ITM Business School, Navi Mumbai

WiMAX and Wi Fi

WiMAX and Wi-Fi

WiMAX:
WiMAX is an IP based, wireless broadband access technology that provides performance similar to 802.11/Wi-Fi networks with the coverage and QOS (quality of service) of cellular networks. WiMAX is also an acronym meaning "Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access. WiMAX is a wireless digital communications system, also known as IEEE 802.16, which is intended for wireless "metropolitan area networks". WiMAX can provide broadband wireless access (BWA) up to 30 miles (50 km) for fixed stations, and 3 - 10 miles (5 - 15 km) for mobile stations. In contrast, the WiFi/802.11 wireless local area network standard is limited in most cases to only 100 - 300 feet (30 - 100m). WiMAX has the potential to replace a number of existing telecommunications infrastructures. In a fixed wireless configuration it can replace the telephone company's copper wire networks, the cable TV's coaxial cable infrastructure while offering Internet Service Provider (ISP) services. In its mobile variant, WiMAX has the potential to replace cellular networks. How do we get there?

Figure 1: WiMAX has the potential to impact all forms of telecommunications and how WiMAX works Assignment submitted to: Prof. Saumya Prakash Submitted By: Prakash J(PGDM-1274)

ITM Business School, Navi Mumbai

WiMAX and Wi Fi

Uses of WiMAX:
The bandwidth and range of WiMAX make it suitable for the following potential applications: Providing portable mobile broadband connectivity across cities and countries through a variety of devices. Providing a wireless alternative to cable and digital subscriber line (DSL) for "last mile" broadband access. Providing data, telecommunications (VoIP) and IPTV services (triple play). Providing a source of Internet connectivity as part of a business continuity plan. Smart grids and metering

Wi-Fi:
WiFi is a local area network that uses high frequency radio signals to transmit and receive data over distances of a few hundred feet; uses Ethernet protocol.

What Is WiFi?
A wireless network uses radio waves, just like cell phones, televisions and radios do. In fact, communication across a wireless network is a lot like two-way radio communication. Here's what happens: 1. A computer's wireless adapter translates data into a radio signal and transmits it using an antenna. 2. A wireless router receives the signal and decodes it. The router sends the information to the Internet using a physical, wired Ethernet connection. The process also works in reverse, with the router receiving information from the Internet, translating it into a radio signal and sending it to the computer's wireless adapter. The radios used for WiFi communication are very similar to the radios used for walkie-talkies, cell phones and other devices. They can transmit and receive radio waves, and they can convert 1s and 0s into radio waves and convert the radio

Assignment submitted to: Prof. Saumya Prakash

Submitted By: Prakash J(PGDM-1274)

ITM Business School, Navi Mumbai

WiMAX and Wi Fi

waves back into 1s and 0s. But WiFi radios have a few notable differences from other radios:

They transmit at frequencies of 2.4 GHz or 5 GHz. This frequency is considerably higher than the frequencies used for cell phones, walkie-talkies and televisions. The higher frequency allows the signal to carry more data. They use 802.11 networking standards, which come in several flavours: 802.11a transmits at 5 GHz and can move up to 54 megabits of data per second. It also uses orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM), a more efficient coding technique that splits that radio signals into several sub-signals before they reach a receiver. This greatly reduces interference.802.11b is the slowest and least expensive standard. For a while, its cost made it popular, but now it's becoming less common as faster standards become less expensive. 802.11b transmits in the 2.4 GHz frequency band of the radio spectrum. It can handle up to 11 megabits of data per second, and it uses complementary code keying (CCK) modulation to improve speeds.802.11g transmits at 2.4 GHz like 802.11b, but it's a lot faster -- it can handle up to 54 megabits of data per second. 802.11g is faster because it uses the same OFDM coding as 802.11a. 802.11n is the newest standard that is widely available. This standard significantly improves speed and range. For instance, although 802.11g theoretically moves 54 megabits of data per second, it only achieves real-world speeds of about 24 megabits of data per second because of network congestion. 802.11n, however, reportedly can achieve speeds as high as 140 megabits per second. The standard is currently in draft form -- the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) plans to formally ratify 802.11n by the end of 2009. Other 802.11 standards focus on specific applications of wireless networks, like wide area networks (WANs) inside vehicles or technology that lets you move from one wireless network to another seamlessly. WiFi radios can transmit on any of three frequency bands. Or, they can "frequency hop" rapidly between the different bands. Frequency hopping helps reduce interference and lets multiple devices use the same wireless connection simultaneously.

As long as they all have wireless adapters, several devices can use one router to connect to the Internet. This connection is convenient, virtually invisible and fairly reliable; however, if the router fails or if too many people try to use highbandwidth applications at the same time, users can experience interference or lose their connections.

Comparison between WiMAX and Wi-Fi

Comparisons and confusion between WiMAX and Wi-Fi are frequent because both are related to wireless connectivity and Internet access. Assignment submitted to: Prof. Saumya Prakash Submitted By: Prakash J(PGDM-1274)

ITM Business School, Navi Mumbai

WiMAX and Wi Fi

WiMAX is a long range system, covering many kilometres, which uses licensed or unlicensed spectrum to deliver connection to a network, in most cases the Internet. Wi-Fi uses unlicensed spectrum to provide access to a local network. Wi-Fi is more popular in end user devices. Wi-Fi runs on the Media Access Control's CSMA/CA protocol, which is connectionless and contention based, whereas WiMAX runs a connectionoriented MAC. WiMAX and Wi-Fi have quite different quality of service (QoS) mechanisms:
o

WiMAX uses a QoS mechanism based on connections between the base station and the user device. Each connection is based on specific scheduling algorithms. Wi-Fi uses contention access - all subscriber stations that wish to pass data through a wireless access point (AP) are competing for the AP's attention on a random interrupt basis. This can cause subscriber stations distant from the AP to be repeatedly interrupted by closer stations, greatly reducing their throughput.

Both 802.11 (which include Wi-Fi) and 802.16 (which include WiMAX) define Peer-to-Peer (P2P) and ad hoc networks, where an end user communicates to users or servers on another Local Area Network (LAN) using its access point or base station. However, 802.11 supports also direct ad hoc or peer to peer networking between end user devices without an access point while 802.16 end user devices must be in range of the base station.

Although Wi-Fi and WiMAX are designed for different situations, they are complementary. WiMAX network operators typically provide a WiMAX Subscriber Unit which connects to the metropolitan WiMAX network and provides Wi-Fi within the home or business for local devices (e.g., Laptops, Wi-Fi Handsets, smartphones) for connectivity. This enables the user to place the WiMAX Subscriber Unit in the best reception area (such as a window), and still be able to use the WiMAX network from any place within their residence.

Common Name WiMAX

Comparison of Mobile Internet Access methods Downstream Family Primary Use Radio Tech (Mbit/s) MIMO802.2 Wireless MAN 37 (10 MHz TDD) SOFDMA

Upstream (Mbit/s) 17 (10 MHz TDD)

Assignment submitted to: Prof. Saumya Prakash

Submitted By: Prakash J(PGDM-1274)

ITM Business School, Navi Mumbai

WiMAX and Wi Fi

Wi-Fi

802.1

Mobile Internet

OFDM/MIMO

288.8 (using 4x4 configuration in 20 MHz bandwidth) or 600 (using 4x4 configuration in 40 MHz bandwidth)

References:
http://en.wikipedia.org/ http://www.howstuffworks.com/

Assignment submitted to: Prof. Saumya Prakash

Submitted By: Prakash J(PGDM-1274)