WiMax has effectively been folded into 3G's future development, after the International Telecommunication Union's (ITU) decision to include it in the IMT-2000 set of standards.
Although WiMax and 3G have been battling it out as rival wireless broadband technologies, the ITU's move paves the way for both to be integrated into future standards.
The WiMax Forum said in a statement: "This decision is of global importance to operators, who look to ITU to endorse technologies before they invest in new infrastructure.
"The decision to approve the WiMax Forum's version of IEEE [Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers] Standard 802.16 as an IMT-2000 technology significantly escalates opportunities for global deployment, especially within the 2.5GHz to 2.69GHz band, to deliver mobile internet to satisfy both rural and urban market demand."
According to Ron Resnick, the WiMax Forum's president, this is the first time a new air interface has been added to the IMT-2000 set of standards since the original technologies were selected nearly a decade ago.
"3G solutions based upon technologies such as W-CDMA, CDMA-2000 and TD-SCDMA were already included in the IMT-2000 set of standards," said Resnick.
He added: "With WiMax technology now included, it places us on equal footing with the legacy-based technologies ITU-R [ITU Radiocommunication Sector, the spectrum management sector of the ITU] already endorses. The bottom line is that operators across the globe now have the freedom to select the right technology to best meet their business and regional needs."
A spokesman for the GSM Association (GSMA), an organisation which represents mobile operators, said the GSMA is "relaxed" about the development.
"We think it is good that operators will have the flexibility to use WiMax in IMT-2000 spectrum if they wish," he said.
"We do see WiMax as a complimentary or niche technology alongside the main GSM evolution path, which essentially today is HSPA [high speed 3G], so we expect the majority of operators to focus their energy and resources on that path. But WiMax has a role to play."
He said operators would want future wireless technology to be compatible and would therefore want to reuse their existing investment in infrastructure and radio spectrum. He also noted that long-term evolution (LTE) 3G should also use "the very latest radio access technologies and techniques for utilising spectrum". He added: "We are confident that HSPA has a very long evolution path."
Mobile WiMAX- What to Expect at NAB 2008?
WiMAX has not been a very visible feature in the NAB at least in the past. NAB with its focus on broadcast products, media processing and broadcast services has found little in common with a wireless technology which was known to provide only broadband internet in some trials. WiMAX of course has been very prominent in wireless and mobile fora such as WiMAX World Forum Congress,CES, Mobile World Congress, CTIA Wireless and many others. Many of the developments reported have been drawing the attention of the NAB attendees. These included the demonstration of WiMAX TV by MobiTV in 2007.
With the increasing convergence of IPTV and broadcast networks as well as coming of age of mobile WiMAX technologies including their imminent major launch via the XOHM network, Mobile WiMAX is now being seen as a mainstream technology for streaming multimedia to the mobiles. This brings it squarely in the domain of Mobile TV and also a part of the Broadcast portfolio of many companies.
NAB 2008, which has its theme as IPTV is also expected to provide surprising insight into a number of convergence products which involve WiMAX and presents an interesting opportunity for broadcasters interested in triple play and mobile services. The IPTV products include the following:
â?¢ Broadband Wireless
â?¢ IMS
â?¢ Wi-Fi
â?¢ WiMAX
â?¢ Wireless Networks
â?¢ Wireless Infrastructure
But what has changed between NAB 2007 and now?
First of all, it must be mentioned that many of the mainline broadcasters and distributors ( i.e. cable MSOs) have shown keen interest in partnering with WiMAX operators ( such as Sprint). As per industry news, Major MSOs such as Time Warner and Comcast are in talks with Sprint and Clearwire to invest upto $1.5 Billion. There are other MSOs as well which are looking at investing and joining the bandwagon. The coming in of Cable MSOs in a WiMAX venture was only to be expected and has been in the air for some time now. The winning in the 700 MHz auction of the telecom majors such as Verizon and AT&T has also set the cat amongst the pigeons as to how these companies will leverage this very valuable broadcast spectrum. It has now been revealed ( at least by Verizon that it will be used for LTE!).
In the meantime for those who have been left out in auctions, it is time to focus on new strategies. What can be more innovative than the Sprint and Clearwire WiMAX networks which have been in making for a while now? WiMAX networks do have clear advantages in providing QoS based connectivity for streaming applications as well as multicast channels. The MSOs need this sorely for VoD content as well as for enabling triple play services. They can also target a host of mobile devices which are Wimax enabled for video and multimedia applications.
Secondly, there has been a slew of new devices which have become between last year and now. With Nokia formally announcing the N810 internet tablet, one more device based on native use of WiMAX (and WiFi) gets added to the domain of WiMAX enabled devices. Everex Systems has unveiled a WiMAX laptop which is compatible with the XOHM network of Sprint Nextel. The Laptop ( Cloudbook MAX) also supports WiFi ( 802.11b/g). With Nokia formally announcing the N810 internet tablet, one more device based on native use of WiMAX (and WiFi) gets added to the domain of WiMAX enabled devices. Intel has announced the prices for Mobile WiMAX ( IEEE802.16e-2005) and WiFi ( 802.11 a/g/n) modules. These modules have been designed for Intelâ??s Montevinaâ?¢ based notebooks. The module called â??Echo Peakâ?? will be available in two versions. The 1x2 MIMO version will be priced around $44 while the 3x3 MIMO will be priced at $54.The modules will be available in the Mini card form factor.
The announcement of pricing of WiMAX mini cards by Intel was widely expected before CTIA 2008 and the expectations have not been belied, on the announcement or the pr