WiMax -> What is WiMax (Part-I)?

WiMAX is a wireless industry coalition whose members organized to advance IEEE 802.16 standards for broadband wireless access (BWA) networks. WiMAX 802.16 technology is expected to enable multimedia applications with wireless connection and, with a range of up to 30 miles, enable networks to have a wireless last mile solution.

WiMAX was formed in April 2001, in preparation for the original 802.16 specification published in December of that year. According to the WiMAX forum, the group's aim is to promote and certify compatibility and interoperability of devices based on the 802.16 specification, and to develop such devices for the marketplace. Members of the organization include Airspan, Alvarion, Analog Devices, Aperto Networks, Ensemble Communications, Fujitsu, Intel, Nokia, OFDM Forum, Proxim, and Wi-LAN.

WiMax -> Why WiMax

The hot network technology is WiMax, an informal term that covers two emerging broadband wireless standards for metropolitan-area networking. WiMax promises alternate routes to land lines for disaster recovery and relief from the price and service tyranny of the incumbent local-exchange carriers. It also has a compelling high-speed mobile component.

WiMax has the potential for what Carlton O'Neal, vice president of marketing at Tel Aviv-based broadband wireless manufacturer Alvarion Ltd., describes as "high-quality broadband everywhere that mirrors your connectivity experience in the office."

To the casual observer, WiMax backhaul services might not seem substantially different from today's broadband wireless access (BWA) services, though speed and coverage range are expected to improve. However, having standards for non-line-of-sight (NLOS) BWA products will create economies of scale and vendor interoperability, which should help WiMax-based services proliferate beyond the niches where BWA services can currently be found. This means that the benefits of BWA as a land-line alternative should theoretically become available to more sites and users.

"Fixed" access services and products will emerge in early 2006, followed by the mobile flavor a year or so later. There are two corresponding WiMax standards:

• IEEE 802.16-2004 for fixed point-to-point and point-to-multipoint wireless access. It's akin to a faster, airborne version of Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) or cable-modem services and became the industry's first NLOS BWA standard last June.
• IEEE 802.16e, for mobile wireless access from laptops and handhelds. It's analogous to a faster version of third-generation telecommunications technology. WiMax proponent Intel Corp. has promised 802.16e-enabled laptops by early 2007.
  

Intel is also involved in the 802.16-2004 standard effort. The vendor says it's providing silicon to Alvarion, Proxim Corp. and Redline Communications Inc., which are manufacturing last-mile fixed products for the carrier market.

The technologies based on the two standards operate in licensed and unlicensed frequency bands below 11 GHz. The standards are being overseen from a market-acceleration standpoint by a 230-company consortium called the WiMax Forum.

Enterprise Impact

WiMax is being deployed from the top down as a carrier technology first, which means that schedules for service availability are dependent on widespread testing and buy-in. WiMax product standards certification and interoperability testing, overseen by the WiMax Forum and to be conducted by independent test lab Cetecom Spain in Malaga, is slated to begin in July.

Once services become available, growing business sites should gain inexpensive broadband access with speeds between T1 and T3 line capabilities. And because they're airborne, these services can be quickly deployed—often in a day's time—and bypass lengthy ILEC lead times.

"Every enterprise struggles with the cost of [local] access, which is often 40%" of a telecommunications bill, says David Willis, an analyst at research firm Meta Group Inc. "The natural monopolies have starved out local competition. But WiMax doesn't require dealing with lobbyists or tariffs."

Adds Alan Menezes, vice president of marketing at Aperto Networks Inc., a maker of BWA products in Milpitas, Calif., "Enterprises gain alternatives to the [regional Bell operating companies] and backups to terrestrial T1 and fiber links that can be cut at the same time." In addition, WiMax comes ready-made with provisions for quality of service, so many prestandard services already support voice over IP, unlike many DSL and cable-modem options.

And standards-based technology should drive down customer premises equipment (CPE) costs for fixed connections, from about $800 today to $300 to $400 in 2006 or 2007, says Bob Egan, president of Mobile Competency Inc., a consultancy in Providence, R.I. Meta Group is even more bullish: Willis says he expects WiMax CPE to drop to $70 by 2007.

Finally, businesses can buy WiMax-certified products to install in their campus-area networks as alternatives to private fiber connections and more-complex wireless bridging options.