Project 1: WiMAX DENT 3563 Telecommunications Engineering

ABBREVIATIONS LIST i. ii. iii. iv.

v.

WiMAX SOHO SME DSL WiFi / WLAN US IP VoIP PSTN TVoIP PC GSM EDGE 3G UMTS BWA WAN QoS IEEE NCC OFDM PBX

Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access Small Office Home Office Small-to-Medium Enterprise Digital Subscriber Line Wireless Local Area Network United States Internet Protocol Voice over Internet Protocol Public Switched Telephone Network TV over Internet Protocol Personal Computer Global System for Mobile Communications
Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution

vi. vii. viii. ix. x. xi. xii. xiii. xiv. xv. xvi. xvii. xviii. xix. xx. xxi.

Third Generation Universal Mobile Telecommunications Service Broadband Wireless Access Wide Area Network Quality of Service Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers National Communications Commission Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing Private Branch Exchange

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Project 1: WiMAX DENT 3563 Telecommunications Engineering

Project 1: WiMAX DENT 3563 Telecommunications Engineering

CONTENTS 1.0 Introduction 2.0 Major developments associated with WiMAX 2.1 3G 2.2 Intel WiMAX technology 2.3 4G 3.0 WiMAX Applications and Potential Growth 3.1 Internet Access 3.2 Local Loop Alternative 3.3 WiFi Backhaul 3.4 Cellular Backhaul 3.5 Cable Bypass 4.0 Importance of WiMAX in Malaysia 4.1 Government 4.2 Military / Defense 4.3 Medical / Science 4.4 Education 5.0 Commercial Development Parameters for WiMAX 5.1 Demand Factors 5.2 General Constraints 5.3 Synergistic Technologies 5.4 Competing Technologies 5.5 Regulatory Factors 6.0 Major Player in WiMAX: Taiwan 6.1 Organization/Institution 6.2 Country of origin 6.3 URL 6.4 Technology areas focused 7.0 Recommendation / Conclusion 8.0 References Appendices Appendix 1: WiMAX wireless architecture Appendix 2: Wi-Fi wireless architecture Appendix 3: Will WiMAX be a 3G killer, or is it vice versa? Appendix 4: Report on the WiMAX technology focused areas in Taiwan

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1.0

INTRODUCTION Communication is the act of giving or exchanging information, usually by gesturing,

speaking, writing, signaling, or transmitting. The need for long range communication is as old as the family of man. Earlier civilizations used gestures, speech, and symbols to communicate with one another. Communication has grown significantly over the past decades. The world was once unable to carry on conversation using voice telephones. Just as 4

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people once rode horses instead of driving vehicles, communications have improved drastically over the years. The inceptions of the cellular telephone, wireless internet and other technologies have given people the ability to contact and communicate with others from virtually anywhere in the world and at any time.

As engineers who are expertise in the field of telecommunication, we personally feel that the future Malaysian Communication Roadmap should be flexible, versatile and could serve the needs of future generation. After analyzing and conducting research on few communication roadmaps, we have decided to choose WiMAX in designing the future Malaysian Communication Roadmap.

WiMAX

(Worldwide

Interoperability

for

Microwave

Access),

is

telecommunications technology that provides wireless transmission of data using a variety of transmission modes, from point-to-point links to portable internet access. WiMAX falls into the general category of wireless transmission known as BWA (Broadband Wireless Access) and is based on the IEEE 802.16 standard. WiMAX is the best solution on the table today for broadband wireless access. WiMAX will offer broadband access the same way the mobile network today offers voice and limited data connectivity, and based on the rigorous work being done by both standards bodies and manufacturers, WiMAX could pose a serious competitive threat to DSL and cable as a viable alternative to the broadband service they currently provide. Practically, WiMAX operates analogously to WiFi, but because it does not necessarily require line-of-site transmission, it could provide service in areas where WiFi cannot penetrate or where DSL and cable facilities have not been installed.

Project 1: WiMAX DENT 3563 Telecommunications Engineering

WiMAX operates in a manner similar to that of WiFi. A computer equipped with a WiMAX radio card connects to the WiMAX-enabled network via a remote tower and then exchanges data with that remote device at very high data rates. WiMAX can support bandwidth in excess of 70 Mbps. Although that 70 Mbps is shared among a collection of users, early trials have demonstrated that the allocated bandwidth competes favorably with that provided by DSL and cable modems.

However, the real advantage of WiMAX is not bandwidth; its the operating radius of the technology. WiMAX can deliver high-bandwidth connectivity to devices as far as 30 miles away because of the microwave frequencies that are used and the increased power of the transmitting device. Although physical obstructions will have a deleterious effect on transmission quality and distance, the use of OFDM helps overcome their effects. Since rural coverage is one of the most important applications for WiMAX, obstructions from buildings most likely will not pose a serious threat.

In short, the requirements of the 802.16 WiMAX standard specifies an operating range of 30 miles (approximately 48 kilometers) between the remote device and the base station antenna at bandwidth levels that hover around 70 Mbps. 2.0 MAJOR DEVELOPMENTS ASSOCIATED WITH WIMAX 2.1 3G WiMAX has effectively been folded into 3G's future development, after the International Telecommunication Union's (ITU) decision to include it in the IMT2000 set of standards. Although WiMAX and 3G have been competing in the broadband wireless technologies, the ITU's then have decided to cooperate both to be 6

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integrated into future standards, to deliver mobile internet to satisfy both rural and urban market demand.

By this cooperation, the 3G system has higher flexibility and compatibility. The system also has changed to "long-term evolution" (LTE) of 3G which is the very latest radio access technologies and techniques for utilizing spectrum (around 2.5GHz to 2.69GHz band) which is well known as Super 3G. (http://www.businessweek.com/globalbiz/content/oct2007/gb20071023_124425.htm)

2.2

Intel WiMAX technology WiMAX delivers low-cost, open networks and is the first all IP mobile

Internet solution enabling efficient and scalable networks for data, video, and voice. As a major driver in the support and development of WiMAX, Intel has designed embedded WiMAX solutions for a variety of mobile devices supporting the future of high-speed broadband on-the-go.

Laying the foundation for broad, cost-effective deployments, Intel is working to easily integrate Intel WiMAX technology into complex designs and global networks, providing a standards-based foundation for ongoing product innovation. Intel WiMAX technology will allow users to be connected in more places, more often, without being restricted to hotspots. When built into notebooks and mobile devices, users will be able to extend users connected experience beyond WiFi.

Project 1: WiMAX DENT 3563 Telecommunications Engineering

With the current Intel WiMAX/Wi-Fi Link 5050 Series module solution, available in notebooks with Intel Centrino 2 processor technology, Intel is providing advancements in wireless mobile technology. Moreover, Intel has come up with another product, Intel Next-Gen Wireless-N, an advanced Intel Wi-Fi technology based on the IEEE 802.11n specification that provides up to two times greater ranges and up to five times better performance than previous 802.11 standards. (http://www.intel.com/technology/wimax/.)

2.3

4G 4G communication systems use both combinations of WiMAX and Wi-Fi

technologies to transfer data. It provides high data rates, supports global roaming and multiple classes of service with variable end-to-end Quality of Service (QoS) requirements across heterogeneous wireless systems. It also allows for more efficient bandwidth use, interference avoidance, and is intended to allow higher data rates over longer distances. (http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/813977/the_great_4th_generation_data_f ace.html) 3.0 WIMAX APPLICATIONS AND POTENTIAL GROWTH 3.1 Internet Access Most developed countries such as United States has one of the lowest broadband penetration rates in the developed world, meaning that there are serious large-scale opportunities for the provider that comes to the market with the right strategy. When deployed as a broadband IP network solution, WiMAX will enable and improves standard of living in the form of telecommunicating, lower real estate 8

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prices, and improve family lives. A wave of opportunity for wireless applications is in the making. Since roughly, 80% of network start-up fees are expensive because of the need to install delivery infrastructure, WiMAX, with its minimal infrastructure requirements, begins to look very good. The small and medium business (SMB) market and the small office, home office (SOHO) space are also viable targets for WiMAX. They are often found in areas that are underserved by existing broadband providers and are therefore hungry for high-grade service. WiMAX also works well in rural areas that have a scattered population of would-be-broadband customers that cannot be served cost-effectively by traditional means.

3.2

Local Loop Alternative In North America alone, wireline providers are losing access lines at the rate

of 10,000 a day and a percentage of these losses involve second line disconnects because of DSL. Furthermore, some of this is wireless substitution, but the danger of stranded assets in the form of all that soon-to-be-underutilized outside plant is a very real threat, at least to telephone company accountant.

Consider the case of a medium-size to large business with a large corporate PBX. Every month that company pays a large sum to the local telephone company for the high-bandwidth facilities that connect its PBX to the telephone companys central office and by extension, the outside world. Moreover, copper or optical facilities provided by the telephone company are charged for by the mile. If the enterprise is any distance from the central office, its cost per month for connectivity increases dramatically. With WiMAX, however, there is no added cost component. 9

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Furthermore, the enterprise could reduce its cost of doing business further by moving to a Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) service provider and using WiMAX instead of a copper local loop.

3.3

WiFi Backhaul Hotspots continues to be installed on a global basis at an accelerating rate, and

for every hotspot there is a DSL or otherwise dedicated broadband facility used to backhaul the hotspot traffic from the wireless access point to the telephone company central office for connection to the Internet. WiMAX serves brilliantly as a backhaul solution, but theres more to the package than that. In addition to serving as a backhaul solution, the WiMAX base station can serve as a connectivity point for the growing number of WiMAX-equipped devices. (laptops and PDAs) Thus, in this particular application, WiMAX performs double duty.

3.4

Cellular Backhaul Similar to WiFi, cellular backhaul is an equally likely candidate for WiMAX

deployment. By deploying WiMAX as an alternative, wireless carriers enjoy a number of benefits. First, they reduce their operating expenses by limiting the monthly fees for fixed line service. Second, they begin the incorporation of new technologies into their networks that will support broadband roaming. Finally, they go a long way toward disaster-proofing the access network. Although wireless connections certainly are disrupted by natural disasters such as floods, fires, earthquakes, and landslides, they are far easier to restore than are their wireline counterparts. Wireless, then, is a major contributor to the disaster recovery 10

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capabilities of a modern broadband network and this situation is proved during Tsunami in Aceh, Indonesia.

3.5

Cable Bypass In the same way a telephone companys local loop can be bypassed by

WiMAX, a cable companys broadband distribution facility can be bypassed. With the arrival of applications such as IPTV, it is possible to deliver cable-like content under the control of an IP network. With WiMAX, a traditional telephone company easily could get into the content delivery game by forming alliances with content providers while at the same time deploying WiMAX base station throughout its operating region.

4.0

IMPORTANCE OF WIMAX IN MALAYSIA This technology is crucial to be developed in Malaysia for many reasons. By having

this technology in Malaysia, numerous sectors such as the government, military, medical and education can be further developed in accordance to Vision 2020.

4.1

Government

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WiMAX technology offers specific advantages to the public safety and government application development. It can improve the inner management of the government especially the quality of management. Nowadays, the services provided in the government sector, is not satisfying and the public tend to complain due to the management which is not systematic. By applying the WiMAX technology (mobile broadband) which supports video surveillance, intelligent traffic management and other bandwidth applications, the government can reduce the number of complaints from the public and improve the quality of management. The higher authority of certain management can observe the services being provided and make adjustments immediately using video broadband. (http://browseme.info/wimax_info.asp)

Besides that, government can also observe early symptoms of nature disaster, which could save many lives and property losses such as tsunami in Aceh, Indonesia on 26th of December 2004. WiMAX was used in Aceh and it promises much faster speed, with smooth access (no interference) and higher mobility over a longer distance to transmit multimedia content. The government also will receive benefit from this technology in many ways, for example more expanding of business from foreign country. (http://global.wimaxworld.com/program/track_apps.shtml) 4.2 Military / Defense Communication is crucial in military sector as they are protecting the country to ensure safety. WiMAX can be used to set up a back-up (or even primary) communications system that would be difficult to destroy. A cluster of WiMAX transmitters would be set up in range of a key command center but as far from each other as possible. Each transmitter is in a bunker hardened against bombs and other 12

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attacks, the transmitters are difficult to be destroyed even in critical situations, so the headquarters would remain in communication at all times. WiMAX uses higher frequencies than current military and commercial communications, existing antennas towers can share a WiMAX cell tower without compromising the current communications services. Such implementation can be used to deploy WiMAX to increase bandwidth for specific data-intensive applications within an existing network. Furthermore, integration of WiMAX waveforms are already developed for future Software Defined Radios (SDR) and could be introduced in future spirals of the future JTRS radio. Currently, this radio is planned to support Soldier Radio Waveforms covering the Wi-Fi at 2.4 GHz. WiMAX can also be used to support training areas, providing an infrastructure for realistic integration of live training and war-game simulation. WiMAX also can do faster detection if any intrusion happens. An initial deployment of WiMAX has already been constructed by the US Army. (http://defense-update.com/products/w/wimax.htm)

4.3

Medical / Science Recently, Taiwan have conducted a demonstration of the system at Taiwan's

WiMAX Forum, the companies had showed how an ambulance could use WiMAX to send information ahead to a hospital in an emergency situation, so the hospital could prepare for the arrival of the patient. The hospital was also able to send a patient's past medical records to the ambulance. (http://www.itworld.com/mobile-amp-

wireless/54773/wimax-far-ahead-lte-japans-nec)

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This can also be applied in Malaysia and it will ensure a more efficient way of communicating with the hospital rather than by phone. WiMAX network provides video interaction between specialists and patients hundreds of miles apart and give the doctors faster and greater access to the latest medical data or second opinions. Consultation is also easier to be done because the patient can consult the doctors online and this eliminates the need for an appointment to be made. In summary, usage of WiMAX technology in medical sector or telemedicine can help in preventing and controlling the spread of infectious disease. (http://www.govtech.com/gt/101102)

4.4

Education In terms of education, with WiMAX technology, it will be easier for the

teachers and students to gain additional knowledge when they are connected to the outside world. The moment students get in touch with other people, other cultures, and other useful information beyond the borders of the country; they tend to gain extra knowledge and will have a broader perspective and mentality. Majority of the students in Malaysia have very limited knowledge regarding global issues. This situation is due to the lack of information gained in school and might be due to poor Internet connections. (http://www.govtech.com/gt/101102)

With the WiMAX evolution, there will be a more proper network to help students in searching for jobs online and obtaining information because of the speeder connection. Online lecturing and consultation between lecturers and the students can be done easily and is time-efficient.

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5.0

COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENT PARAMETERS FOR WIMAX 5.1 Demand Factors WiMAX networks have been proposed as an alternative technology to provide services for the fixed broadband access market, currently dominated by DSL and cable modem systems. Research shows that WiMAX network deployments can be profitable in dense urban areas as well as in rural areas where the availability of other alternatives is limited. Low profitability can be expected in urban and suburban areas with medium population densities and good availability of other access network alternatives.

Because the WiMAX has been designed as a data network from the ground up, WiMAX has a much simpler network topology than cellular networks, which have had to add extra layers and invent new tricks to enable their technology to handle data. WiMAX takes less equipment and less time to set up than traditional cellular infrastructure or wide-scale Wi-Fi.

A WiMAX network is much cheaper, as it is economically impossible to build and deploy a network that could compete with an entrenched and financially protected monopoly. WiMAX changes all that. As explored earlier, a competitive network can be built for fraction of the cost of a legacy network. Furthermore, it can be operated for a fraction of the operations, administration, maintenance, and provisioning of the PSTN. Potentially, it offers more services than the PSTN, generating more revenue than a PSTN voice-centric infrastructure (Frank Otrtman 2006, 190).

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As a result, it is natural to associate WiMAX with VoIP, which is rapidly replacing many wire-based phone lines because it makes much more efficient use of the bandwidth and lines and opens up voice to a whole new range of applications.

5.2

General Constraints The most common misconception is that the WiMAX can offer 70 Mbps in

range of 70 miles or 113 kilometers with moving stations. In practice situation is a very different. It is true only in ideal circumstances with only one recipient. With lineof-site (optical visibility), we could have speed of 10 Mbps at 10 kilometers. In the urban environment (without the optical visibility) users can have 10 Mbps at 2 kilometers. If users are moving, speed can drop significantly. Beside that, the bandwidth of WiMAX is shared among users in a given radio sector. If there are many users in one sector, they will have lower speed. Users could have 2, 4, 6, 8, or 10 Mbps of the shared bandwidth. Finally, biggest constrains of WiMAX is still much bigger installation cost and also operational cost.

5.3

Synergistic Technologies Deployment of WiMAX provides a path for synergistic technologies which

means that the final outcomes of this system are greater than the original one. The synergistic technologies which can be developed in Malaysia are telephone, cable television and satellite television, cell phone as well as backhaul industries.

i.

Telephone

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The broadband Internet connection made possible by WiMAX is IP and the usage of Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP). This bypasses the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN). With the possible exception of terminating a voice call to PSTN number, calls need not touch the PSTN.

ii.

Cable TV and Satellite TV Similar to VoIP, another technology called TV over Internet Protocol (TVoIP) is used for cable television. This technology has made it possible to simply convert cable television programming and deliver it over a broadband Internet connection such as WiMAX. The programming is available in real time identical to the cable television broadcast, and channels can be changed using a set top box wile programming is displayed on a conventional television set and the best part is that PC skills are not required.

iii.

Cell Phone Other than that, VoIP technologies can be used for mobile technology to replace incumbent cell phone technologies. It will soon be possible to replace an incumbent cell phone infrastructure for a small fraction of the cost of building the incumbent cell phone network. All that is really necessary is a WiMAX mobile phone and access to a WiMAX base station.

iv.

Backhaul Industry Finally, in the backhaul industry, WiMAX can beam 72Mbps over 30 miles and the infrastructure such as radios and antennas costs only a few thousand dollars.

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This model can be extended to long-distance backhaul as well. WiMAX is a means of simply expanding or augmenting these networks.

5.4

Competing Technologies There are many other technologies which are striving consciously and

unconsciously to be named as the best technology. The competing technologies with WiMAX are WiFi/WLAN, the second-generation cellular system GSM, in its EDGE evolution, and 3G UMTS.

A start can be made by saying that comparing WiMAX and WiFi is comparing two different frameworks. WiMAX has much longer distances and may or will also include mobility between cells. In fact, WiFi and WiMAX are complementary, specifically if WiMAX is used for the backhauling of WiFi. There is also a difference in the chronology. WiFi is a WLAN, based on the IEEE 802.11 standard, published in 1997, and the 802.11b variant, published in1999. WiMAX is a BWA system, having greater range than WLAN WiFi. In fact, IEEE 802.16 BWA has two variants: IEEE 802.16, which defines a fixed wireless access WMAN technology, and IEEE 802.16e, which is an amendment of 802.12-2004 approved in December 2005. It included mobility and then fast handover, then becoming a wireless WAN. Hence if we consider the standard or the products, there is a difference of about six years between the two. WiMAX has a much better performance than WiFi (range, QoS management, spectrum use efficiency) but this comes at the price of a higher cost in frequencies and in equipment complexity (and then cost). Consequently, it is definitely not certain that WiMAX could one day soon replace Wi-Fi for some applications. 18

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Table below gives some comparison elements between major wireless systems: One channel (frequency carrier) bandwidth 200kHz 5MHz 5MHz 20MHz 3.5MHz, 7MHz,10MHz, other Number of users per channel 2 to 8 Many 1 1

Operating frequency GSM/EDGE 3G UMTS WiFi (11b) WiFi (11a) 0.9GHz, 1.8GHz, other 1.9GHz 2.4GHz 5GHz 2.3GHz, 2.5GHz, 3.5GHz, 5.8GHz, other

Licensed

Range

Yes Yes No No Licensed and unlicensed bands are defined

30km 5km 100m 100m 20km ( outdoor CPE)

WiMAX

Many

Table 1: Comparison elements between major wireless systems

5.5

Regulatory Factors WiMAX is a Wireless Networking technology similar to WiFi. However,

WiFi creates a wireless network over a house, whereas WiMAX creates a wireless network over an entire city. One huge disadvantage of WiMAX over WiFi is that, where with WiFi, anyone can set up a wireless network for free, but not everyone is permitted to set up a WiMAX wireless network and furthermore, one must pay incredibly huge amounts of money to be given the right to set up a WiMAX wireless network in a region. In fact, governments give companies a monopoly to be the only one allowed to set up a WiMAX wireless network in a region. These companies which have been granted monopoly rights by the government to set up WiMAX wireless networks in a region often become ISPs and charge people money so that 19

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they can access their WiMAX wireless network and get Internet access. WiMAX would likely push VoIP into the mainstream, and almost completely replace the telephone companies telephone offerings. In other words, if WiMAX is everywhere, everyone would likely get their phone for free via VoIP.

6.0

MAJOR PLAYER IN WIMAX: TAIWAN 6.1 Organization/Institution Taiwan began promoting the technology in 2005 when the Science and Technology Advisor Group under Executive Yuan unveiled the Taiwan WiMAX Blueprint to integrate planning across ministries and related programs. The project's manifesto stated that WiMAX would be a focus for the future of Taiwan's information technology industry, and the preferred option to deliver mobile access in the US$1.2billion Mobile Taiwan Program. Launched in October 2003, the M-Taiwan Program is part of a five-year economic development plan aimed to spur the development of broadband applications in the country.

6.2

Country of origin Taiwan was the first country in the world to implement the WiMAX

technology on national scale. Taiwan may emerge as the leader in the competition to establish the world's next-generation wireless broadband standard.

(http://taiwanjournal.nat.gov.tw/ct). Taiwan also has been cooperating with Intels company in development of WiMAX.

6.3

URL of Science and Technology Advisor Group under Executive Yuan 20

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http://www.stag.gov.tw/content/application/stag/BDoc/guestcntbrowse.php? grpid=5&vroot=&cntgrp_ordinal=0005&cnt_id=19&listtype=

6.4

Technology areas focused: Then, Taiwans association also wanted to enhance cooperation between up-,

mid- and down-steam enterprises, integrate academic resources, and establish a national WiMAX experimental network, and launch a WiMAX testing and certification laboratory in Taiwan.

From the cooperation between Taiwans association and Intel, Intel has released WiMAX chips recently and expects products with the IEEE 802.16d standard to begin hitting the market. From the cooperation held, Intel foresees the 802.16e chip receiving approval from the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, releasing WiMAX chips, introducing WiMAX customer premises equipment, offering WiMAX notebook computers in as well as bringing the world WiMAX mobile phones. (http://investintaiwan.nat.gov.tw/en/news/200411/2004110901.html)

Not only that, recently, Taiwan's National Communications Commission (NCC) decided to grant the country's first WiMAX operating license to Tatung InfoComm (DIGITIMES [Thursday 20 November 2008]). 7.0 RECOMMENDATIONS / CONCLUSION As regulatory issues, technical challenges and certification processes begin to be addressed, WiMAX ecosystems are steadily being built, leading to deployments that are slowly but surely being realized in both developed and developing country markets. As a 21

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result, we would like to recommend the WiMAX technology to be implemented in designing the future Malaysian Communication Roadmap after we had analyzed the WiMAX technology in depth. WiMAXs wide area wireless networking will offer multiple benefits for businesses and consumers, including lower broadband costs and improved service choice. In conclusion, although WiMAX is still a new technology and has not been implemented widely in many countries, we believe that the advantages it has to offer are far greater than the other technologies which are currently available. Finally, we hope that the WiMAX technology will be chosen for the future of Malaysias telecommunication since it can be used as backhaul for many other advanced technologies.

8.0

REFERENCES

Books:
1. Steven Shepard, WiMAX Crash Course, Mc-Graw Hill, 2006.

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2. Loutfi Nuaymi, WiMAX, Technology for Broadband Wireless Access, John Wiley

& Sons, 2007.

3. Frank Ohrtman, WiMAX Handbook, Mc-Graw Hill, 2006.

Internet: 1. http://www.businessweek.com 2. http://www.associatedcontent.com 3. http://browseme.info 4. http://global.wimaxworld.com 5. http://www.itworld.com 6. http://www.govtech.com/gt/101102 7. http://taiwanjournal.nat.gov.tw/ct 8. http://www.stag.gov.tw

APPENDICES

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Appendix 1

WiMAX wireless architecture

Appendix 2

Wi-Fi wireless architecture Appendix 3

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ARTICLE: WILL WIMAX BE A 3G KILLER, OR IS IT VICE VERSA Fierce competition can bring out the best and the worst in businesses, and it also makes for great theater. In the technology world over the past three decades, we have watched commercial empires rise and fall with amazing swiftness and drama. New competitors have arisen out of nowhere and trumped established dynasties in a matter of years, as Microsoft did to outmaneuver IBM in the personal computer business, as Linux did to marginalize Sun Microsystems and Silicon Graphics in the UNIX server market and as Google did to race past Yahoo, AOL, and Microsoft in Internet search.

Now theres a new technology peeking over the horizon that could cause a major shake-up in the tech industry: WiMAX, which I wrote about last week in my article Sanity check: Is WiMAX almost here and will it unlock the next stage of the Internet? WiMAX has the potential to create new markets, change the scope of the Internet, revolutionize the mobile phone landscape, and upend empires.

However, although WiMAX now has a large stable of blue blood supporters in the tech industry led by Intel and joined by Motorola, Samsung, and Sprint and a huge cash investment from them, it also has a healthy share of doubters. Those naysayers believe that it will be a multibillion dollar flop, and that by the time its deployed widely enough to make a mass market challenge, the worlds existing cellular carriers will have already beat it to the punch with a fully deployed version of 3G wireless.

The WiMAX vs. 3G cellular showdown is poised to become one of the next great market battles in the tech industry. Fortunes will be made and lost in this battle, and the user 25

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experience of the Internet will be irreversibly changed (hopefully, for the better) in the process.

The WiMAX advantages Conceptually, WiMAX has been designed as an Internet access technology and not as a replacement to the existing cellular networks that have gained global scale during the past decade. But since WiMAX is built around IP and has been designed from the ground up to support strong QoS and security, WiMAX provides an excellent platform to run VoIP.

As a result, it is natural to associate WiMAX with VoIP, which is rapidly replacing many wire-based phone lines because it makes much more efficient use of the bandwidth and lines and opens up voice to a whole new range of applications.

Thats why WiMAX is sometimes viewed as the technology that will make the current cellular networks obsolete. Its actually VoIP that is the disruptor. WiMAX once its fully deployed will simply provide the roaming global Internet access that will bring VoIP to the same corners of the earth that cellular towers have covered today, and WiMAX could spread that coverage even farther.

Initially, WiMAX was compared more to Wi-Fi except with much longer range than it was to cellular networks. WiMAX providers are essentially ISPs that provide either Fixed WiMAX or a combination of both Mobile WiMAX (for roaming users) and Fixed WiMAX (for home or small business access, very similar to cable or DSL).

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There are several important factors that distinguish WiMAX from other wireless technologies and make it a platform that so many tech heavyweights have been willing to support:

IP-based network Since WiMAX is built on IP, it natively runs existing IP-based products, services, and utilities. VoIP is one example. This also enables much easier and cheaper network monitoring and management with standard tools.

A flatter, simpler topology Because it has been designed as a data network from the ground up, WiMAX has a much simpler network topology than cellular networks, which have had to add extra layers and invent new tricks to enable their technology to handle data. WiMAX takes less equipment and less time to set up than traditional cellular infrastructure or wide-scale Wi-Fi. Figure A provides a quick look at the WiMAX topology.

Lower CAPEX and OPEX As a simpler architecture that uses less network equipment, WiMAX takes lower capital expenditures (CAPEX) to build networks and lower operating expenditures (OPEX) to maintain them. Naturally, this can result in lower service costs for end users. But just as critical is the fact that this enables WiMAX to scale very low for small installations and to quickly scale higher to meet large growth on demand.

Low-cost interface chips Chipset leader Intel and chipmakers such as Sequens and Beceem have always thought of WiMAX as a mass market technology and so have architected WiMAX chip solutions aimed at large production and low cost. This has resulted in inexpensive network interface devices such as WiMAX modems and PC cards, but more 27

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important, it will make it easier for computer and consumer electronics makers to soon embed WiMAX chips into a lot of different kinds of devices.The 3G alternative

No company has been a more outspoken critic of WiMAX than Ericsson, especially in 2007. That may seem strange since Ericsson is not a cellular carrier, but the company is a major seller and developer of cellular infrastructure, and an important supplier of cellular handsets through its Sony Ericsson partnership.

Ultimately, its still too early to predict the winners here. Nevertheless, I think there are three important factors to watch in determining who wins and why:

1. Encryption modules vs. SIM cards Starting next year, WiMAX networking chips are going to be inexpensively embedded into tons of new laptop computers, phones, and consumer electronic devices. Cellular technologies such as HSPA simply will not be able to match that scale for one simple reason: SIM cards (Subscriber Identity Modules). Devices that connect to the cellular network must have a physical SIM card. The combination of cellular network chips and SIM cards is more expensive than the WiMAX chips and not as easy to deploy and manage.

In place of SIM cards, WiMAX uses software encryption modules that are much more configurable, flexible, and scalable. If WiMAX starts to catch on in lots of different consumer electronic devices, this will be a win for WiMAX and a strike against 3G. Of course, 3G could switch out SIM cards for a software solution, but that would likely take years to show up in the market. The other strategic option for cellular carriers could be to 28

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focus on the phone as the mobile broadband connection hub and use Bluetooth or Wireless USB for last-mile connectivity to consumer electronic devices.

2. True performance While 3G cellular advocates such as Ericsson talk about and demonstrate HSPA bandwidth speeds that are equivalent to WiMAX, that doesnt necessarily mean that the performance is the same. Because WiMAX is IP-based at the core and has a much simpler network topology, it should have better spectral efficiency and lower latency than cell networks. Spectral efficiency is the amount of data that can be transmitted over a certain amount of bandwidth. In essence, spectral efficiency is the true performance of a network link.

The other performance issue to watch is scale. WiMAX advocates claim that the current cellular networks simply would not be able to support wide-scale mobile broadband Internet traffic. They claim that it is a wireless spectrum issue. WiMAX will have a lot more wireless spectrum to occupy, which is the equivalent of a much fatter pipe.

3. Customer perception and demand Cellular carriers will have a much lower bar to hurdle in convincing customers that nextgeneration wireless services will bring the same kind of broadband experience that they have at home to their mobile phone and by extension to their laptop and any other devices that can connect to their mobile phone via Bluetooth.

Appendix 4

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Project 1: WiMAX DENT 3563 Telecommunications Engineering

ARTICLE: REPORT ON THE WIMAX TECHNOLOGY FOCUSED AREAS IN TAIWAN: Tatung InfoComm has selected Starent Networks' solutions to enable high-bandwidth, multimedia services through its mobile WiMAX network and to deploy Starent Networks' mobile WiMAX network. Tatung InfoComm, a WiMAX licensee for the southern region of Taiwan, is deploying Starent Networks' ST40 and ST16 multimedia core platforms for Home Agent functionality with access service network (ASN) gateway capability in both its commercial and test WiMAX networks. The system will support multiple radio vendor base stations through an open WiMAX interface architecture. The company is also using the Starent platforms for lawful intercept as well as its "Inline" Services capability to deploy enhanced charging services and application protocol detection for subscriber service flow based QoS control with content awareness. Starent Networks' ASN gateway and Home Agent will enable key services for Tatung InfoComm, such as enterprise applications, mobile VPN banking and special access services for government, police and security organization. Earlier this year, Starent was selected by Taiwan's First International Telecom (Fitel) to provide similar solutions for its network, covering northern Taiwan. (DIGITIMES [Thursday 20 November 2008] ).

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