CES panelists: these are three transcending steps for VoWiFi handsets

Written by Russell Shaw on January 10th, 2007 with no comments.
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Sequans and MiTAC Make First of Several WiMAX End User Devices Available

T220B, the first unit to become available under the Sequans/ MiTAC agreement, is a fixed WiMAX (802.16-2004) self-installable desktop unit that provides wireless broadband connectivity at the 3.5 GHz frequency. T220B features switched diversity between four built-in high gain antennas and supports space/ time coding (STC) and subchannelization. The RF chip for this device is provided by Sierra Monolithics, one of Sequans' RF partners.

MiTAC is also developing mobile WiMAX subscriber units built around Sequans' 802.16e-2005 SOCs. The mobile WiMAX units currently under development for release in late 2006 include a PCMCIA card and a desktop unit.

"Sequans' chips deliver the highest performance and flexibility and allow us to build a full range of WiMAX end user devices with advanced features and functionality," said Jay Cheng, general manager of MiTAC Technology Corporation. "Following our successful collaboration with Sequans on the high performance fixed WiMAX desktop unit, we are now developing a range of mobile devices. Sequans high performance chips allow us to create small form factor units with the lowest power consumption in the industry."

"We are very pleased to work with MiTAC, a dynamic organization with very creative designs and unparalleled expertise in manufacturing consumer electronics," said Bernard Aboussouan, vice president of marketing and business development, Sequans. "MiTAC is the first ODM delivering a WiMAX self-installable desktop unit and we believe this unit as well as the coming mobile units will set a standard in the industry for excellence and quality."

The MiTAC WiMAX end user devices are thoroughly tested and proven interoperable with WiMAX base stations using chips from Sequans or others. Sequans has been at the forefront of interoperability testing.

See Sequans at WiMAX World USA at the Boston World Trade Center, October 10-12, booth 308.

Written by Dal on September 26th, 2006 with no comments.
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WiMAX for New Zealand

"For some time now, we have been evaluating the best technologies and partners to bring broadband services to New Zealand," said Graham Walmsley of CallPlus. "We selected Alvarion's BreezeMAX for this deployment in Whangarei after extensive evaluation of the market's products, and we feel we chose a robust system that is easily adaptable to our operating environment and offers high performance for our non-line-of-sight customers."

BreezeMAX is Alvarion's award-winning WiMAX platform designed from the ground up according to the IEEE 802.16 standards and uses OFDM technology for advanced non-line-of-sight (NLOS) functionality. Since its launch in mid-2004, BreezeMAX has been successfully deployed in over 180 installations in more than 80 countries around the world.

Written by Dal on September 7th, 2006 with no comments.
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WiMAX Deployment Slated for Milton Keynes, Florida

The trial has been designed and planned in close cooperation with Milton Keynes Council, which already has an existing broadband supply relationship with Pipex. Trial base stations will be sited in areas of the town to evaluate WiMAX product propositions to both business and residential customers and to provide coverage where DSL broadband provision is currently limited or unavailable.

The trial will commence in December 2006 and continue for six months. If successful, it will be extended to provide wider coverage across Milton Keynes.

Pipex Wireless will initially deploy five Airspan HiperMAX-Micro base stations and provide services using indoor and outdoor subscriber terminals, both with integrated Wi-Fi available. Working with Milton Keynes Council, Pipex Wireless will initially offer the trial to approximately 500 users, providing connection speeds of between 2Mbps and 10Mbps.

Source: GovTech

Written by Dal on September 6th, 2006 with no comments.
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Motorola to launch new WiMAX chipsets

Note: Dear Motorola,  Please release some cheap commerical WiMAX access points along with notebook PCIMA cards so I can setup a high BW node at my house.  Also please release Linux and OSX drivers for the card also.  Thank You.  I have been following the WiMAX movement lately.  I am lucky enough to be in range of the roll out of Craig McCaw's Clearwire coverage in Seattle.   Sooner I can cut the cord the better.

Motorola has announced a strategic initiative to develop mobile WiMAX chipsets for use in Motorola's next-generation WiMAX devices.  This investment in chipset design demonstrates Motorola's on-going commitment to WiMAX and expands the company's role as a leader in end-to-end WiMAX solutions beyond infrastructure and handsets to the core implementation of WiMAX in chipsets.

Ron Garriques, President of Motorola's Mobile Devices Business, said, "For some time now Motorola has been investing in the development and deployment of WiMAX -- from infrastructure to advanced silicon. In our vision of seamless mobility, WiMAX will help transform the mobile communications experience for everyone. Enhanced speed for data, as well as cost efficiencies and network optimization for wireless operators are just some of the benefits that are fueling excitement and accelerated adoption of WiMAX across the industry."

Motorola's initial chipset will focus on core 802.16e mobile WiMAX functionality supporting voice, video, and data for low power mobile applications in handsets and modules. These first chipsets are scheduled to support commercial Motorola WiMAX devices in 2008 for carriers in North America, Japan and around the world including Sprint and others. Motorola is working with its silicon vendors on the overall fabrication of the new chipsets.

Source: Motorola 

Written by Dal on August 31st, 2006 with no comments.
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Internet Ghana Announces Nationwide Rollout of Pre Mobile WiMAX

"With high consumer demand, poor DSL access and long customer connection times Ghana is absolutely ready for mass market, rapid install, broadband wireless services," said Leslie Tamakloe, CEO, Internet Ghana. "We will be first to market across the whole of Ghana, beginning in the capital Accra followed by the regional capitals and commercial towns."

Internet Ghana's plans are to cover the capital Accra and the ten largest commercial cities such as Tamale, Kumasi and Tema in the first phase. The CPE's will be offered at retail outlets and Internet Ghana will also have direct sales.

"The ability to easily access broadband services plus the freedom that personal broadband offers will be a winning combination to customers in Ghana," said Roger Dorf, president and chief executive officer of Navini Networks. "Our leadership in 802.16e with Smart WiMAX(TM) will also ensure that Internet Ghana maintains a competitive advantage in the market."

Navini is the only vendor to offer Smart WiMAX: Mobile WiMAX with smart beamforming enabled. Navini's Ripwave(TM) MX platform has a seamless upgrade to mobile WiMAX 802.16e, the next-generation global wireless standard, enabling consumers to be able to enjoy all the benefits of true personal broadband.

About Internet Ghana:

INTERNET GHANA is a registered and licensed Internet Service Provider (ISP), incorporated in 1995 for the provision of Internet services in Ghana and the West African Sub-Region. This was achieved in partnership with InternetMCI, NY and UUNET, which made the company a leading Internet Service Provider in the country in 1996.

Written by Dal on August 28th, 2006 with no comments.
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WiMAX network base station unveiled

The product is targeted at broadband wireless access providers that have a licence to operate services in the 3.5GHz spectrum in this country.  Both companies said they were in discussion with local operators but declined to provide specifics.

The MP.16 is certified to be interoperable with at least three chipset vendors, said Palette Multimedia executive director Sukhdev Singh, referring to chipsets made by Intel, Sequans and Waveset.  

He explained that this eliminates the problem of single vendor lock-in if an operator chooses to set up a WiMAX network using non-certified or proprietary base stations. 

Lionel Chmilewsky, senior vice-president of Proxim International, said the MP.16 is based on the Intel (Rosedale) chipset which ensures maximum WiMAX compatibility.  “Also, we have more than 25 years experience in wireless technology. We spend about US$4mil (about RM15mil) on research and development per quarter, most of which are WiMAX-related,” he said. 

An MP.16 base station has a 15km line-of-sight range, and an up to 5km non-line-of-sight range, it was announced.  The retail starter kit, consisting one MP.16 base station and eight subscriber units, would cost about RM35,000, according to Sukhdev. 

Palette Multimedia, Proxim’s regional partner in Asia, will also provide training to MP.16 customers, to assist them in deploying their WiMAX networks.  

“We are offering Proxim’s Wireless Certification Training, which includes two courses,” Sukhdev said.

Source: Star TechCentral 

Written by Dal on August 24th, 2006 with no comments.
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Netia selects Alvarion’s BreezeMAX for a 20 city WiMAX deployment

As a customer of Alvarion's MGW solution for multi-residential voice and data services, Netia began WiMAX rollout in 20 cities on receiving its national licence in July 2005; Netia is one of four carriers to receive such a concession.

According to Wojciech Madalski, president and CEO of Netia, Alvarion was chosen because it could ensure that ‘we can provide WiMAX services to subscribers in the first 20 cities by the end of August.’

Written by Dal on August 24th, 2006 with no comments.
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Tropos Introduces New MetroMesh Routers

Written by Dal on August 22nd, 2006 with no comments.
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Redline’s RedMAX products chosen for first WiMAX network in northern Pakistan

The network will deliver advanced voice and broadband services throughout MyTel's region, which serves millions of residents, businesses and government
entities.

MyTel has begun its RedMAX deployment in the city of Peshawar, and will expand its WiMAX network to an additional thirteen regions in northern
Pakistan. The network will improve the delivery of voice and broadband services to its existing customers and extend its network to reach more
businesses, residents and municipal organizations.

"By joining the ranks of leading telecommunications companies that are choosing Redline's RedMAX products to roll out WiMAX services, MyTel is
clearly demonstrating its commitment to meeting the communications requirements of its vast customer base," said Dino Bakakis, Redline's Managing
Director for the Middle East. "With our RedPATH architecture roadmap, MyTel can leverage its RedMAX investment to deliver the services its customers need
today and evolve to introduce new WiMAX technologies and devices over time."

"MyTel has a vision to serve the masses with state-of-the-art, innovative and affordable integrated services. For that we choose Redline Communications
as our technological partner," said Nawab Ali, Manager, Business Development, MyTel. "Redline's WiMAX products proved to be the most cost-effective,
flexible, quick to deploy and rugged solution. We are pleased with its performance and reliability and have confidence that Redline will continue to
push the limits of technology with its comprehensive and optimized approach.  Redline has always been very prompt and flexible in analyzing our requirements
and offering a suitable solution."
     

The Redline RedMAX and award winning wireless IP transport products being deployed for the MyTel project are being provided through SARCORP, a Redline
Certified Partner in Pakistan.

Redline's RedPATH Architecture Roadmap
Redline's RedPATH strategic architecture roadmap drives success for WiMAX network operators, enterprises and government organizations. With RedPATH,
Redline is the first to articulate a clear strategy that enables network operators to use WiMAX to deliver the advanced high-capacity and personal
broadband services their customers want today, and to evolve their networks to incorporate new WiMAX technologies and devices as they become available.

Source: Redline 

Written by Dal on August 10th, 2006 with no comments.
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Sprint To Detail 4G Strategy: WiMAX?

Sprint plans to announce the details of its much-anticipated 4G network in a conference later today, and the company has been trialling various technologies including WiMAX, Qualcomm-backed technologies, and IP Wireless’ technology, among others.

Some are saying that Sprint has chosen WiMAX, partly to avoid the Qualcomm royalty ecosystem, where Qualcomm takes a percentage of every handset sold. We called Sprint and they wouldn’t comment on the technology choice, but we’ll bring you more details later in the day.

If it’s true, that’s another public strike against Qualcomm’s high fees, which seem to be riling carriers in developing markets. Though, Qualcomm also has a good business with Sprint for its CDMA network, and Sprint is even upgrading its high speed EVDO service earlier than expected by the end of this year. It’s not too big a suprise that Sprint would not want to keep shelling out money to the same company if there are other comparable technologies available.

If Sprint has chosen WiMAX it would be a major win for Intel and the like that have been trying to push the technology by massive investment. If a company like Nortel could manage to win the contract it would do wonders for its attempts at a turn around.

Sprint has been mulling over its technology choice for awhile. Last January Sprint’s COO Len Lauer made a speech at CTIA laying out Sprint’s plans for its 4G network, which will run over 2.5 GHz spectrum that the company owns. At that time Lauer said the company will use its partnership with cable for exclusive media content, and will transition its media and mobile TV services to the new network when the 3G network gets too crowded. He said the network could launch as soon as 2008 and the entertainment services might be sold for a monthly charge of between $20 and $40 a month.

In an interview later that day he told me the 4G network would likely cost upwards of $800 million to build — the fee that Qualcomm has said it is spending on its MediaFLO network in the U.S. With Sprint reporting pretty tepid earnings last week, does the company really need to be spending that much on an experimental technology that has yet to prove itself in the market?

Written by Katie Fehrenbacher on August 8th, 2006 with no comments.
Read more articles on Unwired and WiMAX and Cellular and spectrum and EVDO.

What’s Up With WiMAX?

Although plenty of carriers and networking providers are in the midst of WiMAX trials, all of which are promising, the future of the technology, in North American markets at least, is still an open question. "There's just no infrastructure supporting WiMAX today," said Craig Mathias, an analyst with research firm Farpoint Group. Plus, there's lots of existing capacity from cellular providers and metro-scale Wi-Fi networks already in the air, said the self-described WiMAX curmudgeon. "Converged Wi-Fi and cellular networks also give the best of both worlds."

Others, such as Dave Park, vice president of product development for BelAir Networks, are staying on the fence about it for now. "You have to have a network to get users, but if you have no users then it's hard to [build] a network," he said. The WiMAX Forum trade group has another take. For starters, WiMAX is no newbie technology. The trade group counts more than 150 fixed WiMAX (802.16d) deployments and trials worldwide. Unlike Wi-Fi, which operates over the unlicensed communications spectrum and is designed for networking at short distances, WiMAX operates on licensed bandwidths over multiple communications frequencies. It is designed for wide scale broadband deployments.

The latest version is a mobile protocol called 802.16e. It provides broadband-class wireless coverage across large areas where user congestion is an issue. But Wi-Fi can also operate over wide areas when deployed as part of a "mesh network" that ties together multiple Wi-Fi systems and access points. However, Wi-Fi's performance can be impacted by the number of users on a network and physical barriers -– moreso than WiMAX, experts say. WiMAX can also be more aggressive than its smaller cousin Wi-Fi about signal congestion. "Wi-Fi fundamentally handles congestion in a very brute force way," explained Greg Caltabiano, president and chief operating officer at SOMA Networks, a broadband services solutions provider.

Whereas Wi-Fi is designed to back off and randomly try again when it bumps into conflicting radio signals, WiMAX bullies its way through such communications congestion. After all, WiMAX operates a lot like cellular, providing every subscriber with a specific set of frequencies instead of time slots. That's why it's called frequency division multiplex technology.

Ultimately, cellular technology may be hardest hit by mobile WiMAX, since 3G technology operates at much slower transmission speeds than WiMAX, said Ellen Kirk, vice president of marketing for Tropos Networks, a provider of mesh (define) networking technology. For example, the latest version of CDMA 2000 promises speeds of up to 1.8 megabits per second, she noted. "But you won't get that and will probably average 1 mbps.

It's fast, but still not as fast as the promised 5 mbps average speed of WiMAX, she added. "Clearly the speed of 3G mobile networks is going up, but speeds and bandwidth are not enough to hit broadband performance," noted SOMA's Caltabiano. This is why "mobile WiMax is really a direct competitor to mobile cellular, and we will soon be seeing a clash of titans," he added. For all the WiMAX testing underway, however, timetables for commercial deployments are hard to peg.

Right now, experts say, fixed WiMAX technology is also not compatible with the coming mobile WiMAX protocol. This is a major reason why Motorola decided to skip right over 802.11d fixed WiMAX deployments and turn its attention to the mobile flavor. The company has also put its money where its mouthpiece is by kicking in about $300 million to invest in Clearwire Corp., a wireless broadband service provider.

Intel upped he ante by adding $600 million to that investment, with the idea of positioning Clearwire as a first user of its mobile WiMAX chips, which also support fixed deployments. "Consumers and operators can use these initially for a fixed application, while they debate whether they want to provide full mobility as well," said Raghu Rau, Motorola's senior vice president of networking and enterprise strategy. Motorola is also planning a mobile WiMAX trial in partnership with Japan broadband service provider Softbank, slated for that country in September.

The goal of the five-month project is to eventually offer wireless WiMAX as an option to Softbank's 26 million fixed line and mobile communications customers. "The purpose of the trial is to see how WiMAX performs in a mobile environment and a dense urban deployment," Rau told Internetnews.com. Motorola has even built a handful of prototype mobile WiMAX handsets for use in the trial, a first for the fledging industry.

Still, WiMAX has a ways to go before it's ready for prime time as a commercial broadband alternative. The general formula for success is to first establish a fixed WiMAX network, then attract users to that network and build out the infrastructure, and finally use that revenue and infrastructure to launch a mobile WiMAX system, according to networking experts interviewed for this story.

This can be a complicated and risky approach. "Why would we build a network if there isn't anything to connect to it?" said Tropos Networks' Kirk. "That's the advantage of Wi-Fi." In order to offer a high-bandwidth pathway to lots of users across a wide area, WiMAX needs many small cell sizes that work together. This is what Wi-Fi is already doing with mesh networks, said Kirk. "We're not anti-WiMAX, just pro-reality."

Source: InternetNews 

Written by Dal on August 5th, 2006 with no comments.
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Intel Plans India WiMAX Trials

Intel plans to start WiMax trials in the next few months in several cities across India including in Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore and Pune, the Daily News & Analysis reports. “We are also having a dozen trial discussions for the implementation of WiMax networks in India,” Ramamurthy Sivakumar, Intel’s Managing Director for South Asia, told the newspaper.

According to a report by research firms Maravedis and Tonse Telecom India will have 13 million WiMAX subscribers by 2012.  “More than 70 per cent of Indian households do not have access to fixed wired telephone services,” said Adlane Fellah, senior analyst, Maravedis in a press release late June. “Instead, customers have flocked to cellular phone carriers, which have built a tremendous infrastructure to provide service to more than 10 crore (100 million) customers.” (Press Release PDF)

French technology major Alcatel has already set up a research and development center in the southern Indian state of Chennai to develop Wi-Max technology

But a disagreement between India’s CDMA and GSM operators may lead to delays in the launch of Wi-Max in the country, The Hindu Business Line reported late last month. The CDMA camp has mooted allocation of spectrum in the 2.5 Ghz band for Wi-Max services but the GSM camp has opposed the move.

In their response to a consultation paper on 3G and Wi-Max services put out by India’s telecom regulator, CDMA operators including Reliance Communication said that the 2.5-2.69 Ghz band should be allocated for Wi-Max services so that more numbers of operators can offer services. (The Government is banking on Wi-Max for broadband penetration.)

The GSM operators however say that 2.5-2.69 Ghz band should not be used for Wi-Max but should be left for third generation technology such as WCDMA. Interestingly, the CDMA Development Group, the international body promoting CDMA technology, has subscribed to India’s GSM operators’ views, says the newspaper.

Intel and Alcatel, which are investing heavily in developing Wi-Max technology, support the CDMA operators’ views. Equipment vendors like Nokia and Ericsson, which have a very strong 3G-technology portfolio, support the GSM operators’ views.

Written by Shailaja Neelakantan on August 5th, 2006 with no comments.
Read more articles on WiMAX and Wireless Broadband and India Telecom.

Ed Whitacre Loves His WiMAX

Ed Whitacre, AT&T’s Chairman and CEO, stopped by a conference for the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners in downtown San Francisco this morning, and gave a speech with some harsh words about the Net Neutrality issue.

There are reports that a vote on a Net Neutrality in the Senate will come much sooner than expected. King Ed during his speech said, “Some companies want us to be a big dumb pipe that gets bigger and bigger. . . .No one gets a free ride. The American economy doesn’t work that way. . . We are not going to build this with no chance for a return. Those that want to use this will pay.”

The remarks re-emphasized his position on the controversial issue, at a conference for state regulators of public utilites. AT&T needs friends in the NARUC given it’s rolling out new services like IPTV that need help from local regulators. The company is also trialling new services like WiMAX in an attempt to offer alternative wireless broadband in addition to high speed cellular.

While AT&T’s WiMAX service is not publicly available, one tester already has a review: Ed Whitacre, and he gives it an enthusiatic thumbs up. He told GigaOM.com after the speech that he uses the service at his home in Texas and gets 5.5 Mbps downstream over unlicensed spectrum. “It’s not ready for primetime, but I really like it,” he said.

Okay, that really explains why Ma Bell is pushing hard on WiMAX and other forms of wireless broadband.

Written by Katie Fehrenbacher on August 1st, 2006 with no comments.
Read more articles on WiMAX and AT&T and Wireless Broadband.

L&T Infotech launches WiMAX Base Station MAC Software on Freescale Platform

“It is a significant achievement for us. We are pleased to demonstrate this solution at FTF, Orlando”, said K.S. Rao, Chief Telecom Business (US and Europe), L&T Infotech. He said that L&T Infotech has been working for 3+ years on WiBRO and WiMAX standards and strives to always be in the forefront of WiMAX technology.

This synergy between Freescale and L&T Infotech will strengthens both companies’ position in the WiMAX market and help reduce time to market for WiMAX infrastructure solutions for Freescale’s customers around the globe.

Source: L&T Infotech 

Written by Dal on July 27th, 2006 with no comments.
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Mobile WiMAX Heats Up

The expectations for mobile WiMAX are growing, and so are the investments and trials. Mobile WiMAX chip maker Sequans said it received another round of $24 million led by Kennet Venture Partners, while Intel anounced new details of its mobile WiMAX chip, “Rosedale II,” and Motorola says it is testing a network in Toyko with partner Softbank.

That’s a lot of attention for one day. Intel said Alcatel will test Rosedale II in its mobile WiMAX networks, while 9 other WiMAX companies–including Aperto Networks, Airspan, Alvarion, Proxim Wireless, Navini Networks, among others–will include the chip in network solutions. A Navini spokesperson said the mobile WiMAX products with Rosedale II could offer wireless broadband access while moving at speeds up to 60 miles per hour (which seems to be a growing requirement for network access.)

Motorola’s Tokyo test network will use Motorola’s access points, access network and prototypes of handheld devices. The network could offer Softbank, which owns third-place Japanese operator Vodafone KK, a better way to compete in the tough wireless Japanese market.

Investment in WiMAX, both mobile and fixed, seems to be growing significantly. Sequans roughly tripled its total funding raised. Last month Navini received $17.5 million in part from investor Intel Capital. And Intel and Motorola dropped that huge investment into Clearwire earlier this month.

While mobile WiMAX products won’t likely be on the market until next year at the earliest, companies are looking to certify products as early as the end of this year. Mobile WiMAX, compared to its fixed WiMAX cousin, is being touted as a much bigger market. Hardware for both markets, fixed and mobile, is expected to generate $1.7 billion by 2009, according to Infonetics. Including services, Gartner puts that figure at $2.2 billion by 2008. Instat says in a research report today that the Asia Pacific region will grow from $106.4 million in 2006 to $4.3 billion by 2011.

If WiMAX, both mobile and fixed, doesn’t take off, it could very well end up being the biggest over-hyped wireless technology of recent years. Though, companies like Intel and global investors are spending massive sums to try to make sure that doesn’t happen.

Written by Katie Fehrenbacher on July 24th, 2006 with no comments.
Read more articles on Unwired and WiMAX.

World’s first WiMAX oil rig deployment

“This is a double first in terms of the siting of the network, which is effectively on the high seas in the Gulf of Mexico, and the fact that it’s the first WiMAX deployment in Mexico,” said John Oliver, AlanDick group marketing manager for broadband technology

The 11 oil production platforms from Pemex – one of Mexico’s major companies - are located offshore from Ciudad del Carmen, Campeche, with the 3.4 GHz WiMAX transmissions – using double redundancy components and systems at all points in the network - spanning an average of 10km between the platforms.

“The most remote platform is 16 km away from the rest of the group, whilst the shortest WiMAX hop is 4km,” said Oliver, adding that the decision to go with WiMAX was taken after the technology’s advantages were realised by the client.

“WiMAX is quickly establishing itself as the wideband wireless network of choice for land-based networks, but the system really comes into own over water, as any attenuation issues are minimised thanks to WiMAX’s frequency hopping spread spectrum network topology,” he said.

“The important thing to realise with WIMAX is that it’s a globally ratified standard that can support both voice and data, yet is still flexible enough to support several different data modulation schemes. This makes it ideal for an off-shore oil rig deployment, where the distances and variable, often hostile, weather conditions involved will push any wireless technology to its limit,” he added.

“Ask anyone involved in wireless network deployments over water and they will tell you about the need to plan for a worst case weather scenario, with problems such as torrential downpours of rain, triggered by the high humidity levels seen at sea, all contriving to severely attenuate the radio signal,” said Oliver.

“WiMAX’s inherent flexibility, coupled with the high performance of the Redline RedMAX kit used in the project, has allowed Pemex to make the right choice in terms of technology, hardware and, of course, system integrator” he added.

Source: SourceWire 

Written by Dal on July 20th, 2006 with no comments.
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Murdoch & McCaw: A Likely Match?

Murdoch is reportedly planning to jump into the world of WiMAX through its DirecTV broadcast company, and could either partner with Clearwire or go after its own spectrum. The Hollywood Reporter says the most likely story is a link with McCaw’s Clearwire, and quotes sources that say News Corp and DirectTV are in “advanced” talks with Clearwire.

Robert Young, the soothsayer who sees things before others had alluded to Murdoch’s broadband plans almost a year ago. You must go and read Murdoch, WiMax and The Two Way Web and get a sense of why it is the most important priority for News Corp.

Another option could be those spectrum auctions coming up in August that everyone from Gabelli, and Paul Allen to William Berkman are eying. FCC files say a group called Wireless DBS, which is backed by DirecTV, News Corp, Fox Entertainment, EchoStar, Rupert Murdoch, and EchoStar’s Charles Ergen, among others, are looking to bid. Though, the application is incomplete and today is the last day to update it. These applications could be a low-risk placeholder, but then again, it’s an indicator of company ambition.

Written by Katie Fehrenbacher on July 18th, 2006 with no comments.
Read more articles on Unwired and WiMAX and MySpace and Clearwire.

Aperto’s PacketMAX CPE Family Achieves WiMAX Forum Certification

Aperto's PacketMAX 100 and PacketMAX 300 series of subscriber units operating at 3.5 GHz will now be adorned with the coveted WiMAX Forum Certified™ logo signifying that the equipment is interoperable and compliant with the WiMAX Forum's certification guidelines based on IEEE 802.16-2004 and ETSI HiperMAN standards. Aperto's industry leading carrier-class PacketMAX 5000 base station was one of the first to receive WiMAX Forum certification earlier this year.

"The certification of Aperto's PacketMAX family of subscriber units is another significant milestone for Aperto and underscores Aperto's unyielding commitment to our service provider customers who understand and appreciate the value and importance of the WiMAX Forum's certification regime," said Manish Gupta, vice president of marketing and alliances for Aperto Networks. "Our customers can have assurance and confidence that Aperto's end-to-end, carrier-grade WiMAX solution is fully certified."

The newly certified PacketMAX 100 and the PacketMAX 300 CPEs incorporate the Intel PRO/Wireless 5116 wireless modem, which was specifically designed to support the IEEE 802.16-2004 standard. These CPEs give service providers flexibility in serving residential as well as enterprise customers with best in class QoS features and service parameters.

"Aperto has utilized its broadband wireless expertise to build very versatile WiMAX base stations and subscriber units," said Yung Hahn, general manager of the WiMAX product division at Intel. "We offer our congratulations to the Aperto team in securing WiMAX Forum certification for its CPEs based on Intel silicon."

Certification means that a WiMAX device complies with the IEEE 802.16 and ETSI HiperMAN standards based on 100 percent success in a series of authorized WiMAX Forum tests covering protocol conformance, radio conformance, and device interoperability. The WiMAX Forum is an industry-led, non-profit corporation formed to help promote and certify the compatibility and interoperability of broadband wireless products using the IEEE 802.16 and ETSI HiperMAN wireless MAN specifications. The Forum's goal is to accelerate the introduction of standard broadband devices into the market with fully interoperable WiMAX Forum Certified™ products supporting metropolitan area fixed, portable and mobile broadband applications.

"As a WiMAX Forum founding member and a key contributor to the 802.16 standard, Aperto Networks was an influential leader and a contributor in moving WiMAX certification efforts forward," said Ron Resnick, president of the WiMAX Forum. "We are pleased with Aperto's commitment and its achievement of certifying its entire PacketMAX family of products."

Source: Aperto 

Written by Dal on July 17th, 2006 with no comments.
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Sequans Announces Availability Of Mobile Wimax Chip

Sequans' SQN1110 system-on-chip is an integrated, low power 802.16e-compliant, baseband solution. Its high level of integration and low power consumption make it suitable for use in mobile devices―handsets, smartphones, PDAs, PC cards, USB dongles-as well as fixed devices.

Sequans new mobile station chip was designed to include all MAC and PHY features required to attain WiMAX certification, expected later this year. The SQN1110 mobile station chips are sampling now along with evaluation kits for the SQN2110 base station chipsets; general availability for both is scheduled for September 2006. 

Source: Sequans 

Written by Dal on July 17th, 2006 with no comments.
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Futura Technologies Completes Deployment of WiMax

WiMax or 802.16 is a new technology that enables service providers like Futura Technologies to provide high-speed Internet access that effectively rivals that of Cable and DSL. WiMax will eventually provide speeds up to 70mbps at distances of 30 miles or more. WiMax or 802.16 is a developing standard, much like WiFi or 802.11, and many devices that support the technology will soon be available. The service in Miami, OK will initially be at speeds up to 1.5 mbps, but quickly grow to over 6 mbps!

Futura Technologies believes that this type of connectivity will greatly benefit the Miami, OK area, and will quickly expand into other areas of the region.

“This deployment plays a very important to the quick expansion of our network into other areas of the Midwest, and Miami is a great place to start.” said Josh Garrett, President and CEO of Futura Technologies.

“FuturaWave wireless broadband will completely revolutionize the way that people stay connected to the internet. With speeds equal to or greater than Cable or DSL, combined with a service that is portable, many consumers and business will benefit greatly from FuturaWave.”

The company will bundle FuturaWave wireless broadband with its Internet telephone service known as FuturaVoice, which currently provides unlimited local and long distance calling anywhere in the U.S. and Canada for only $29.99 per month, which will soon be lowered to $24.99. Not only does the bundle reduce the monthly service fee by $5 per month, but it will also allow Futura Technologies to maintain full control over many aspects of FuturaVoice, such as Qos or quality of service and troubleshooting.

About Futura Technologies:
Futura Technologies is a wireless Internet and broadband telephone service provider based in Mission, Kansas. The company utilizes next generation technologies to provide high-quality broadband services to consumers and businesses. With its services, known as FuturaWave and FuturaVoice, the company is quickly becoming a leading service provider in the markets where its services are available.

Written by Dal on July 15th, 2006 with no comments.
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A Wake-Up Call From Craig McCaw

If Craig O. McCaw gets his way, you'll be able to do all that, and more, in as little as three years' time. McCaw's Clearwire Corp. has amassed enough licensed radio spectrum to create a nationwide, wireless broadband network based on an emerging technology called mobile WiMAX -- a powerful cousin of WiFi. Clearwire got a big boost on July 5, when Intel Corp. (INTC ) and Motorola Inc. (MOT ) pumped nearly $900 million into the company.

The tech giants aim to turn WiMAX into a mainstream consumer technology and hope to make lots of money selling the chips, laptops, cell phones, and other gear that work with it. McCaw famously upended Ma Bell by building a cellular phone network in the 1980s, a business he later sold to AT&T (T ) for $11.5 billion. Now he could be poised to do much the same to today's cable, satellite, and telecom players by providing a cheaper alternative to the broadband services they currently offer. "Filling a need that others aren't addressing has always been a focus of the companies that I have been involved with," McCaw says. Not so long ago, McCaw's WiMAX gambit seemed less threatening to the entrenched players.

There were no industrywide standards for mobile WiMAX, so the equipment was too expensive to roll out on a large scale. But last year the industry adopted the long-awaited standards, which helped bring Motorola and Intel into the game. Add McCaw's control of one of the biggest chunks of WiMAX spectrum, and he seems well positioned. The cable guys and telcos profess themselves unfazed by McCaw's WiMAX ambitions. But you can easily imagine people preferring to subscribe to a Clearwire service that allows them online access anywhere rather than one that restricts them to their home. What's more, because WiMAX infrastructure is so much cheaper to build than traditional networks, Clearwire can likely afford to offer a nationwide mobile service for as little as $25 a month. Suddenly, paying $60 for Verizon Wireless' (VZ ) Broadband-Access service looks a lot less attractive.

This is not just a question of luring away rivals' subscribers, either. McCaw's WiMAX play also could put in jeopardy the billions of dollars the telcos and cable companies are investing to make their broadband networks faster and more reliable. For example, Verizon is spending $20 billion to $40 billion to roll out fiber-optic lines to homes over the next 10 or so years. Meanwhile, the cellular carriers have spent comparable amounts on so-called 3rd Generation networks that are supposed to let subscribers watch "real-time" TV on their phones, among other things. WiMAX won't necessarily make these investments redundant, but it could provide enough competition to make it hard for the carriers to recoup the billions spent.

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Written by Dal on July 14th, 2006 with no comments.
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VeriSign To Secure WiMAX Networks

The VeriSign Custom Device Certificate Service (CDCS) allows embedding X.509-standard digital certificates into all WiMAX Forum Certified hardware devices based on IEEE 802.16-2004 and ETSI HiperMAN 1.2.1 standards.

"VeriSign's mission is to create and operate transformational infrastructures that become indispensable to society," said Nico Popp, vice president, Authentication Services for VeriSign.

"WiMAX promises a whole new level of data access flexibility that will be much less location specific for customers. This type of robust mobile, portable or fixed broadband access will be unprecedented, encouraging innovation and improved services," he said.

"VeriSign has proven experience creating interoperable trust models, and demonstrated a deep understanding of the WiMAX requirements, giving us the confidence that they are the best choice to secure the millions of WiMAX devices that will be deployed," said Ron Resnick, president and chair, WiMAX Forum. "VeriSign met the WiMAX requirements for a PKI Trust Model and can provide scalable, robust PKI trust services to our more than 350 member corporations worldwide."

Using strong certificate-based authentication allows service providers to ensure network access, digital content and software services can be secured from unauthorised access.

Austar and Unwired are likely to be the two major providers of high-speed WiMAX wireless broadband Internet access in Australia as they hold the rights to the spectrum normally associated with the technology.

Telstra, alternatively, is focussing on advances in GSM mobile phone technologies toprovide wireless broadband access.

Source: Verisign 

Written by Dal on July 13th, 2006 with no comments.
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Sequans Starts Mobile WiMAX Race

With Clearwire and the launch of WiBro, WiMAX and its mobile derivatives have been in the news a lot lately. The latest is Paris-based Sequans, a fabless semiconductor company, which says it has started shipping its mobile WiMAX station chips to test with its customers, for use in mobile devices like cell phones, PC cards, and USB dongles, as well as fixed devices.

The company is part of a gaggle of start-ups that are pushing mobile WiMAX silicon, and now that Korea’s WiBro network is officially up and running there’s actual customers. Sales of WiMAX equipment is estimated to top $3 billion by 2010 says research firm Instat. Fujitsu, Runcom, TeleCIS, Wavesat, and Samsung are all competing for business, and Korea’s WiBro network will be a really interesting test case to see which WiMAX chip companies find favor with phone makers and operators.

A few months ago Sequans managed to score a major partnership with LG to supply WiMAX chips to LG’s consumer electronics. The deal could be seen as way for LG to team up with a savvy startup, to compete against WiBro king and archrival Samsung. The Samsung/LG rivalry is intense, and will just get more so over WiMAX. (Though Samsung seems to be solidly winning for now.)

How intense is the rivalry? How about LG PR people making me take off the CTIA badge for an interview, because the event was sponsored by Samsung!

Written by Katie Fehrenbacher on July 11th, 2006 with no comments.
Read more articles on Uncategorized and Unwired and WiMAX and Wireless Broadband and WiBro.

Orbitel Launches WiMax In Colombia

Colombian broadband provider, Orbitel, has just launched its WiMAX network and has started taking orders for the service. The plans range from $39 to about $325. The network will offer speeds of upto 2 megabits per second. The network is now live in Cali, but will soon be made available in 14 other cities. Network uses Siemens’ WayMAX gear. Fixed wireless technologies - of all flavors - are finding home in emerging markets especially those with limited legacy infrastructure.

Also, Its a WiBro World and The Truth about WiMAX.

Written by Om Malik on July 7th, 2006 with no comments.
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Clearwire Nixes IPO, Raises $900 Million

Looks like Clearwire’s IPO plans weren’t going too well. The company, which was started by telecom master Craig McCaw, withdrew its IPO plans on Wednesday and simultaneously said it had raised $900 million in a private equity round from Intel Capital and Motorola Ventures. Given Vonage’s poor public performance, the move was probably a smart one.

A good deal of that financing–$600 million–will come from Intel Capital, which calls the Clearwire financing the largest in its history. Part of the deal also includes a sale of Clearwire’s NextNet Wireless division to Motorola for an undisclosed sum, and from here on out Motorola will provide the network equipment for Clearwire.

Previously Clearwire had raised nearly $360 million from backers that include McCaw, Intel Corp., and Bell Canada, and now even without the company’s planned $400 million IPO, Clearwire will have over $1 billion to burn on its network. The company needs the funds, given WiMAX networks are very expensive to build, and the company lost $140 million last year. The new injection of capital by the big partners is a major bet on WiMAX and means the network will likely be rolled out faster and more widespread.

Written by Katie Fehrenbacher on July 5th, 2006 with no comments.
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CableMatrix unified policy management solution

CableMatrix and VCom Showcase Unified Policy Management VoIP Solution
High Quality Cable-to-WiMAX Voice Demonstration Precedes Summer Field Trials

DENVER, CO – (June 20, 2006) - CableMatrix Technologies, a leading provider of Quality of Service (QoS) policy management solutions, will be demonstrating a unified policy management solution in conjunction with WiMAX designer and manufacturer VCom Inc. (TSX:VCM) that guarantees end-to-end service quality for VoIP calls traversing dissimilar networks, in this case cable-to-wireless. The demonstration will take place at the Society of Cable and Telecommunication Engineer (SCTE) Cable-Tec Expo (Booths 1645 and 1753) and highlights the potential for centrally managing QoS across a converged network, similar to the emerging IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) architecture.  Field trials are scheduled to begin this summer.

“Employing unified policy management, service providers can extend their distribution network and deliver a consistent quality-of-experience, regardless of access medium,” said Satish Putta, director of product development for CableMatrix. “Our WiMAX support is the first in a series of platform extensions designed to address all major cable, wireless, and DSL access solutions.”

The central components powering the demonstration are the CableMatrix On-Demand Service Platform (ODSP™) integrated with the VCom VistaMAX 802.16-2004 based transmission gear, as well as a DOCSIS-certified CMTS and accompanying customer premise equipment.  ODSP is an advanced, standards-based policy management platform for seamlessly delivering next-generation IP-based services such as SIP voice, streaming video, multi-player online gaming and video conferencing with dynamic QoS, on a per-session basis. The combined elements enable QoS-enhanced VoIP sessions on the attached DOCSIS network, connected to a corresponding standards-based IP voice over the WiMAX air interface. 

YourLink Inc., a Canadian based broadband service provider and wholly owned subsidiary of VCom, is planning summer trials of the technology. “WiMAX gives us the ability to provide a high-speed broadband service that rivals even wireline offerings,” said Robert Forget, director of wireless sales at VCom. “Adding unified QoS policy management allows us to guarantee service levels for both our enterprise and residential subscribers across disparate networks.”

About CableMatrix
CableMatrix provides IMS compatible software solutions that enable broadband operators to maximize their revenues while delivering media-rich IP applications and services. Its standards-compliant ODSP Policy Server, in conjunction with the XAM Application Manager, enables dynamic QoS and bandwidth management on a per-customer, per-application basis, giving broadband cable operators the ability to directly link increased bandwidth usage with increased revenue. For more information, visit www.cablematrix.com.


About VCom
VCom Inc. (TSX: VCM) designs, manufactures and sells products that enable broadband access to cable, wireless and telephony networks. VCom’s hardware products incorporate embedded software developed by it to meet the complex requirements of next-generation, high-speed digital networks. Service providers use VCom’s solutions to deliver services to a converging worldwide broadband market, including what are commonly known as “triple play” (voice, video and data) and “quadruple play” (voice, video, data and wireless) services. VCom’s solutions allow service providers to rapidly and cost-effectively bridge the final network segment that connects the system directly to end users, commonly referred to as “the last mile”, by overcoming the bottleneck resulting from insufficient carrying capacity in legacy, last mile infrastructures. VCom’s products are directed at three principal markets: Data over Cable, Broadband Wireless and Digital Video. The Company has also developed and continues to focus on developing products to address emerging markets such as Voice over Internet Protocol, fibre to the home and IP video.

VCom is a Principal Member of the WiMAX Forum that has developed the international open standard for this new technology. Certification to the IEEE 802.16 standard under the WiMAX certification process requires interoperability of equipment manufactured by different vendors. Operators demand interoperability to ensure that economies of mass production will be achieved by aggregating production for all manufacturers. VCom’s VistaMAX Time Division Duplexing (TDD) Base Station was successfully tested for interoperability under the provided guidelines at the WiMAX Forum 3rd Plugfest in Sophia Antipolis, France in March 2006. For more information, visit www.vcom.com.

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Written by VoIP & Gadgets Blog on June 19th, 2006 with no comments.
Read more articles on VoIP and WiMAX and ims and cablematrix.

Education IT: “bring on Mobile WiMAX;” Profs: “not in my classroom you don’t”

Written by Russell Shaw on May 3rd, 2006 with no comments.
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802.11n- A case of “Finding MIMO?”

Written by Russell Shaw on May 3rd, 2006 with no comments.
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Here’s what the Skype-Camino Networks buy is really about

Written by Russell Shaw on April 12th, 2006 with no comments.
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I’m going to the wireless VoIP conference: send me questions!

Written by Russell Shaw on April 3rd, 2006 with no comments.
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BellSouth’s WiMAX plans: cannibalization or competitive weapon?

Written by Russell Shaw on March 20th, 2006 with no comments.
Read more articles on General and BellSouth and Research and WiMAX and WiFi and SBC-AT&T.

Intel’s new chips: WiFi-WiMAX handoffs, 802.11n notebooks, BlackBerry multimedia

Written by Russell Shaw on March 8th, 2006 with no comments.
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How Google can tell Ed Whitacre to get lost

Written by Russell Shaw on March 6th, 2006 with no comments.
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A 1950s sci-fi show, mending broken hearts- and WiMAX

Written by Russell Shaw on February 13th, 2006 with no comments.
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Meet the first four WiMAX-certified products

Written by Russell Shaw on January 19th, 2006 with no comments.
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NXP - World’s first fully-integrated low-power mobile WiMAX transceiver

 

The WiMAX transceivers minimize the need for additional components, reducing design time and speeding up time to market. Combining low power consumption, a noise figure of less than three decibels, as well as high adjacent channel rejection, the high-performance ICs deliver significant benefits to mobile, nomadic and fixed wireless access (FWA) equipment, says the company. "The past year has been extremely significant in the development of WiMAX, and recent trials have demonstrated the system's ability to provide wireless broadband over a vast area," said Ruud van den Brink, marketing manager, RF WiMAX product line, NXP. "As devices become smaller, so do the requirements for smaller components.

Fully-integrated circuits such as the UXF23480/60 are now essential to enable WiMAX to be incorporated into our customer's new products, as space on the PCB becomes a premium, and the need for additional components needs to be minimized." Some of the biggest challenges for WiMAX-enabled mobile devices are associated with handover from basestation to basestation. NXP has developed a high-quality solution which is proven to offer seamless handover.

In addition the UXF23480/60 is an interoperable solution which will work with a variety of basebands by utilizing standard analog I/Q and serial interfacing and co-exists with cellular, WLAN and Bluetooth standards. "NXP's family of WiMAX transceivers will make it easier for design engineers to bring new and inventive products to market. These robust transceivers will enable a wide variety of handheld devices to boost broadband communications. As demand for high-speed broadband access on mobile devices grows, NXP's family of WiMAX transceivers will help manufactures quickly integrate this capability into the next generation of consumer gadgets," said Ruud van den Brink.

Source: Electro Pages 

Written by Dal on January 1st, 1970 with no comments.
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D-Link Announces WiMAX Router

Written by Dal on January 1st, 1970 with no comments.
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xchange Presents Free Download WiMax Ebook

Written by Dal on January 1st, 1970 with no comments.
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Agilent Technologies Announces Verification of Its WiMAX Pre-Conformance, Production Solutions

 

Agilent’s WiMAX design validation and production offerings are mainly comprised of the PSA or MXA Series spectrum analyzers, the ESG or Agilent MXG signal generators, and WiMAX measurement software package. R&D and conformance type measurements are covered by the high-performance PSA Series spectrum analyzer and ESG vector signal generator. Production-type measurements can be performed with the new MXA and Agilent MXG products. The MXA is the industry’s fastest signal analyzer with the highest performance of any midrange analyzer. Agilent MXG signal generators feature the industry’s best ACPR performance and simplified self maintenance, and provide the fastest switching speeds available on the market today.

Verification of Agilent’s design validation and production solutions took place during demonstrations at the WiMAX working group in Seoul Korea. The WiMAX Forum and subsequent working groups work to promote global WiMAX deployments and to make WiMAX the platform of choice for broadband wireless. These successful demonstrations highlight Agilent’s continued commitment to developing innovative solutions for this emerging market.

“Agilent continues to demonstrate its leadership in the WiMAX arena via successful rollout of industry-leading test and measurement solutions, strategic partnerships around the globe and participation in events like the WiMAX Forum Plenary Conferences,” said Guy Sene, vice president and general manager of Agilent’s Signal Analysis Division. “This leadership, continued innovation and industry participation is crucial to ensuring today’s engineers have the tools from Agilent they need to create the next-generation of communication based on WiMAX.”

“Agilent’s broad offering for testing fixed and mobile WiMAX comprises a number of premier test solutions that span the entire WiMAX lifecycle,” said Keum Chul Shin, operations and delivery manager for Agilent’s Korea Measurement Systems Division