Sprint Confirms Launch of WiMAX Handset Within Months

Revealing few other details, Sprint has confirmed with Forbes that it will be launching its much anticipated WiMAX handset by the first half of 2010, early than previously expected.

As has been widely speculated, the new device code named "Supersonic" will most likely be made by HTC and will be similar to T-Mobile's HD2 below.  The handset is also expected to include Qualcomm's speedy 1GHz Snapdragon processor, feature a 4.3-inch touch-screen display, and run on Google's Android operating system (possibly the new 3.0 version).

Of course the best part will be its 4G WiMAX connectivity, making it up to 10 times faster than current 3G networks according to Sprint and providing a much better experience for high-bandwidth applications such as streaming video.   The handset is also expected to be "dual mode", allowing it to switch to Sprint's 3G network in areas where 4G isn't yet available.

HTC HD2 Handset

Sprint's 4G WiMAX service is currently available in 27 U.S. cities including Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas Ft. Worth, Las Vegas and others and is expected to launch in Houston, Texas in the coming weeks.   Boston, New York, San Francisco and Washington D.C. are planned for later this year.

I expect we will be hearing more details next month at the CTIA Wireless show in Las Vegas.

Friday, February 19, 2010 in Equipment  | Permalink |  Comments (0)

Gigabit Wireless Solutions Play Important Role in WiMAX & Next-Generation 4G Networks

Although offering shorter distances than more traditional microwave links, high data-rate 60 GHz and 80 GHz point-to-point solutions are becoming an important part of a network operator's toolkit. Interview with Paul E. Obsitnik, Sr. Vice President, Business Development for Bridgewave Communications.

While faster wireless technologies such as WiMAX and 4G networks promise to provide a true internet experience, these technologies are only as fast as the backhaul connection from the access point or cell tower to the operator's high-speed network backbone.  With the growth in demand of wireless data and the increase in access points and cell sites, running fiber to each location is often either not feasible or is cost prohibitive.

Helping to solve this problem, traditional microwave point-to-point radios in the 6 GHz - 38 GHz range have been used for years to provide data-rates up to 500 Mbps at distances up to 30 miles (48 kilometers).  These solutions are an essential part of telecommunications networks, offering cost-effective connectivity without the need for digging or having to utilize expensive T1s.  But what if shorter distances with higher data-rates are needed?

Enter millimeter wave microwave - solutions that operate in radio spectrum higher than 30 GHz.  Based on the laws of physics, radios operating in these frequencies are able to offer higher data-rates, but at a trade-off of distance between the radios.

Leading this space is Bridgewave Communications, which has 70% of the market on short distance, high-bandwidth microwave radio solutions.  The company, founded in 1998, got its start in the wireless cable LMDS market.  Following the telecom bust, the company reorganized its efforts in 2003 to focus exclusively on the point-to-point millimeter wave of the 60GHz and 80GHz (71-86 GHz) markets.

For gigabit data-rates less than 2 miles (3 kilometers), millimeter wave radios in the 60 GHz and 80 GHz range typically offer the best value.  "Assuming the distances work, for data-rates greater than 500 Mbps, millimeter solutions are the way to go," says Paul E.  Obsitnik with Bridgewave Communications. 

Within this band, the first decision is between 60GHz license-free links and 80GHz lightly-licensed links.  60GHz links offer the best value on the market for customers who prefer license-free operation and require link distances that are generally less than one mile.  If greater distances are needed, 80GHz links can support applications beyond a mile and offer an alternative for customers who prefer licensed-band operation.

Even the license cost in the 80 GHz band can offer significant savings over the license costs of links in the lower microwave bands.  For example, the cost of a 1 year license for a 80 GHz solution (depending on the area) can cost approximately $100 USD, compared to over $1,000 for a 1 year license for a 23 GHz link. 



BridgeWave's FlexPort™

With their high capacity and cost value, Bridgewave solutions have been used by several WiMAX operators, including Jordanian based Kulacom who launched its network in April 2009.  Located in Bahrain and Jordan, Kulacom provides voice, internet and data hosting services to emerging markets.  Bridgewave also has other "large WiMAX" operators that they are working with, but has not disclosed them at this time.  The company has an agreement with Alcatel-Lucent in which that company re-sells Bridgewave products and is working on agreements with other partners as well. 

"Just 3-4 years ago, data requirements for wireless networks were so low, there was less need for the capacity of our radios," says Obsitnik.  "But with the growth of 3G and 4G networks, we saw an opportunity to build a solution for mobile carriers with our FlexPort product and see that as a big growth area."

BridgeWave Communications will be showcasing their products this week at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona (Hall 2, booth 2E46).

Monday, February 15, 2010 in Equipment  | Permalink |  Comments (0)

Motorola Introduces USB WiMAX Docking Station, Improving Indoor Performance

New device to be featured at Barcelona's Mobile World Congress helps strengthen signal performance for WiMAX users.

Getting better indoor signal performance can sometimes be a challenge for wireless service providers.  Motorola's solution to that problem is a new docking station, or cradle that doubles signal performance compared to using the WiMAX USB dongle alone.

Users place the WIMAX USB dongle into the docking station while connecting it to a laptop or computer via a USB cable.  When in the docking station, the USBw 200 switches antennas, boosting the signal performance from 3dB to 6dB, offering greater coverage and delivering a user experience that is on par with a desktop CPE.  The docking station also has a removable base and suction cups so that it can be attached to a window or placed where it will receive the strongest signal.


Motorola Docking Station with WIMAX USB dongle

"The docking station for the USBw 200 is our latest innovation to improve indoor coverage so people have greater flexibility on where they can enjoy personal media experiences," said Bruce Brda, senior vice president, Motorola's Home & Networks Mobility.

In addition, the docking station supports the USBw 200's Tx switching capability that features two antennas and switched transmitter diversity.  With this capability, the USBw 200 automatically transmits on the antenna that is receiving the stronger signal, providing users with a better connection to the network while allowing operators to reduce base station infrastructure requirements. 

The new product will be available in the 2nd quarter of 2010 and will can be used with 2.5GHz and 3.5GHz bands.  The USBw 200 dongle is available now through select WiMAX service providers and automatically installs necessary drivers for the Windows XP, Vista and Windows 7 operating systems, eliminating the need for a separate driver CD. 



A video put out by Motorola provides further details on the product.


Motorola will feature the device along with other new WiMAX solutions at their stand (Hall 8, 8B53) during Mobile World Congress 2010 in Barcelona, Spain, which begins Monday.
 

Wednesday, February 10, 2010 in Equipment  | Permalink |  Comments (0)

The Importance of the AAA Platform in a WiMAX Network

Often considered too late in the process, the selection of the right AAA solution can have a significant impact on the success and viability of a WiMAX network. Interview with Johan Terve, VP Marketing for Aptilo Networks.

Q) What exactly is AAA?

AAA stands for Authentication, Authorization and Accounting.  It is a core part of a service management solution providing control of access, user services and billing in wireless and fixed networks.  Many AAA solutions stop there; others on the market go much farther, offering additional values such as subscriber and session management, policy control, voucher management, advanced authentication, intelligent roaming and a more.  These additional features are designed to provide a solid foundation for a growing network.  They can also help differentiate a business (or service) from a crowded field.

Q) Why is AAA important? Isn't it just an "add-on" feature that comes at the end of building out a wireless service?

We have met with many prospective customers during the past years.  Many of those have made the choice of AAA solution an active one, with procurement happening early in the deployment process.  Making their AAA selection up-front became a fundamental component in making sure that both their current business models of today as well as future ones would be supported.  In essence this is what is required to secure future success for any provider in the market.

All too often, however, we face prospective customers who for some reason have turned the selection of AAA into a non-active choice.  In those cases the decision is often made very late in the process, and frequently based on only a very few main criteria, such as number of authentications per second.  Even though this of course is an important parameter, making a AAA decision based solely on this single aspect can be fatal for your business, with significant limitations as a consequence.

You could compare it to buying a car using the amount of horsepower as your only selection criteria and then hitting the nearest highway, without even thinking about what your vehicle should be used for or where you want to go.  The AAA service management solution should more be regarded as the dashboard of the car combined with a steering wheel, accelerator and brakes, indicators and GPS system.  It is in essence where services are defined and personalized, and policies enforced to control which users access the Internet, their service level and billing.  In other words AAA should be regarded as your most important node when it comes to defining exactly what services you want to bring to your customers.  With this in mind there is no question that AAA should be one of your first thoughts; certainly not a forgotten item.

One should never underestimate the importance of starting with the business aspects and goals, and make the best possible attempt to outline the short- and long-term commercial models, as this can have a direct impact on the entire network and radio equipment selection.  Some vendors may simply have difficulty technically supporting the business models you want to implement.  So, start with the business aspect of your services and do not settle with only the core functions.  While these core functions might be obvious at first thought, it is important to go beyond that to seek the functionality that can really make a difference for your business. 

Q) What features do AAA and service management offer that are relevant to today's changing market, specifically for WiMAX?

WiMAX has of course been very inspired by the mobile/cellular world when it comes to technology including its well-defined standard nodes and licensed spectrum.  However, it has also been affected by the Wi-Fi hotspot and fixed broadband markets when it comes to business models.  The need to deploy nomadic and online signup-types of business models is increasing by the fast-growing number of WiMAX-embedded devices on the market.  Developing countries have proven to be the strongest market for WiMAX.  In many of these markets it's just not feasible to send an invoice at the end of the month, the credit risk is often all too high. 

Instead operators are looking at prepaid business models similar to those used with Wi-Fi hotspots.  A complicating factor is that in many of these markets the use of credit cards is not a viable alternative either, so the ability to offer different alternatives with prepaid, including scratch cards and refill of prepaid accounts through ATM machines is a must.  It is therefore important to choose a AAA solution with well thought-out APIs and the flexibility to seamlessly integrate with different external payment support systems e.g.  an ATM machine-based refill solution.

Interoperability in a changing wireless landscape is also an important feature that a well-built AAA solution can address.  There are many existing fixed broadband Internet ISPs deploying WiMAX as a mobile alternative for their clients.  They all have some sort of legacy AAA or LDAP user database that cannot support the new WiMAX installation.  One option is to implement a new network for the WiMAX deployment with all the back-end systems in parallel with the existing network.  This is a costly approach with product investments, the need to build up know-how for the new systems and additional operational costs for running two different parallel solutions. 

Fortunately there are AAA vendors that go beyond basic AAA and offer a solution that makes the WiMAX network interoperable with the legacy AAA or LDAP database.  One such an example is the Aptilo WiMAX Legacy Connector™ which mediates between the WiMAX-specific AAA attributes and the legacy user database, making it possible to just "plug-in" a WiMAX network on top of the existing legacy ISP back-end. 

Q) What is needed in a AAA solution to support next-generation WiMAX services?

A good AAA solution will have interfaces that allow an application to trigger a Change of Authorization (CoA) request to, for instance, increase the bandwidth temporarily for a user.  One example of the type of application where this would be a tremendous benefit is next-generation WiMAX services such as Video-on-demand (VoD), where a VoD server can trigger an increase of the bandwidth when a user decides to watch a movie.  The only way to accommodate this is to have a AAA solution that is flexible enough to allow a CoA request from the VoD server over the Internet through some sort of provisioning interface.  The same interface could potentially also be used for provisioning of new users from external portals or over-the-air OMA-DM systems.



Johan Terve
Vice President Marketing, Aptilo

Johan Terve serves as the Vice President of Marketing at Aptilo.  Previously, Terve was the VP Marketing & Sales at Ingate Systems and in that position he succeeded in putting the company on the map as the leading global player in SIP-capable Firewalls and enterprise session border controllers (SBCs).  From his 23 years experience in the IT industry, Terve have spent more than ten years in various CEO, VP and Director positions in the IT distribution business.  At Nordic Datadistribution he was responsible for all business divisions and corporate marketing and helped this major IT equipment distributor to become the fastest growing company in Sweden for four consecutive years.  Mr.  Terve started his career as software developer and has a broad university-level education in business administration, psychology and economics.

 

Thursday, January 28, 2010 in Equipment  | Permalink |  Comments (0)

New Android-Based WiMAX Devices Expected This Year

Although still not officially confirmed, rumors and speculation continue on possible new Android-based WiMAX devices expected in the coming months.

With the number of postings on the web in the past week, it is now a fairly safe bet that Sprint's new flagship WiMAX handset planned for this year will be made by Taiwanese vendor HTC.  Based on the reports, the HTC A9292 code-named "Supersonic" will be similar to T-Mobile's HD2.  The dual-mode, CDMA/WiMAX handset will most likely also include the ability to connect to Sprint's 3G EVDO network in places where WiMAX service is not yet available.

The current HD2 runs on the Windows Mobile 6.5 OS, but indications are that the WiMAX device for Sprint's 4G network will run on the new Android 3.0 OS.  The new device will feature a 4.3-inch AMOLED touch-screen display and include Qualcomm's speedy 1GHZ Snapdragon processor.  Interestingly, the new HD2 will also come with an extended battery with twice the performance of the prior version - an important consideration for heavy internet usage and providing ample power for the WiMAX chipset.

HTC HD2 Handset

Having recently launched the "Nexus-One" with Google, this device would extend HTC's lead on Android-based devices as well as demonstrate its leaderships in working with new, 4G technologies.  HTC's involvement in producing the device would also make sense based on its close relationships with Goggle, who along with Sprint, Time-Warner, Comcast and others are major backers of Clearwire's WiMAX network in the US.

As the first 4G handset in the US would certainly be big news, this would not be the first WiMAX device for HTC, who last year launched the first dual-mode GSM/WiMAX smartphone with Russian service provider Yota in Moscow and St. Petersburg.  That device, the HTC MAX 4G, included a smaller 3.8-inch TFT-LCD touch screen display, a 528 MHZ processor, and ran the Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional OS. 

While this device would utilize CDMA for Sprint's voice network, we can probably assume that a GSM version will be available at some point in the near future, which would open up the possibility for sim-card based, unlocked versions that could be sold by MVNO's and used on other networks.  News on availability will most likely be announced either at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona next month or at the CTIA wireless show this March in Las Vegas.

Clearwire CEO Bill Morrow has also promised a WiMAX handset's later marketed under the CLEAR brand.  That device could come from HTC as well or perhaps even Samsung, which is currently providing the Samsung "Mondi" mobile internet device on Clearwire's network.

Android-Based WiMAX Netbooks?

Several websites, including CNET Asia, are also reporting a possible Android-based WiMAX netbook from HP.  If true, this would be significant since HP is one of the last PC OEMs that has yet to announce a WiMAX equipped computer.  While several vendors such as ASUS and others have announced Android-based netbooks, the handset-based OS is not designed to provide a full PC experience including features, drivers, etc. and would most likely be a short-term solution until the more full-featured Google-Chrome OS is available later this year.

Monday, January 25, 2010 in Equipment  | Permalink |  Comments (2)

Sprint Launches New 3G/WIMAX Mobile Hotspot

As expected, on Wednesday Sprint announced the availability of its new "Overdrive" 3G/WiMAX enabled Wi-Fi mobile hotspot at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

The new device by Sierra Wireless allows users to connect up to five Wi-Fi-enabled devices and leverage the performance of Sprint's 4G network where available as well as its extensive 3G coverage where WiMAX is not yet available.

“This device delivers the connected lifestyle to our customers in overdrive,” said Dan Hesse, Sprint CEO.  “The fact that it connects up to five Wi-Fi-enabled devices is especially meaningful because at 4G speeds, customers can download and upload more data—gigabytes, not megabytes—in a matter of seconds.  The Overdrive on the 4G network is made for the multitude of bandwidth-hungry applications customers want to access wirelessly, like video streaming.  4G beats 3G for speed and for value.”

Key features of Overdrive 3G/4G Mobile Hotspot include a LCD that provides important information such as battery life and internet connection status, as well as an easy-to-use web interface for customizing settings.  Overdrive 3G/4G Mobile Hotspot also includes built-in GPS capability (on 3G), MicroSD slot for up to 16 GB memory cards creating shared storage with up to five connected devices, and an extended Wi-Fi range of up to 150 feet. 


Sprint Overdrive 3G/WiMAX Mobile Hotspot

Beginning on Jan.  10, customers will be able to purchase Overdrive 3G/4G Mobile Hotspot exclusively from Sprint for $99.99 (excluding taxes) after a $50 mail-in-rebate with a two-year service agreement.  Customers can purchase the device and sign up for 3G/4G plans at select Sprint retail stores and select Best Buy stores; available through business sales, Web (www.sprint.com) and Telesales (1-800-SPRINT1) in coming weeks.  Also beginning Jan.  10, Sprint will offer simplified 3G/4G data plans for consumers and businesses at $59.99 monthly (price plans exclude surcharges and taxes).

 

Thursday, January 07, 2010 in Equipment  | Permalink |  Comments (0)

Leveraging 802.16e WiMAX Technology in License-Exempt Bands

License-exempt spectrum bands make it possible for operators who do not have access to licensed spectrum to deploy wireless broadband networks.

Traditionally vendors have developed specific solutions for license-exempt operators, often based on proprietary technology that limits the flexibility and upgradability of their networks.

With IEEE 802.16e WiMAX, license-exempt operators have access to the most advanced wireless broadband technology on the market today and can take advantage of the same performance, ecosystem, and volume of scale that incumbent, nationwide wireless operators with licensed-spectrum can. 

While often positioned as a mobile broadband technology that operates in licensed bands, 802.16e WiMAX can also support fixed and nomadic services, and vertical applications in a range of frequencies up to 6 GHz, including license-exempt bands such as the 5.x GHz band and, in the US, the lightly licensed 3.65 GHz band.

As 802.16e WiMAX products for license-exempt bands are introduced in the market, operators need to know what the value proposition of using 802.16e WiMAX compared to alternative solutions is.  How do they stand to gain from a technology that was developed to support mobility? Do they need the extra features that 802.16e WiMAX offers?

Why choose 802.16e WiMAX-based equipment?

The appeal of 802.16e WiMAX-based equipment to wireless operators either serving residential and business subscribers or hosting vertical applications is driven by the ability of the technology to meet operators' requirements, both from a business model perspective and from a performance one. 

The strongest pull towards 802.16e WiMAX is that it is a technology with a well established evolution roadmap, with strong industry backing and a rapidly expanding ecosystem.  The 802.16e WiMAX has a path toward the next WiMAX version, 802.16m, which 802.16d TDD WiMAX lacks.  Operators with 802.16e WiMAX-based networks will be able to upgrade their infrastructure to 802.16m WiMAX when the equipment becomes available.  Operators with 802.16d TDD WiMAX do not have this opportunity, unless they are ready to build an overlay network or entirely replace the old equipment with the new 802.16e one. 

With the introduction of 802.16e WiMAX-based equipment for use in license-exempt bands, 802.16d TDD WiMAX is rapidly becoming a legacy technology, as it already is in licensed bands.  Wireless operators that do not have a clear migration path to 802.16e WiMAX are concerned that their vendors might cease their development of new 802.16d TDD WiMAX-based products in favor of the newer standard. 



The availability, selection, and cost of subscriber devices present even bigger constraints as they depend on overall market size.  Operators using 802.16e WiMAX-based equipment in license-exempt bands can take advantage of the economies of scale achieved in licensed bands because vendors can modify the existing network equipment and devices to operate in license-exempt bands.  Furthermore, having launched commercial products in the licensed WiMAX bands (i.e., 2.3 GHz, 2.5 GHz, and 3.5 GHz), some vendors are expected to extend their produce line to license-exempt bands rapidly. 

Support for mobility is another major appeal of 802.16e WiMAX, even though most operators do not yet have specific plans on how to leverage it within the fixed services they currently offer.  The prevailing attitude among operators is that mobility is a nice-to-have feature that gives them additional flexibility in how they market their services.  From a business model perspective, operators in license-exempt bands have so far been focused on fixed services and applications.  From a technology perspective, full mobility in high-frequency license-exempt bands is very challenging. 

The interest from wireless operators and vertical market players is mostly tied to the potential to offer nomadic access or limited mobility, which can be easily tied to the service currently available as an add-on service.  The ability to support mobile devices, for instance, may be valuable to subscribers who just want to access the network from different locations, but not necessarily within a fully mobile scenario.  A student with a laptop needing to access a college WiMAX network will prefer a data card or built-in module over a desktop modem.  As these types of applications do not require blanket coverage of an entire region or country, they can be supported within license-exempt bands within carefully chosen hot zones. 

Mobility will also enable operators to expand the range of services they offer their vertical customers within their coverage area, and to include applications that require, for instance, support for the mobile workforce or in-vehicle connectivity (e.g., for safety and security, government, utilities, and transportation applications).

Finally, 802.16e WiMAX-based equipment supports advanced functionality that is conducive to improved performance compared to 802.16d WiMAX and other wireless broadband technologies.  The spectral efficiency of the air interface in the two versions of WiMAX in their basic configurations is comparable, but several features that are available or required in 802.16e WiMAX are not implemented in 802.16d TDD WiMAX equipment.  For instance, QoS is available in both versions of WiMAX, but 802.16e WiMAX can provide better support for voice services though an additional QoS level that makes it possible to dynamically allocate capacity to voice traffic only when needed.  Furthermore, 802.16m WiMAX is expected to provide enhanced voice support. 

Similarly, 802.16d WiMAX supports only multiple input multiple output (MIMO Matrix) A as an option.  In 802.16e WiMAX, support for MIMO A-to provide more robust coverage-and for MIMO B-to increase capacity-are part of the standard.  MIMO A is especially attractive to rural operators because it allows them to deploy fewer base stations to cover the same area.  MIMO A also uses a diversity transmission scheme that helps operators to manage interference.  MIMO B is better suited to operators in metropolitan areas, where multipath environments, including indoor locations, dominate.

The use of subchannelization with orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) in 802.16e WiMAX also enhances coverage as terminal devices can receive and transmit more efficiently than with other wireless interfaces.  Hybrid automatic repeat request (ARQ) and convolutional turbo code (CTC) also provide improved coverage, but they are not supported in 802.16d WiMAX. 

Finally, 802.16d WiMAX equipment today only supports channel widths up to 7 MHz, while 802.16e WiMAX supports up to 10 MHz, and it is expected to reach 20 MHz with 802.16m WiMAX.  The increase in channel size effectively lowers the cost per bit to the operator, because each base station can transport more traffic. 

Conclusions

802.16e WiMAX is rapidly becoming the technology of choice for wireless operators, and not only for operating in licensed bands and with a strong focus on mobility.  As they plan to expand their residential or business service, or to grow their vertical market applications, wireless operators looking for a future-proof technology find 802.16e WiMAX equally compelling for license-exempt bands.  Equipment based on 802.16e WiMAX supports full mobile access, but it also supports high-performance fixed networks. 

Thanks to the wide industry support for the 802.16e version of the standard, operators using 802.16e WiMAX-based equipment will be able to rely on a stronger ecosystem than available to 802.16d TDD WiMAX operators, which in turn will translate into more robust interoperability and the availability of a wider range of affordable subscriber devices. 

To download a full copy of the whitepaper including operator case studies click here.



Monica Paolini is President of Senza Fili Consulting, a consulting and analyst firm that focuses on wireless data technologies and services.  She can be contacted at monica.paolini@senzafiliconsulting.com. 

Wednesday, November 18, 2009 in Equipment  | Permalink |  Comments (0)

WiMAX Wave2 Chipset Vendor Market In-Depth

Despite the global financial crisis, shipments of mobile WiMAX chipsets will reach 4 million by the end of 2009, representing a 155% year-over-year growth. New report provides insight into key WiMAX silicon vendors.

With Intel continuing to be a driving force enabling WiMAX penetration of the laptop market, Yota demonstrating fast profitability, Clearwire finally deploying its ambitious POPs coverage plan, and strong competition amongst WiMAX chipset vendors driving down chipset prices, many dynamic contributions in the second half of 2009 will significantly impact WiMAX take-off in 2010.

However several key factors have negatively impacted the growth rate, including the LTE threat, the immaturity of the WiMAX certification process, the overall network deployment delays, and the lack of compelling devices. 

The WiMAX subscriber station chipset ecosystem is acutely fragmented, with more than 14 chipset vendors competing for market share.  This puts pressure on vendors with insufficient customer traction, lacking funding or scale, or offering only partial chipset solutions.  Several early movers who entered the WiMAX market with fixed or Wave1 mobile solutions are now shipping Wave2 compliant chipsets, mainly composed of a base-band chip and a companion RF transceiver IC.  However, most of the available chipsets are not highly optimized because they were compelled to cover a broad range of application segments.

The five key WiMAX chipset vendors have introduced differentiated chipset solutions, enabling them to gain significant leadership in their target market segments.  However, few players have the scale to effectively address all segments and no global leader has emerged in 2009.

Similar to WiFi or 3GPP/3GPP2 platforms, WiMAX chipset vendors have leveraged their first or second generations to further reduce chipset cost by migrating to a smaller geometry process node and/or by introducing monolithic dies.  At the same time, new packaging approaches such as System-in-Package and optimized Bill Of Material have significantly reduced the footprint of the WiMAX platform, allowing device manufacturers to launch a new generation of products that are more appealing, more integrated, and that combine new standards such as 3G and 4G.

The new research report released by Maravedis in partnership with Reveal Wireless entitled "WiMAX Wave2 Subscriber Station Chipset Vendors Competitive Analysis" provides a detailed comparison of the key WiMAX chipset vendors, identifies system architectures, estimates chipset and system BOM, cost of available devices such as CPEs, USB dongles or Express Cards, and analyzes vendor product roadmaps and SWOT.  The next challenge for most WiMAX chipset vendors will be to find the right balance of R&D investments between a transition to LTE, and a more integrated and cost effective path for their WiMAX solution.

Maravedis and Reveal Wireless believe that WiMAX mass-market adoption requires ubiquitous coverage and IOT mature, sub-US$10 chipsets that are power and performance optimized for each application-specific segment.  Three chipset vendors are best positioned to achieve the US$10 price target through base-band and RF monolithic die integration in 65-nm.  Further, the WiMAX market is not large enough to support 14 chipset vendors.  Consolidations, exits and transitions toward LTE are expected in the next two years.

The new report also provides an in-depth analysis of key WiMAX chipset vendors.  Here is a summary of some of the key findings:

Sequans has gained performance leadership mostly in the fixed market.  Their whole Wave2 subscriber product line supports UL transmit diversity, which can significantly reduce the cost and power dissipation of the PA subsystem, while improving the uplink budget.  Their solution also supports UL MIMO (Matrix A) operation.  They clearly lead the pack in terms of chipset cost in 2009 thanks to a very aggressive baseband die-size in 90nm.  They were the first to announce a 65-nm single-die BB+RF solution in Q1 2009, which should replace their base-band and RF IC SiP gap filler by 2010 and enable them to maintain their cost leadership.

Beceem has first mover advantage in most markets, with the exception of the fixed market where Sequans still dominates.  Beceem was first on the market with a Wave2 BB and RF chipset.  They have one of the most mature Wave2 Protocol Stacks, which has enabled them to gain sockets with all the leading mobile operators.  Their product portfolio is very broad, with specific chipset for each segment, including a single-chip base-band and RF SiP based on a 65-nm baseband die.  They were the first to introduce a single-chip WiMAX VoIP Network-Processing-Unit SiP in 2008.

Intel demonstrated their BOM integration leadership by introducing a complete dual-band WiMAX RF subsystem SiP that embeds the RF transceiver, PA, filters, switch, and power management functions.  Intel dominates in the embedded compute segment where they have leveraged their WiFi 11n leadership, and the strength of their Centrino brand and ecosystem.  Intel was the first to introduce a dual-mode WiMAX/WiFi 11n 1x2 chipset based on a WiMAX/WiFi baseband SiP and a multi-band RF transceiver IC paired with a Front-End-Module.

GCT has been the most aggressive in terms of monolithic silicon integration, using mature 130-nm CMOS process.  They were the first to introduce a single-die base-band and RF solution, initially for the Wibro/Wave1 market.  Their solution is currently the only Wave2 single-die in production; they have recently added the support of WiFi 11g.  GCT won the WiMAX World power shootout and demonstrated low-power leadership in USB dongle and PCIe minicard applications.

Samsung Electronics has not extended its reach outside of its internal captive chipset market.  SEC provides chipset solutions only to the Samsung device divisions, which have a strong presence in the portable and mobile segments with products such as data cards/USB dongles, embedded mini-cards for Samsung laptops, MIDs and handsets.

While Runcom is focusing on niche end-to-end markets and is no longer considered as a player in mobile WiMAX, Tier2 players such as Wavesat, Comsys, Altair, and Mediatek could emerge and potentially challenge the leading vendors in some specific applications.  Wavesat is bringing its programmable PHY solution to maturity and is gaining traction in Japan with PHS OFDMA evolutions launched by Willcom.  Comsys has been targeting multi-mode mobile markets with an integrated Edge/WiMAX baseband SoC, leveraging the maturity of their 2.5G modem and protocol stack.  Altair has demonstrated ultra low-power SDIO solutions optimized for the mobile market.  Mediatek is gaining traction in the fixed market and has the expertise to emerge as a low-cost leader when the market matures.



Pascal Deriot, Senior Analyst & Partner, WiMAX & LTE Equipment at Maravedis, has over 20 years of multidisciplinary experience in the mobile handset business, including semiconductors, cellular phones, and wireless technologies.  His experience encompasses cellular phone projects and platform management, advanced purchasing, strategic and product marketing, as well as business development.  As a co-founder of Reveal Wireless, Pascal has strengthened his expertise in market intelligence, publishing WiMAX chipset vendor competitive analyses.  Prior to founding Reveal Wireless, Pascal held various roles at Nextwave Wireless, Texas Instruments, Spansion, Micron technology, and Alcatel-Lucent.  Pascal holds a Master in Electronics Engineering from Ecole d'Ingénieurs des Technologies de l'Information et du Management, Paris.

About Maravedis

MARAVEDIS is a leading analyst firm focusing on disruptive technologies including smart networks using WiMAX, IEEE, and 3GPP/LTE.  Maravedis works with system and service providers, vendors, regulators, and institutional investors.  Learn more at www.maravedis-bwa.com




 

Tuesday, November 17, 2009 in Equipment  | Permalink |  Comments (1)

Sequans Silicon to Power New WiMAX CPE & Devices

Highly integrated, low cost components to be embedded in a variety of home, portable and mobile WiMAX devices next year. Company readies for massive growth of 4G mobile Internet gadgets.

By combining several silicon functional blocks on a single chip and using a "state of the art" 65nm semiconductor process, Sequans Communications Inc. has developed a family of WiMAX components that has the potential to enable a mass market for WiMAX CPE and mobile/ portable devices.  It's that mass market that semiconductor companies urgently need to become profitable.  Selling huge volumes of chips increases economies of scale, which drives down manufacturing costs and bill of materials prices.  This results in lower cost, higher performance end user products.  If there is sufficient customer demand, a virtuous cycle takes hold.  This trend is clearly evident in smart phones, notebook PCs, set top boxes and other electronic gizmos and gadgets.  With good customer acceptance, more and more functions are packed into smaller and less expensive devices.

Earlier this year, we interviewed Sequans executives and moderated a panel session in which they participated (see references 1 & 2 below).  In 2010, we expect to see the Sequans SQN 1200 family of silicon to be embedded in new types of multi-functional WiMAX CPE, portable WiFi hot spots with integrated WiMAX radios, netbooks and (at long last) smart phones with WiMAX based mobile Internet access.  That's a lot to look forward to, but there's also promise and potential for a whole lot more.

In fact, many new and different mobile WiMAX devices are possible, including eReaders, smart meters, multi-user portable game players, video cameras and surveillance, and health monitoring instruments.  If the components are low cost, highly integrated functionality, low power consumption and small size, then the ingredients for new such new devices are in place. 

However, the key to realizing a wide variety of devices will be a combination of several factors that are predominantly controlled by the network operator.  Those include WiMAX coverage, pricing plans, and business models network operators adopt with content providers.  For example, the mobile/ portable subscriber would like wide coverage, excellent availability, good performance, but only one bill from the network provider-independent of the number of wireless devices owned which use the WiMAX network.  (See Reference 3.  for more details on possible devices for mobile broadband networks.)


Sequans Silicon Solution for Mobile WiMAX CPE and Devices

Taking advantage of Moore's Law (to realize ever higher silicon functional density), in house RF and mixed signal expertise, and the ever- popular ARM core, Sequans has pulled off a tri-fecta with its latest generation of WiMAX silicon. 

The SQN 1220 integrates a baseband (IEEE 802.16e-2005 MAC and PHY) element, tri-band RF (2.3 - 2.4 GHz, 2.5 - 2.7 GHz, 3.3 - 3.8 GHz) module, and an (ARM based) applications processor- all on a single silicon die.  To an old time data communications chip architect and microprocessor applications engineer (like this author), it's an amazing feat! The mixed signal processing (digital and analog) capability is especially impressive.  Additionally, the SQN1220 implements dual transmit channels, which enable uplink MIMO (as specified in Release 1.5 of the WiMAX Forum system profile).  As pointed out in our first Sequans article (see Reference 1.) uplink MIMO results in significantly increased link budget, improved cell coverage, lower overall power consumption, and lower system cost.



The on-chip applications processor could be used for a variety of tasks, including: SIP for VoIP, IMS and FMC functions, IP routing over the WiMAX access network, residential gateway, diagnostics and test functions, smart meter or instrument reading and control, user interface for a LCD screen and/or keyboard, device commands and status indicators.  Ultimately, it will be left to the ingenuity of the device maker to specify the software functions to be implemented on the on-chip processor.

The SQN1210 is a single die, baseband - RF combo chip without the applications processor.  It is designed for the smallest of mobile devices, such as mobile handsets, smart phones, MIDs, and netbooks.  It may be used with notebook PCs through USB dongles or ExpressCards, or directly embedded in PCI Express MiniCards or Half MiniCards.  Zyxel has announced their use of the SQN1210 in a USB dongle- the ZyXEL MAX-507 USB.



Care has been taken to reduce power consumption, which is a critical factor for all mobile devices.  The SQN1200 family employs the state-of-the-art power reduction techniques to extend battery life.  Smart software algorithms optimize resource management for additional power reduction improvements.  The SQN1220 and SQN1210 consume less than 350 mW of power with fully loaded MIMO traffic and less than 0.5 mW in standby.

Sequans' S3MAX software package includes the complete IEEE 802.16e-2005 software stack and all drivers and host applications required for a WiMAX end system.  Host software includes drivers for all major operating systems (Windows XP, Vista, Windows CE, MAC OS, and Linux), Sequans' own connection manager, a supplicant engine for EAP authentication, a fully-fledged OMA-DM client, and a field diagnostic tool.  S3MAX also provides a full simulation and verification environment, which can be easily customized to address specific device maker needs.

Sequans has sampled the SQN1210 and SQN1220 chips to more than a dozen device manufacturers who are currently developing next-generation products using that silicon.  A wide variety of WiMAX products are now in design: USB dongles, embedded modules for notebooks/netbooks/CE devices, multimode cellular handsets, portable hotspots, and WiMAX CPE.  Let's now examine the functionality of a few of those new products.

In addition to the customers who are actively developing new products, there is another group of manufacturers evaluating the SQN1200 family chips.  This number is more than a dozen and is increasing over time.  Sequans expects that many of these will convert to the 'active development' category above once they recognize the value of the integration we've done, the performance, the small footprint, the low power consumption, the IOT maturity, other features and benefits. 

In 2010, Sequans expects its silicon to be inside new WiMAX CPE and mobile devices, to be sold by many different WiMAX network operators.  Those operators include: UQ Communications (Japan), Packet 1 (Malaysia), Yota and Scartel (Russia), Axtel (Mexico), Unwire (Australia), Korea Telecom (South Korea), Globe (Phillipines), Clearwire and its MVNO partner companies (e.g.  Sprint, Comcast, and TWC).

Let's look at a few of the new WiMAX end point products expected next year.

Multi-function WiMAX CPE

Consider that most WiMAX deployments today are for fixed broadband access- effectively a DSL or cable modem replacement.  The SQN 1220 can be exploited in WiMAX CPE for that application, which includes VoIP as well as a WiMAX modem with a USB or Ethernet interface to a desktop or notebook PC.  Up until now, VoIP over WiMAX required multiple boxes and cables.  With VoIP integrated into WiMAX CPE there is only one box you plug your phone and PC into. 

Craig Miller, Sequans Business Development and Marketing Manager, says that there are "about a half dozen" customers working on this type of WiMAX CPE for 2010 commercial availability.  Some of those products are currently being tested in certification labs at the WiMAX Forum and network operators, according to Mr.  Miller.  Sequans says their SQN1220 solution enables the WiMAX industry's lowest cost WiMAX CPE.

Sequans has partnered with Hellosoft to provide a very compact and cost effective VOIP/ WiMAX capability for CPE.  They have integrated the Hellosoft's VOIP media engine into the SQN1220.  According to Craig Miller, " It's a proven set of high quality voice codecs available to customers developing VoIP CPE, and it is available as part of our development license - customers do not need to negotiate a separate license with Hellosoft.  Our integration effort means that customers have less software integration and test effort to perform on their own.  This should reduce their time to market and their development costs.  And, since these codecs execute on the embedded application processor in the SQN1220, the VoIP solution is extremely low cost."

Sequans CEO Georges Karam: "With Hellosoft's VOIP media engine solution, we are reducing complexity for our customers by offering a pre-integrated, pre-validated VoIP and Mobile WiMAX total solution.  Adding Hellosoft's widely accepted and high quality voice capability to our already highly integrated chip underscores our commitment to providing the highest performance at the lowest cost, and to moving WiMAX toward mass market acceptance."

Opinion:  While Vonage offers a VoIP service over any broadband connection, it would be more attractive if the WiMAX network operator offered VoIP over (fixed) WiMAX service.  We understand that Clearwire offers such a VoIP over (fixed) WiMAX service in all of the nation-wide markets that they are deploying.  We believe that VoIP will have huge growth outside the U.S.  and that VoIP over WiMAX will be a very viable service if the CPE and the tariff are reasonably priced.

4G Personal WiFi Hot Spots

Best exemplified by Clearwire's Clearspot (made by Cradle Point), a 4G personal hot spot is a battery powered WiFi AP/Router that fits in a briefcase.  You can connect your notebook PC, iPOD touch, iPhone (or other WiFi equipped smart phone), and other WiFi enabled gadgets to this portable hot spot, as long as they are within 15 to 20 meters away.

Cisco has announced its intention to make such a unit this year.  Sprint sells a MiFi hot spot that connects to its 3G- EVDO based network.

Currently, 4G personal hotspots use a USB connection to connect to an external WiMAX modem (AKA as a USB dongle or WiMAX dongle).  But in 2010 we expect to see the WiMAX modem functionality integrated into the hotspot.  Mr.  Miller states, "Sequans has several customers developing integrated WiFi/WiMAX portable hot spots." We think this is a great idea - for both portable and in-home use.

Smart Phones with embedded WiMAX

To date, the only commercially available WiMAX mobile phone we are aware of is an HTC device sold by Yota in Russia.  That device uses an earlier generation of Sequans silicon (the SQN 1130).  While no other WiMAX equipped smart phones have been announced, we believe that HTC and Samsung will introduce such devices in 2010.  Sequans says that they have a couple of customers developing smart phones with their new generation of WiMAX chips.  Obviously, they can't disclose names or timeframes.

Opinion: T his author independently concludes that the HTC phone will use the SQN 1210.  We have tried to confirm this with HTC but were told that they don't comment on unannounced products.  We think the Sprint tri-mode phone scheduled for next year will be from Samsung, as that company already has produced the Mondi MID that works on CLEAR.  Furthermore, we think that the mobile WiMAX enabled phones will use either GSM or CDMA for voice, rather than VoIP over WiMAX.  This is because there are several problems with mobile VoIP, including QOS guarantees, session continuity and handover/ inter-working with cellular voice and the PSTN (or other TDM based voice networks). 

Columbia University Professor Henning Schulzrinne says,"Session continuity between WiFi and 3G doesn't work, in general.  I think the WiMAX problem is made worse by the fact that initial deployments are going to be pretty spotty, so vertical hand-off becomes more important than for traditional cellular voice."

Summary

Sequans believes they're leading the WiMAX industry in the direction of 'mass market' status, in the same way as WiFi ramped up when highly integrated components made low cost devices and embedded interfaces ubiquitous.  The SQN1200 family is so highly integrated that it has the potential to remove cost as a barrier to growth and adoption by device manufacturers.  This capability is perfectly timed now that WiMAX network operators are finally showing signs of the kind of broad coverage that could represent a very significant market opportunity for the device manufacturers.  Sequans' Craig Miller, "We believe that mass market WiMAX can be a real phenomenon now - all the pieces are in place." And we can't disagree. 

In our opinion, Sequans is providing very valuable silicon and software technology to the rest of the WiMAX ecosystem.  It is now up to the network operators and device makers to exploit that technology to build a healthy business model and move mobile WiMAX forward toward mass-market status.

__________

References

1.  Sequans Leads with Broad WiMAX Portfolio & Performance Advantages

2.  WiMAX Chip Companies Ponder the Future of 4G Networks

3.  Wireless Carriers Look Beyond Phones For Growth (WSJ on-line subscription required)



 

Wednesday, November 11, 2009 in Equipment  | Permalink |  Comments (11)

Improved Performance in Mobile Devices with Innovative Antenna Design

With shrinking form factors and multiple antenna technologies, device manufactures are utilizing new approaches to increase performance and reduce costs. Interview with Joe Gifford, Vice President at SkyCross.

While sometimes taken for granted, antenna design is becoming increasingly important in the successful design of mobile devices and handsets.  This has become even more profound in recent years with the growing number of technologies packed into smaller form-factors, each with different frequencies and some utilizing multiple-input, multiple-output (MIMO) technologies.

The antenna is important since it is the only structure in a mobile device that communicates directly with the network.  How these structures are designed and where they are placed inside a device can have a big impact on how the device performs.

But designing MIMO into smaller devices comes with its own unique challenges.  With multiple antennas, more space is typically needed to ensure that the multiple antennas operate without interfering with each other.  This problem can become even more challenging when working with technologies that operate in close proximity - such as WiMAX at 2.5GHz and Wi-Fi at 2.4GHz.

SkyCross has solved this problem with its iMAT^TM technology (short for isolated mode antenna technology) which enables a single antenna to function like multiple antennas, without compromising the performance of each antenna or the industrial design of the device.  This is accomplished by utilizing a single radiating structure with multiple feed points. 

The company, founded in 2000, provides a complete host of antenna solutions for the mobile phone, home entertainment and computing industries.  The company considers itself more of a solutions company that can apply a wide variety of technologies depending on the needs of its customers.

"Many of our solutions are specific to each customer device," says Joe Gifford, Vice President at SkyCross.  "The product we develop is customer specific with SkyCross technology and techniques used in an 'artistically' developed way to solve each customer's problem."

The company is active in a number of technologies, including 802.11n and the next generation of IEEE standards.  This year alone the company will ship 120 million antennas in a variety of different market segments.

In the WiMAX space, the company works with all the major players and even includes Intel as one of its investors (the only antenna company that Intel has an investment in).  Last year, SkyCross technology was included in Airspan's MiMAX Quad-Band USB dongle - the first WiMAX Forum certified USB device and winner of several industry awards.  The device was certified to operate in the 2.5GHz band, but is also designed to operate in every frequency from 2.3GHz to 5.9 GHz.

SkyCross technology was included in one of the first WiMAX CPEs on Sprint's Xohm network in Baltimore and was selected by WiMAX operator VMAX in Taiwan for use in their USB dongle.  SkyCross was also recently selected as the antenna provider for several devices on the UQ Communications network in Japan and the Clearwire network in the United States.

"We have developed the technology that sits on the reference design of WiMAX chip companies such as Samsung, Beceem , Sequans, GCT and others," says Gifford.  "Some of those reference designs are then included in products produced by Novatel, Sierra Wireless and Huawei."

The company also considers the RF approach that it takes in designing the electrical-mechanical radiating device as part of its key advantage.  "When people think of an antenna, they typically think of a radiating metal device that you put in a device," says Gifford.  "With our approach, we develop some type of electrical-mechanical radiating property, it could be anything as inexpensive as possible, and we use that to excite the entire device that it is going into.  For example, with a USB dongle, we can get the entire device to radiate."

From a cost/performance perspective, the company claims that its iMAT technology can cut the cost in half and boost performance and efficiencies 2X when compared to traditional technologies.  With today's smaller devices, operating at higher frequencies and non-line of site environments, these performance gains can be significant - improving the subscribers experience while on the network and reducing overall network costs.

Operators such as Clearwire have taken notice and are influencing the design of handsets by insisting that suppliers consider using SkyCross.  "We have been working with Clearwire, and they liked what they saw in the performance metrics," says Gifford.  "We do a great job, especially in small form factors and can improve the antenna performance significantly compared to other traditional solutions."

 

Wednesday, September 09, 2009 in Equipment  | Permalink |  Comments (0)