence products which involve WiMAX and presents an interesting opportunity for broadcasters interested in triple play and mobile services. The IPTV products include the following:

  • Broadband Wireless
  • IMS
  • Wi-Fi
  • WiMAX
  • Wireless Networks
  • Wireless Infrastructure

But what has changed between NAB 2007 and now?

           

First of all, it must be mentioned that many of the mainline broadcasters and distributors ( i.e. cable MSOs) have shown keen interest in partnering with WiMAX operators ( such as Sprint). As per industry news, Major MSOs such as Time Warner and Comcast are in talks with Sprint and Clearwire to invest upto $1.5 Billion. There are other MSOs as well which are looking at investing and joining the bandwagon. The coming in of Cable MSOs in a WiMAX venture was only to be expected and has been in the air for some time now. The winning in the 700 MHz auction of the telecom majors such as Verizon and AT&T has also set the cat amongst the pigeons as to how these companies will leverage this very valuable broadcast spectrum. It has now been revealed ( at least by Verizon that it will be used for LTE!).

In the meantime for those who have been left out in auctions, it is time to focus on new strategies. What can be more innovative than the Sprint and Clearwire WiMAX networks which have been in making for a while now? WiMAX networks do have clear advantages in providing QoS based connectivity for streaming applications as well as multicast channels. The MSOs need this sorely for VoD content as well as for enabling triple play services. They can also target a host of mobile devices which are Wimax enabled for video and multimedia applications.

Secondly, there has been a slew of new devices which have become between last year and now. With Nokia formally announcing the N810 internet tablet, one more device based on native use of WiMAX (and WiFi) gets added to the domain of WiMAX enabled devices. Everex Systems has unveiled a WiMAX laptop which is compatible with the XOHM network of Sprint Nextel. The Laptop ( Cloudbook MAX) also supports WiFi ( 802.11b/g). With Nokia formally announcing the N810 internet tablet, one more device based on native use of WiMAX (and WiFi) gets added to the domain of WiMAX enabled devices. Intel has announced the prices for Mobile WiMAX ( IEEE802.16e-2005) and WiFi ( 802.11 a/g/n) modules. These modules have been designed for Intel’s Montevina™ based notebooks. The module called “Echo Peak” will be available in two versions. The 1x2 MIMO version will be priced around $44 while the 3x3 MIMO will be priced at $54.The modules will be available in the Mini card form factor.

The announcement of pricing of WiMAX mini cards by Intel was widely expected before CTIA 2008 and  the expectations have not been belied, on the announcement or the price. The price of $44 for 1x2 MIMO and $54 for 3x3 MIMO is well below the expected range considering that the volumes have yet to pickup. The CPE prices of $50 are much more affordable than over $100 which were prevailing earlier for similar WiMAX CPEs.

The WiFi 802.11n and Mobile WiMAX 802.16e-2005 wave 2 present the best combo option for high speed applications such as Video. The WiFi 802.11n can be used for live streaming video at full resolution in a  WiFi hot spot owing to its high peak speeds of over 100 Mbps.

 

With new Systems on Chip(SoC) with ultra low power consumption and conformance with Wireless ( 802.11n) as well as mobile WiMAX wave 2 certification profiles making a strong surge, the mobile WiMAX scene is set to be a witness to major changes. Many new applications and devices will get powered and the broadcast sector is set to be one of the largest gainers in this regard.

            Third, WiMAX based mobile TV delivery technologies have been made available for commercial use by vendors such as Nextwave. Nextwave has used the most powerful features of Mobile WiMAX technology i.e. Multicast and Broadcast Service ( MBS) and macro-diversity. A multicast service in WiMAX can be extended to hundreds of thousands of users, a feature which had so far been not exploited in commercial applications. macro-diversity makes it possible as it ensures that the mobile receives the transmissions from a number of base stations simultaneously. Not only does such a technology use the more readily available WiMAX spectrum ( rather than 3G), the QoS features of mobile WiMAX ensure better delivery over a wireless medium. It also cuts across multiple standards for Mobile TV which have been the bane of the industry.

            Fourth, the predictions coming from the WiMAX Forum are quite optimistic for the growth of Mobile WiMAX, pegging the number of users at over 133 million by 2012, a majority of which will consist of users of  mobile WiMAX with portable devices.

If one is to draw a parallel with the mobile networks, it is a good bet that a large number of users will come from BRIC countries. ( In particular Brazil, India and China). The number of mobile phone users in India at over 250 million has exceeded those of US  and is at the second place in the world, the first being China.

            Fifth, the lowering cost of H.264/AVC encoders and their increasing use in broadcast systems makes possible the encoding of video for wireless distribution at extremely low rates. Operators such as Echostar, which has interests in SlingMedia are looking at IPcasting of TV content to mobiles for which Mobile WiMAX is potentially a very useful delivery medium.

                  Broadband TV is a major focus area in NAB 2008 including a Conference on April 16th, which features various broadband technologies including broadband wireless.

With the theatrics normally associated with the launches, all in all it promises to be a very interesting show.

 

CTIA Wireless 2008: Nokia Unveils the WiMAX Internet Tablet N810

 

The long wait is finally over and the predictions of industry observers have come true.  With Nokia formally announcing the N810 internet tablet, one more device based on native use of WiMAX (and WiFi) gets added to the domain of WiMAX enabled devices.

With many of the international operators placing their bets on Mobile WiMAX, the availability of devices and their pricing has been the main factor for their networks taking off just the way mobile networks did a decade back.

            The news on further expansion of XOHM (beyond the initial launch cities of Chicago, Washington DC and Baltimore) remains eagerly awaited. Versions of the Nokia N810 are expected to support the XOHM specifically (Nokia N870). XOHM has also announced a WiMAX phone developed jointly by Samsung and XOHM.

The internet Tablet is designed to provide mobile wireless access to internet using an open core architecture independent of the cellular networks and 3G-evolved technologies such as EV-Do by using the combination of WiFi and WiMAX.

            The internet Tablet joins the mobile Wimax internet space with other devices such as those for gaming (POSDATA) being already available in addition to a variety of PC cards and USB adapters.

 

 

WiMAX Forum Updates Progress on WiMAX Forum Wave 2 Certification

 

Mobile World Congress, Barcelona, Feb 2008

 

The WiMAX Forum has made public the progress on certification of  Mobile WiMAX wave 2 devices. There is great interest in the wave 2 devices which involve the use of multiple antennas or advanced antenna systems (AAS). Use of multiple antennas makes the reception much more robust in non line of sight conditions(NLOS). In line of sight conditions upto 80% higher speeds can be achieved using 2x2 MIMO. This has led to the industry players focusing on Mobile WiMAX wave 2 devices for their network design almost exclusively.

 

While the wave 2 compliant chipsets and CPEs ( such as PC cards, USB modems etc.) have been available for over a year now, the WiMAX forum is now set to give its stamp  to such products. As per information provided by the forum over 28 products had been received by them for testing and should be released as certified products by 2Q of 2008 ( See Chapter 8 of the book "Mobile Broadcasting with WiMAX").

With the WiMAX forum having established certification labls in Taiwan and India in addition to those in the United states and Europe, the certification and growth of networks is set to accelerate in 2008.

Supporting material on WiMAX
 

Portable VoIP Phone for WiMAX

Mobile World Congress 2008

A Portable WiMAX phone has been demonstrated for VoIP. The technology partners which took place in the demonstration included  Runcom ( for WiMAX Chipsets), and NetIndex as product developer. The phone uses an all IP network making VoIP calls taking it away from the hybrid WiFi/ PSTN or WiFi/3G networks.

One moe product for the new mobile WiMAX technology which takes it beyond the UMPCs and USB dongles which have been so far touted as the " WiMAX devices".  We need more in the form of Music players, Video cameras and handsets which connect using WiMAX to create a seperate ecosystem of devices.

The release of Nokia 810/830 Internet Tablet with WiMAX will also help when it is released at its expected date of April 2008.

 

Looks like a good ecosystem of devices is building up for mobile WiMAX and the launch of major networks such as XOHM may not have bare customer shelves to display as consumer devices after all.