Blog entries in category: Applications
Not All Devices are Created Equal
As an analyst who spends countless hours talking to different parties within the mobile broadband world, the desire to see new classes of devices connected to mobile networks is frequently discussed.
Wireless Broadband Perspectives - WiMAX.com Weekly Series Sponsored By: For the next few months, WiMAX.com and Cisco will be featuring weekly perspectives from leading thought leaders in the WiMAX & wireless broadband industry. |
These devices are a central part to many business plans. What I
don't hear as much, is how operators plan to charge for those devices.
This deafening silence is especially notable with mobile operators talking about
LTE. If operators want to add new classes of devices to their
network, the first thing they need to do is figure out how much consumers value
the device.
Phones play a very central role in most people's lives. People like
to talk, and do it often. People take cell phones with them in their
everyday travels. Consumers place a value on cell phones such that
they are willing to pay a monthly fee to use the device. This value
though does not translate to all devices. Locking a user into a
service fee for a device, which does not hold the same level of value that a
cell phone does will be tough. When service providers look at how to
value a device several factors should be considered:
- How often does somebody take it with them when they leave their house, or
place of business?
- How often do they use the device?
- How do they use the device, and can another device class substitute for it?
Such as using a camera phone in place of a digital camera.
- Why does the device need to be wireless connected?
After measuring the device value, operators need to look at new ways of pricing
connectivity for those devices. Some of those ways are:
- Pre-paid consumption based pricing, where for $X a user could purchase the
right to transmit X bytes of data over a fixed period of time.
- Bundling of devices together, where for a single price a user could have the
right to connect multiple devices under a single service plan.
- Transaction based pricing where you only pay per session or for a specific
activity. Such as charging a per-rate fee to download a song or
movie to a personal media player over a wireless network.
- Work through third party vendors like Sprint and the Amazon Kindle.
The cost of connecting is built into the cost of the e-book download.
Another challenge that needs to be addressed, and can be a real bottleneck, is
device cost. The cost of embedding a device needs to come down.
Removing traditional cellular service fees requires the end-user to take on the
full device cost. The cost of an embedded device, versus the same
device minus the radio, needs to be minimal. Wi-Fi has done a great
job in that area. WiMAX shows promise. Recently Dell
announced WiMAX embedded laptops. The cost of the embedded radio
only added $60 to the price, and did not require a service agreement.
This is a move in the right direction. Clearwire's recent
announcement with Cisco should lead to similar advancements with devices.
Successfully bringing connectivity to new device classes will take time and a
change from the traditional mobile operator handset model. Operators
that can do this will be able to drive new revenue streams across their
networks.

Daryl Schoolar is a Senior Analyst within the Mobile Internet group at
In-Stat. At In-Stat he
contributes to the "Wireless Broadband Evolution" research tract. He
focuses primarily on WiMAX, LTE, 3G and Wi-Fi.
In his coverage, Daryl primarily focuses on mobile broadband at the
infrastructure and carrier level. His work within those areas includes
sizing of markets, carrier strategies, and market drivers.
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Can Developing Countries Afford Wireless Broadband Technologies to Deliver Healthcare?
While working recently on a paper on WiMAX healthcare applications in developing countries, one of the key questions faced was whether wireless and wireless broadband in particular can truly help rural and underserved communities - where people may subsist on less than a dollar a day, houses have no running water or electricity, and kids only have access to the most basic education.
Wireless Broadband Perspectives - WiMAX.com Weekly Series Sponsored By: For the next 3 months, WiMAX.com and Cisco will be featuring weekly perspectives from leading thought leaders in the WiMAX & wireless broadband industry. For this week, Monica Paolini with Senza Fili Consulting explores the trade-offs that healthcare providers in developing countries must between delivering basic medical services to providing access to new technologies to improve treatment and ultimately save more lives. |
Without doubt, wireless broadband, and more specifically, WiMAX can improve the
quality of health care and access to services, and provide better training for
the medical workers - but is this the best way to use the scarce resources
available to hospitals, non-profit organizations or health care agencies?
Wouldn't they be better off providing the basics of health care-vaccinations,
drugs, more doctors in remote or poor areas? Would wireless broadband deliver
high levels of care in the handful of villages selected for a trial, but be too
expensive to benefit entire regions or countries?
Simply put, we do not know the answer to this question yet and, in most
likelihood, different communities will develop a wide range of approaches, and
some will be more successful than others. Right now, we are in the very
initial phase of exploring the opportunities that wireless broadband brings and
there is hardly any historical data to measure the impact of wireless broadband
on health care in emerging markets.
However, the indications we have so far are extremely encouraging and
fascinating. In developed countries we still think of wireless broadband
as a luxury service mostly limited to the business users that afford a $60/month
contract. In emerging countries, wireless broadband can address basic
community needs and not just health care: education, ability to develop small
businesses, access to government services can equally benefit-by making scarce
resources available more widely and more efficiently. This is because
wireless technologies are often the first communication technologies to reach
the communities that need most assistance. In these communities, wireline
connectivity is often not available, and people are often quite isolated as they
do not own cars or live in villages only reachable by foot.
Emerging countries have shown to be extremely quick at adopting wireless
technologies. Even in the most remote villages, cell phones are widely
used, as they offer the only way to keep in touch with friends, relative or
customers. In health care, SMS messaging to remind people to take their
daily pills or to encourage them to get HIV testing have proven to deliver
substantial results with little cost.
Wireless broadband provides the next step. For sure, developing countries
have limited funding available for health care. But what they crucially
lack are resources - there are few doctors and most of them do not want to work
in remote or poor areas. They often do not even speak the same language as
many of the people in these communities. To get care, people living in
rural or poor areas have to spend huge amounts of time to travel to the hospital
and wait to be seen by a doctor-and, because of this, they often postpone the
trip to the hospital until it becomes much more expensive and difficult to treat
the condition.
According to Dr. Manuel Dayrit, Director of the Department of Human
Resources for Health at the World Health Organization, "even if you have the
medicine, the vaccines, and the bed nets, you need the health workers to deliver
the service. With the experience of the last few years, where you have had
huge global funds move into an activity to provide resources. ...we've
found that the bottleneck is really the delivery."
This is exactly where wireless broadband and WiMAX fit and where cellular
technologies, powerful as they are for narrowband applications, are not
sufficient. The ability to establish a data connection between visiting
nurses in remote or underserved areas and doctors in urban hospitals brings
affordable health care exactly where and when it is needed. A broadband
connection allows the nurse, which has often very limited training, to get
immediate answers from attending doctors and to avoid costly referrals.
Basic tests can be done remotely and the data can be analyzed in real-time at
the hospital. VoIP and video sessions allow doctors to interact directly
with the patient and the nurse. Remote learning courses can be made
available on-line to give additional training to nurses without taking them away
from the community where they operate.
Wireless broadband applications encourage a shift from the still dominant
urgent-care treatment that is often administered too late, to more effective
preventive and early-stage treatment that reduces both the medical and social
costs of health care.
These wireless broadband applications play are uniquely positioned to bring
health care closer to the patient, where the need is strongest and the resources
more scarce. This new approach has been recently championed by the World
Health Organization to address the very basic needs that current health care
systems struggle to meet. It is an approach that certainly requires some
initial funding, but that also promises to deliver a more cost-effective,
equitable and effective framework to provide primary health care services in
emerging countries.

Countries with a critical shortage of health care workers. Source:
World Health Organization. The World Health Report 2006
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Bringing health care closer to the patient: |
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Improved health levels among the population, translating into longer life expectancy, improved quality of life, and increased work productivity. |
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Reduction in waste of resources due to unnecessary referrals and hospitalization or to late intervention, in turn reducing funding needs. |
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Quicker and more effective response to epidemic outbreaks. |
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Increased trust in and reliance on the health care network by underserved communities, thanks to closer ties to health workers. According to a 2008 report by the World Health Organization, “Access to the same team of health-care providers over time fosters the development of a relationship of trust between the individual and their health-care provider.” |
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More extensive access to preventive care for patients who do not require hospitalization or specialist visits. |
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Higher satisfaction on the part of mobile and remote health care workers who are empowered by increased responsibility and accountability, a closer integration into the medical community, more extensive learning opportunities, and the increased efficiency and visibility of their work. |

Monica Paolini is the founder and president of
Senza Fili Consulting.
She is an expert in wireless technologies and has helped clients worldwide to
understand technology and customer requirements, evaluate business plan
opportunities, market their services and products, and estimate the market size
and revenue opportunity of new and established wireless technologies. She
has frequently been invited to give presentations at conferences and has written
several reports on wireless broadband technologies.
She has a PhD in cognitive science from the University of California, San Diego
(US), an MBA from the University of Oxford (UK), and a BA/MA in philosophy from
the University of Bologna (Italy). She can be contacted at
monica.paolini@senzafiliconsulting.com.
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Keeping WiMAX Devices Secure
It pays to certify devices for use on a public network. Certification for network use protects quality of service and sets a baseline for subscriber security.
It’s a business that Motorola has been in for years, and one that now reaches
into the realm of WiMAX. The WiMAX Forum has selected Motorola’s public
key infrastructure (PKI) Center of Excellence for certification of WiMAX
devices. This means that the Motorola Center can test products and issue
certificates enabling authentication on a WiMAX network.
The Motorola PKI Center in San Diego is an extension of the company’s history in
network security. Part of the reason for the separable security movement
in set-tops, and the CableCARD mandate, was the limited number of companies able
to secure content on cable networks. Motorola is part of a very elite
group of companies working successfully in the cable conditional access (CA)
space, and has extended that expertise to device certification across many
different types of networks.
A few stats on the PKI Center:
- More than 65 billion dollars of entertainment content and data services are
protected by Motorola’s PKI security every year.
- To date, the PKI Center has produced more than 650 million certificates.
- Motorola issued 180 million certificates through the PKI Center in 2008 alone.
The PKI Center certifies devices of all types for all kinds of networks,
including cell phones, cable and satellite set-tops, cable modems, DSL modems,
portable media players, two-way radios, and more. The addition of WiMAX
certification authority comes just as mobile WiMAX is starting to roll out in
the US.
Mari Silbey
Chief Blogger, Motorola's Media
Experiences 2 Go
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D2 Technologies Demonstrates Reference Design for WiMAX Phones
Will VoIP happen over mobile WiMAX devices? D2 Technologies definitely thinks so. The company is displaying the industry’s first complete reference design for the creation of WiMAX mobile phones this week at ITEXPO East 2009 in Miami, Florida.
The reference design
provides manufacturers with a turnkey software solution for quickly
developing and delivering WiMAX handsets and similar portable devices to market.
The reference software implementation is running on a dual-mode mobile platform
running Linux on a Texas Instruments OMAP-based processor; this version is
available immediately, with additional implementations on the Google Android and
Microsoft® Windows® CE/Mobile platforms coming in the second quarter of 2009.
The reference design includes everything a developer needs to implement VoIP
over WiMAX.
"The industry is pouring tremendous resources into the creation and delivery of
a WiMAX infrastructure, and manufacturers will need a fast and cost-effective
way to develop mobile devices that take advantage of the greater bandwidth,
range and other benefits of this technology," said Doug Makishima, vice
president of marketing and sales at D2 Technologies. "Our mCUE platform
offers these companies a quick, easy and affordable path to the delivery of
converged, unified WiMAX communications devices."
Opinion: We think there is a real market for VoIP over FIXED WiMAX
in developing countries or under-served/rural areas in developed countries.
In this case, fixed WiMAX 802.16d or 802.16e is used in place of DSL or cable
access. We are less optimistic about VoIP over truly mobile WiMAX, which
has yet to gain market traction in any country (with the possible exception of
WiBro in Korea).
Alan Weissberger
DCT Advisors
2013 Acacia Court
Santa Clara, CA 95050-3482
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General Dynamics military radios enable high-speed communication with WiMAX
Tactical radios carry WiMAX networking technology and enable moving vehicle decision-making.
General Dynamics announced its Handheld, Manpack and Small Form Fit (HMS) radios
will utilize Wideband Networking Waveform and WiMAX wireless networking
technologies to enable communication between tactical vehicles while they are
on-the-move. WiMAX was selected to bring added capability to the Joint
Tactical Radio System (JTRS). The company's software makes the radios
suitable for communicating large amounts of information and for on-line
collaboration between moving vehicles.
General Dynamics C4 Systems has a contract to deliver HMS radios to the U.S.
Department of Defense. The company is demonstrating the radios'
vehicle-based communications capability at a military communication event this
week. The demonstration shows HMS radios meeting battlefield networking
requirements by embedding WiMAX wide area networking (IEEE 802.16). WiMAX
technologies provide the necessary bandwidth and spectrum range to facilitate
communication between moving vehicles. The scope of the mission for HMS
radios increases rapidly by enabling communication between vehicles and soldiers
on the ground.
"Demonstrating WNW and 802.16 for advanced, high-speed networking places HMS in
a class by itself for performance and efficiency," said Chris Brady, vice
president of Assured Communications Systems for General Dynamics C4 Systems.
HMS radios are designed to meet waveform-compliance, interoperability and
security standards set forth by JTRS. The first HMS radios will be in
warfighters' hands during early 2010.
General Dynamics C4 Systems is a business unit of General Dynamics.
General Dynamics, headquartered in Falls Church, USA, employs over 90,000 people
worldwide. The company is active in driving business aviation; land and
expeditionary combat systems, armaments and munitions; shipbuilding and marine
systems; and information systems and technologies.
By Jeff Orr, ORR Technology, LLC
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Expanding the potential of wireless broadband services in the US using the 3.65GHz band
For wireless broadband operators, the availability of affordable, clean spectrum in which they can deploy the most advanced technologies is critical to their success.
Monica Paolini
Senza Fili Consulting
Until recently, operators in the US have faced spectrum restrictions that have
limited the market growth of wireless broadband services. License-exempt
bands in the 2.4GHz and 5.8GHz frequencies have been successfully used by many
operators, but interference has increasingly become an issue, especially for
Point to Multipoint (PMP) networks. In these bands, operators face
interference not only from other operators, but also from consumer devices
(microwaves, phones, residential Wireless Local Area Network [WLAN] hardware,
etc.) that make it difficult to manage interference successfully.
The other two bands that are available in many markets are 2.5GHz and 3.5GHz.
The 2.5GHz band is available in the US, but it is largely controlled by large
operators-mostly by Clearwire, Sprint, and AT&T. In most countries,
wireless broadband operators have access to licensed spectrum in the 3.5-3.7GHz
band-along with a large choice of commercial equipment, because this is the
licensed band most widely used for fixed broadband services. In the US,
wireless operators were not able to use this band until the end of 2007.
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) recognized the spectrum limitations
that US operators faced, and introduced an innovative licensing scheme in the
3.65GHz band. It is designed to unlock the market potential for wireless
services and widen the availability of broadband to underserved areas in the
country. The newly available spectrum is subject to light licensing:
licenses are not exclusive, and they are easy and inexpensive to obtain.
In many ways, the 3.65GHz band promises to combine most of the advantages of
unlicensed bands with substantially lower, manageable levels of interference.
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Key licensing provisions for the 3.65GHz band |
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Spectrum band |
Restricted contention protocol: 3.65-3.675 GHz. Unrestricted contention protocol: 3.65-3.7 GHz. |
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Multiplexing |
Time Division Duplexing (TDD). |
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Channel bandwidth |
None fixed. Operator can decide channel bandwidth. |
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Peak power limits |
Base station and outdoor subscriber device (fixed): 25 Watts per 25MHz channel, with 1 Watt per MHz of bandwidth used. Subscriber device, indoor (“mobile device,” in FCC terminology): 1 Watt per 25MHz channel. |
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Certification required |
FCC certification ensures that base stations and subscriber equipment implement an approved contention protocol. |
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Geographic availability |
All national territory with the exclusion of areas surrounding about 100 grandfathered earth satellite stations (150km radius) and the federal government’s radiolocation stations (80km radius), unless satellite operators or the federal government give permission to operators to deploy base stations in the area. As a result, 3.65GHz coverage is not allowed in many East and West Coast urban areas. |
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Licensing requirements |
Operators need to obtain a nonexclusive, nationwide license first. Each base station deployed has to be registered in the ULS database to facilitate cooperation among operators active in the same area. |
While the light-licensing scheme used for the 3.65GHz band is still largely
untested because of its recent introduction, the results so far are very
encouraging. Commercial equipment based on Worldwide Interoperability for
Microwave Access (WiMAX) with the necessary FCC approval is now available from
multiple vendors. In some cases where vendors have invested in
Interoperability Testing (IOT), operators can use interoperable gear from
different vendors within the same network. As of September 2008, 420
operators nationwide have applied for or received a license, and some of them
have launched commercial services using WiMAX-based equipment.
Wireless operators have welcomed the availability of the spectrum in the 3.65GHz
band because it allows them to better serve their existing and prospective
clients, to extend coverage, or to start new deployments in a cost-effective
way. This is possible because, in addition to the low levels of
interference, the 3.65GHz band has good propagation characteristics that enable
Non-Line-Of-Sight (NLOS) operations. This results in lower deployment
costs and better coverage.
The additional benefit of the 3.65GHz band is that it brings wireless operators
access to WiMAX-based technology, which before now was available only for
licensed spectrum. WiMAX supports improved spectral efficiency, lower
per-bit costs, and Quality of Service (QoS) for carrier-grade voice services and
enterprise Service Level Agreements (SLAs). As WiMAX equipment is deployed
worldwide, operators can expect to reap the advantages of economies of
scale-lower equipment prices and wider choice of vendors and products-even
though equipment for the US market has to be slightly modified to meet the
domestic regulatory requirements.
The FCC regulatory framework for the 3.65GHz band
Licensing in the 3.65GHz band and FCC product certification both started in
2007, with the first commercial deployments announced in 2008.
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Chronology |
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1984 |
Fixed Satellite Service (FSS) space-to-earth stations allowed to operate in the 3.65GHZ band, alongside government and non-government radiolocation services. |
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2000 |
Fixed and mobile terrestrial services allowed in the 3.65GHz, coexisting with existing FSS and radiolocation stations. |
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2005 |
Nonexclusive licensing scheme adopted for terrestrial services, with the requirement that base stations support a contention protocol that minimizes interference. The contention protocol, however, was not specified. |
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2007 |
“Restricted” and “unrestricted” contention protocols defined. |
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2007 |
First 3.65GHz base station certified. |
The FCC's goal was to create a band with low entry costs and minimal regulatory
delays to enable multiple wireless operators to roll out services, while keeping
interference at a minimum. In trying to find a compromise between
expensive, difficult-to-obtain licensed spectrum and interference-prone
unlicensed spectrum, the FCC decided to adopt a nonexclusive licensing scheme
with a contention protocol requirement.
Under the nonexclusive licensing scheme, there is no limit to the number of
operators that can obtain a nationwide license. The implicit expectation
is that each operator will focus on selected geographical areas and that this
will prevent spectrum overcrowding. Obtaining a license in the 3.65GHz
spectrum is a fast and straightforward process that can be completed at any time
with minimal cost (210 USD).
To manage interference, the FCC uses two tools: a requirement that operators
"make any effort" necessary to minimize harmful interference, and the adoption
of a contention protocol. All operators with a license are required to
register their base station locations with the ULS (Universal Licensing System)
prior to deployment, and to appropriately coordinate operations to minimize
interference. Operators that deploy first in a given area do not enjoy any
first-to-market advantage over operators coming on later. They are all
required to collaborate to find a solution that enables multiple operators to
coexist.
Furthermore, base station registration allows new entrants in a market to
evaluate spectrum availability-as well as market potential-based on the base
stations already installed. This may turn out to be the most effective
tool in preventing spectrum (and market) overcrowding. In most markets,
there is effectively room for only one or two operators to roll out services
profitably in the band. In this sense, early operators enjoy a substantial
advantage and may effectively stop others from entering the market, unless they
are not successful at attracting or retaining customers.
The adoption of a contention protocol to manage interference has attracted a lot
of criticism from operators and vendors alike, especially as the FCC initially
had not defined what the contention protocol was. In 2007, the FCC issued
a clarification that opened the door to equipment certification, but there is
still considerable uncertainty about which contention protocols will be allowed
by the FCC.
The FCC has defined two types. A restricted contention protocol manages
interference among devices using the same wireless interface. WiMAX
qualifies as implementing a restricted contention protocol, as multiple
subscriber devices can coexist within the same network, and multiple networks
can coordinate operations to minimize interference. All products certified
by the FCC to date support restricted contention protocols.
Unrestricted contention protocols work across multiple wireless air interfaces.
The FCC defines such a protocol as one that "can avoid co-frequency interference
with devices using all other types of contention-based protocols."
The "listen-before-you-talk" protocol used by Wi-Fi is the most commonly cited
example of an unrestricted contention protocol. While a
listen-before-you-talk protocol can limit the impact of interference, it carries
significant overhead requirements that can dramatically affect the spectral
efficiency of the technology. For the end user, the difference in
performance between interference and network congestion may be difficult to see.
As of September 2008, the FCC had not yet certified any equipment that supports
an unrestricted contention protocol, but the IEEE 802.11y Amendment was defined
to develop equipment that meets the FCC requirements using Wi-Fi technology.
The FCC has reserved the upper half of the spectrum (3.675-3.700 GHz) for
equipment using only unrestricted contention protocols, to encourage their
development. The lower half of the band (3.650-3.675 GHz) is available to
equipment that implements both types of contention protocols.
The FCC has also taken into account the fact that the band was already allocated
to FSS licensees and to radiolocation services. As a result,
wireless operators are not allowed to operate in areas surrounding grandfathered
satellite earth stations and radiolocation stations.
The market impact
The availability of the 3.65GHz band on a nonexclusive licensed basis greatly
expands the market opportunity for wireless broadband services in the US.
It will widen the availability of broadband in digital-divide, underserved
areas, and it will provide more choice to broadband subscribers in competitive
markets.
It is still unclear whether the contention protocol and frequency coordination
mandated by the FCC will be effective in controlling the impact of interference.
The new licensing scheme adopted for the 3.65GHz band may prove effective and
usher in further innovation in licensing frameworks in the US and abroad.
If its effectiveness is limited, operators will still benefit from affordable
access to the 3.65GHz band and from the ability to finally deploy WiMAX-based
solutions in the US, even if they do not have access to the much more expensive
and difficult-to-obtain 2.5GHz spectrum.
All types of fixed wireless operators in the US can benefit from the
availability of the 3.65GHz spectrum-although, realistically, in each market the
number of operators that will be able to successfully operate side by side
within the band will be limited. This may have the positive effect of
containing interference within manageable levels.
Established wireless broadband operators have already started to deploy 3.65GHz
equipment to expand their reach to new market segments, to offer new services,
or to improve the performance or capacity of their network.
The availability of WiMAX technology for the 3.65GHz band will give both new and
established operators the ability to roll out carrier-grade networks with
improved performance, NLOS capabilities, and QoS support, which can support
voice and data services on the basis of a compelling business case.
Monica Paolini is the founder and president of Senza Fili Consulting and can
be contacted at
monica.paolini@senzafiliconsulting.com. Senza Fili Consulting
provides expert advisory services on wireless data technologies and services.
WiMAX and TV White Space Spectrum - A Short Tutorial
Will WiMAX make a big impact in the new unlicensed spectrum TV White Space? We look at the basics of what you need to know.
With the FCC ruling in the last week that it would allow unlicensed use of TV
"White Space" spectrum for the US many camps are all aflutter about the
potential for this technology to be a big front for WiMAX growth.
So will it? Well, I guess that depends on your point of view. My short
answer is I don't think anytime soon. But it maybe could. So why and
what is it about this spectrum that has so many so excited?
The
FCC has been testing devices and taking comments from many interested parties,
both pro and con. Testing actually took two phases and the first phase
of tests did not go so swimmingly. There were problems. And actually
in my opinion the second phase of testing was not without some hiccups.
There were some problems. I think that the testing did not have enough
field trials to really be definitive. Radios did not sense active signal
in all cases, but I think those are mostly solvable issues.
In any event finally the FCC has ruled. The basics are this: Devices can
be used for both fixed and portable use (an important element) but they must
also possess a geolocate feature, be able to sense active licensed spectrum
channels and, at least initially, they must be able to download a database of
spectrum in use for a given area. They also must be able to sense wireless
microphones which are allowed via Part 74 of FCC rules. Sound complicated?
Well, a bit maybe, but I don't see any of this as a big hurdle for device
manufacturers. We will have devices relatively quickly I think, possibly
in the next 12 months even.
The FCC will require testing for all devices of course, which will take some
time. So where is this "White Space?" Basically devices will operate in
UHF channels 21-51. And most of the devices tested out to sensitivities
below -110 dBm and some quite a bit better.
Okay so we have covered the basics of the ruling and devices (the very basics),
now why is everyone so excited about this spectrum. Well, being unlicensed
it would free up vendors and users to define creative and valuable ways to use
the spectrum. And it could be especially useful in rural areas. The
why of that, is that the physics of spectrum dictate that the lower the
frequency the better signal propagates over distance and the easier it is for it
to penetrate solid objects. So a carrier would need fewer base stations
and mobile devices could receive signal indoors more easily. So what is
the catch---I mean it sounds perfect right? The catch is bandwidth. And
notwithstanding the fact that the nation's carriers spent unprecedented money to
acquire 700 MHz spectrum this past year, bandwidth is the big bugaboo. The
lower the frequency the lower the theoretical limits of bandwidth and
information that can be transmitted.
The reason carriers loved this spectrum in licensed bands is they could cover
wide swaths of area for much less base station cost. I think this spectrum
will be a nice addition to the panoply of unlicensed frequencies, especially
when taken in concert. But I will blog more on the creative use of
multiple spectrum in future posts. The key here is that I think hardware
is slowly moving to real cognitive capability where radios can work in multiple
spectrum ranges and sense what is available. Now why will WiMAX be a while
getting involved? I think WiMAX vendors will focus on radios for carriers with
licensed spectrum because that will initially be where the money is. To
date the WiMAX Forum has set just one product profile for unlicensed spectrum
and I think they won't jump on this quickly---just my opinion of course.
What do you think?
Tim Sanders
www.TheFinalMile.net
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ERF Wireless adopts WiMAX for WISP and utility production markets
Company plans limited deployments in 3.65 GHz spectrum across Texas, New Mexico and Louisiana.
ERF Wireless announced it has registered and received a nationwide license
for operation of WiMAX-based services in the 3.65 GHz frequency band. In
addition, the company is partnering with entities owning 2.5 GHz spectrum to
grow its coverage footprint. The operator is a wireless ISP and services
multiple vertical markets including the oil and gas industry. ERF Wireless
is currently evaluating equipment vendors for limited deployment in select
markets across Texas, New Mexico and Louisiana.
"The adoption of WiMax technology is a critical part of our current network
expansion strategy," said ERF Wireless CEO, Dr. H. Dean Cubley.
Dr. Cubley went on to note that one of the most compelling reasons for
deployment of this new licensed frequency band is its ability to eliminate the
problems of frequency congestion and interference, particularly in areas where
unlicensed spectrum is under heavy usage.
Oil and gas companies recognize the benefits of broadband wireless - a secure,
robust and cost-effective data pipe - for essential business expansion in the
most active areas of exploration, drilling and production. "ERF Wireless
believes this is a very opportune time to add WiMAX capabilities to our
extensive existing wireless footprint and our major customers are in total
agreement," added Cubley.

Businesses will also benefit from the enhanced network coverage.
"Leading-edge WiMax technology also brings a great advantage to our WISP
deployments with its increased coverage and enhanced service offerings,
including Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), Internet portability and the
promise of true broadband mobility nationwide," said Bob "Bobby Mack" McClung,
CEO of the company's Bundled Wireless Services subsidiary.
ERF Wireless Inc. specializes in providing wireless and broadband product
and service solutions to enterprise, commercial and residential clients on a
regional, national and international basis. Its principals have been in
the wireless broadband, network integration, triple-play FTTH, IPTV and content
delivery business for more than 40 years. Based in League City, Texas, the
company is the parent of ERF Oil & Gas Services.
By Jeff Orr, ORR Technology, LLC
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Netbooks and MIDs go big: Intel's UrbanMax concept tablet
Larger PC slate excites possibilities for future portable applications.
Intel showed off its concept computers this week at the Intel Developer Forum (IDF)
in Taiwan. One system that gathered attention is the company's UrbanMax
tablet. Concept computers are not production-ready. Instead they are
developed to inspire manufacturers to introduce imaginative solutions.
Intel first demonstrated the UrbanMax in August at the U.S. conference
stop.
Powered by a Core 2 Duo processor beneath an 11" multi-touch screen, the tablet
can utilize Intel's mobile WiMAX module for connecting to high-speed Internet
outside of the home and hotspot. Other proposed specifications include a
solid state drive (SSD), high-definition video playback and a full-size QWERTY
keyboard.

The design follows the mechanics of pocket-sized mobile Internet devices (MIDs),
while maintaining the larger size of a thin notebook computer. The
form-factor is interesting because it can be used in places where a traditional
clamshell laptop lid cannot open, such as an economy airline seat.
Configurations for use include closed flat like a paper notepad, slid open to
expose the keyboard or with the screen tilted up to resemble a traditional
notebook view. Laptop vendors have introduced a series of sub-notebooks or
netbooks that reduce size and cost from their larger counterparts. Does
the UrbanMax suggest the opportunity for a Mega-MIDs category?
Along with the physical transformation, the UrbanMax operating software adjusts
to match the usage scenario. While in tablet mode, a minimal interface is
presented to maximize the use of the touchscreen. As an open laptop, the
visuals change to a standard Windows Vista user interface.
The shape and size of computers continues to change each decade. From
room-sized behemoths to desktops and laptops to MIDs, the miniaturization of
computer platforms inspires new ways for people to communicate with the digital
world around them.
By Jeff Orr, ORR Technology, LLC
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Digifriends M3 Mobile Internet Device to be powered by NextWave Wireless WiMAX chipset
Mobile WiMAX handheld to focus on video streaming and bandwidth-intensive Internet applications.
Digifriends Co. Ltd. and NextWave Wireless Inc. announced
the development of a WiMAX-enabled Mobile Internet Device (MID), called the
Model M3, powered by NextWave's NW2000 WiMAX chipset. Expected to debut
during the second half of 2009, the MID will bring new mobile multimedia
features to a range of users by delivering higher-speed access to
next-generation content and services.
Key applications for the M3 MID include media streaming that require broadband
speeds, including interactive gaming, streaming video of user-generated content,
video conferencing/chat, and Voice-over-IP (VoIP). Features of the M3
include:
- High-speed Internet browsing
- Integrated WiMAX / Wi-Fi / Bluetooth connectivity
- 1.3-inch hard disk drive with 30~60 GB capacity
- Two built-in digital cameras -- a 2 megapixel camera for capturing still
images and a 0.3 megapixel webcam on the screen side for mobile video chat
Add-on accessories and peripheral components include a keyboard, device stand
and external speakers.

"We expect to see an explosion of consumer and operator excitement for WiMAX in
2009, fueled by the introduction of innovative devices -- like the M3 -- that
offer end-users a completely new mobile multimedia experience," said Byung Kang
Park, CEO, Digifriends. "We are confident that the M3's entry into the
global market will accelerate the path to WiMAX, as it offers unique features
that leverage the innovative technology found in NextWave Wireless' WiMAX
chipset."
NextWave's NW2000 family of mobile WiMAX chipsets is targeted at small
form-factor mobile broadband devices. The 802.16e-2005 chipset includes a
baseband System-On-a-Chip (SoC) and single-chip, multi-band Radio Frequency (RF)
transceiver, offering dual independent receive chains for mobile applications.
By Jeff Orr, ORR Technology, LLC
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