Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Course Teacher
Dr. Md. Saifur Rahman
Professor
Bangladesh University of Engineering & Technology
Submitted By-
• Reduce costs for all of the radios made by companies, who are part
of the WiMAX Forum™ - a standards body formed to ensure
interoperability via testing.
The more recent Long Term Evolution (LTE) standard is a similar term
describing a parallel technology to WiMAX that is being developed by
vendors and carriers as a counterpoint to WiMAX.
Starting Of Wi-MAX
WiMAX is relatively new in terms of a standards initiative - and in
particular, the launch of numerous WiMAX technologies supporting
chipsets by Forum members. However, much of the technology being
incorporated into the IEEE 802.16 technology set is existent in the
industry today and well tested. A number of best of breed broadband
radio manufacturers have been offering various elements used in WiMAX
for several years as proprietary technology. However, vendors rarely
offered consistent iterations of radio modulation and other techniques---
ensuring that solutions had to be specific to a single vendor. This is
especially true on the fixed wireless side. And even more so for unlicensed
band fixed wireless. However, mobile broadband wireless technologies
suffered from the fragmentation of multiple proprietary approaches.
This means that much of the technological capability of WiMAX is
relatively mature. In fact, the radio vendors who are members of the
forum have deployed equipment in over 125 nations around the globe
with trials and deployments exceeding 275. The combination of these
advanced technologies into two standards packages for Fixed and Mobile
broadband wireless combined with new generation optimized chipsets and
tested and certified interoperability between radio manufacturers deliver
a robust and powerful technology. This capability can match or exceed the
performance and cost factors of other broadband technologies. This can
all be achieved without traditional wireline tethers.
On the horizon, plans are to expand the WiMAX product capability as well
as the early underpinnings of the next version of WiMAX, which will
incorporate increasingly newer technologies. Also, the next major version
of the 802.16 standard 802.16m, is already in the process of being
defined. This version will offer even better throughput, spectral efficiency
and capabilities along with increased interoperability.
Some of these radio vendors were even forced to manufacture their own
silicon chips to deliver technical improvements. The high costs for
equipment resulting from this approach significantly slowed adoption of
broadband fixed wireless versus cheaper mass market technologies such
as DSL and Cable modem service.
In the mobile arena, the standards for broadband wireless delivery are
less fragmented. More importantly however, the cost, speeds delivered
and time to market of broadband mobile solutions have been
suboptimum. But that is changing.
The promise of 3G services was slow to emerge. but that is changing with
wide deployments coming from Verizon using its EVDO system as well as
from Sprint and AT&T Wireless, which is widely deploying its HSDPA 3G
system, mobile WiMAX systems based on newer technology such as
OFDMA® offer the promise of cheaper, more effective and faster
deployments of broadband mobile wireless systems. More recently 3G
deployments do appear to have accelerated with a number of high-profile
GSM-friendly broadband technology (called UMTS or its updated version
HSDPA) have gained some traction, mostly in Europe. In the US, Sprint is
in the process of rolling out a CDMA network with the newer and faster
Revision-A version. Perhaps most importantly, the advent of WiMAX has
greatly accelerated long-held plans by cellular carriers worldwide on the
Long Term Evolution (LTE) standard, which offers strong promise of a new
generation of truly broadband capable wireless handsets and modems.
And longer term there is potential, if not yet perhaps the technology
political will, for a merging of WiMAX and LTE. LTE does appear about two
years behind WiMAX systems.
This industry has languished due to the inability to foment a cohesive technology strategy.
Innovative features were restricted to individual brands with the result that numerous
innovations if combined would have greatly improved results for all. Since most fixed
broadband wireless systems in the US rely primarily upon unlicensed band technology, the
potential for WiMAX to impact this segment, albeit a small segment did not appear very
good. However, the advent of fixed WiMAX radio systems in the 3.65 GHz bands in the US
that have been adapted from licensed band 3.5 GHz technology originally designed for
European and Asian markets offers real hope for WiMAX impact in the US. Due to the
number of adherents for the technology LTE will certainly play a major if not dominant part
in the mobile broadband wireless equation.
This early foray will teach both the fixed and mobile wireless industries a
great deal about technological co-existence. In the US, T-Mobile began
trials of a cellular/Wi-Fi fixed-mobile convergence handset in the Pacific
Northwest. A number of other firms have dual-mode phones in the
marketplace, however, adoption has been slow. T-Mobile is using a Nokia
handset. Reference designs for PC-Card form factor WiMAX cards are
already in the marketplace from a number of different firms. The short
answer is that WiMAX on your phone is just around the corner.
The long term vision for broadband wireless utilizing WiMAX is clearly one
of multiple technologies that fill different niches in the service delivery
universe. Clearly, mobile voice products are mature, well-realized,
profitable and stable. The truly mobile variant of mobile WiMAX will likely
be the most technically difficult to achieve and may require the next
version of the technology to reach really high speed access. Of course,
the equivalent fixed broadband wireless products are also enjoying
innovation and already outstrip the speeds of planned mobile technology.
But as products like VoIP gain acceptance, the ability to utilize a fixed
network while stationary and eventually a truly mobile broadband network
(with somewhat different capabilities) will drive WiMAX/Cellular/and other
technology convergences to the handheld cell phone. In fact, this may
happen much faster than previously anticipated, at least in terms of
WiMAX and existing cellular technologies or LTE and existing cellular
technologies. In the long run, WiMAX and other wireless technologies
offer unprecedented flexibility to consumers.
As the WiMAX standard grows into its first highs scale deployment with
Clear wire in 2009 and continues to gain acceptance and drive cost
reductions, new chipsets that incorporate the ability to function across
multiple platforms will become more common in general with the MAN
portion of this network technology slowly being converted to the more
robust WiMAX systems, as the business cases for hotspot venues merit.
Basically, this means that WiMAX users in a few years will be able to not
only access Wi-Fi hotspots at a café, but could also have mobile citywide
WiMAX access as well, along with access to other existing cellular
technologies. Multiple network capability in a single device is gaining
traction and should be the norm in only a few years. Once again, this
points towards a complementary aspect to the two technologies. True
mobile access users in many cases will not require the level of bandwidth
that they may need when in a fixed location. The two technologies will
fulfill differing needs for consumers.
Though leaders in the industry often cite the potential for true software
defined radio systems, wherein a user’s handset, laptop or other devices
essentially scan for the best connection for the location and spectrum
available. The industry is slowly moving in this direction, however, expect
the full development of this type of seamless technology to be a few years
away. Even moderate incremental improvements in this direction could
afford consumers benefits that are essentially impossible with wire line
technologies.
In the US, both Cable and DSL are growing extremely fast, but are not
available for all customers. Rural and remote areas often lack broadband
choices if any are available at all. When they are available, the DSL or
cable plant may only exist within the town limits with no service outside
the city limits. This offers a compelling argument that low-cost WiMAX
gear can leverage access to many new customers. WiMAX also promises
a whole new level of data access flexibility that will be much less location
specific for customers. This type of robust mobile, portable or fixed
broadband access will be unprecedented.
In addition, WiMAX will provide competitive options for carriers and users
that will benefit traditional wire line carriers and customers by
encouraging innovation and improved services.
With the advent of IPTV fiber plays are enjoying resurgence. It does not
appear that WiMAX or broadband wireless will be ready to deliver IPTV in
the immediate future. However, fixed WiMAX may offer the best potential
for delivery of this potential content juggernaut. More recently some
promising new compression technologies have reached the market.
These technologies, while still new, allow the delivery of true IP-based TV
signals to cellular devices. One company asserts that it could deliver high
definition TV (HDTV) in as little as 2.5 Mbps of bandwidth, with standard
resolution signal requiring 1.5 Mbps. These speeds are within the
potential reach of WiMAX.
Qualcomm and its MediaFlo system are one good example of such
technologies. It is important to note that the resolution of this TV or video
system is not at the level of standard TV, but progress is occurring
rapidly.
No two cities are exactly alike in terms of the challenges and opportunities
presented. In many respects, broadband wireless remains very much an
art form. However, this is also true for the cellular carriers most of us use
daily. It can be done quite well. Mobile broadband wireless will be more
difficult. Achieving high quality of service (QOS) will be easier with fixed
broadband wireless. Despite all of these challenges, current broadband
wireless is very effectively serving customers even in the most
challenging environments.
WiMAX radios utilize many of the best current techniques for receiving
reflected signals from objects (such reflected signals are called
multipath). Some of these incorporate antenna diversity techniques. The
OFDM modulation favored by the first iteration of WiMAX actually takes
advantage of reflected signals allowing radios to integrate multiple
reflected signals to improve signal strength and accuracy. The Mobile
WiMAX technique of OFDMA® also advantageously integrates both in
phase (or directly returned signal responses) and out of phase multipath
signals (reflections of returned signals that bounce from other objects---
resulting in their returning slower) to create an ultimately stronger
signal.
Additionally, for WiMAX radios that are built for service in licensed bands
(currently 2.5 GHz in the US and 2.5 GHz and 3.5 GHz Internationally -
although other licensed spectrums below 11 GHz will be used in other
profiles in future) the additional power allowed in these bands (typically
around 40 Watts) permit signal to actually penetrate through some tree
cover and building walls. There are limits posed by the physics of the
spectrum range in question and power allotted. In general NLOS ranges in
the 2.5 GHz band will mostly fall between 6-8 Kilometers (4-5 Miles).
Expect additional technology to follow in coming years. The innovation
curve for WiMAX should continue to be very steep.
This same base unit could also offer the company an ability to support an
additional layer of radios for business or governmental or health care
industry customers, where health insurance privacy and portability act
(HIPPA) confidentiality compliance is of great importance, that actually
have a DIFFERENT CPE radio that, while more expensive, possesses
feature sets that take full advantage of extended security features that
are commonly added to high-security government networks. It does not
detract from the network for perfectly serviceable residential class
security capable (and inexpensive) radios to coexist with premium feature
(and cost) WiMAX products on the same network designed to serve
specialty customers. This approach is similar to add on products used
with wireline products that often require additional hardware beyond the
modem.
In fact, as the economies of scale for WiMAX are realized through volume
manufacturing, second generation, high-security products may actually be
cheaper than first generation consumer grade units granting carriers
enhanced service margins for high-value services.
WiMAX Security scheme/protocol
Realizing the sticking point that security has been in the widespread
adoption of broadband wireless service, the IEEE and the Forum both
determined to define a robust security environment. WiMAX security
supports two quality encryptions standards, that of the DES3 and AES,
which is considered leading edge. The standard defines a dedicated
security processor on board the base station for starters. There are also
minimum encryption requirements for the traffic and for end to end
authentication---the latter of which is adapted from the data-over-cable
service interface specification (DOCSIS) BPI+ security protocol.
WiMAX ecosystem
In many ways, the WiMAX ecosystem is one of the most important aspects
of the power of the technology. Much like an environmental ecosystem
that inspired its name, the viability of WiMAX in general depends on the
interaction of many firms delivering different, but crucial aspects of the
solution to the market.
Just like a marine ecosystem has numerous plant, fish, coral and even
water conditions that affect life for all, the WiMAX ecosystem consists of
standards bodies, chip vendors, radio manufacturers, systems integrators,
software developers, trade groups and even the media to address various
aspects of the technology.
Just at the chip level, the variety of companies delivering solutions ranging
from the OFDMA™ technology being used in Mobile WiMAX to a wide
variety of system-on-a-chip silicon providers, offer the variety of support
and implementation strategies that will either ensure or fail to ensure that
the technology supports the range of optional features that will garner
customer attention. As deployments have occurred around the world the
promise of the WiMAX ecosystem to deliver lower prices is being realized.
Costs have largely dropped at all levels of the ecosystem. And, in
particular, once the Clearwire and Sprint spectrum merger is complete
late in 2008 and deployments on that network accelerate, expect to see
prices drop even more.
The various radio vendors and their most direct partners, the system
integrators, deliver unique solutions tailored to the various market niches
that offer opportunity to them and their service provider customers. Both
fulfill specific roles within the ecosystem.
Wireless Architectures
The following section will provide a simple overview of wireless concepts
and nomenclature to help the reader understand how WiMAX works and
will assist the reader in com-municating with the WiMAX industry.
Point-to-point(P2P)
Point to point is used where there are two points of interest: one sender
and one receiver. This is also a scenario for backhaul or the transport from
the data source (data center, co-lo facility, fiber POP, Central Office, etc)
to the subscriber or for a point for distribution using point to multipoint
architecture. Backhaul radios comprise an industry of their own within the
wireless industry. As the architecture calls for a highly focused beam
between two points range and throughput of point-to point radios will be
higher than that of point-to-multipoint products.
Point-to-Multipoint(PMP)
WiMAX Radios
At the core of WiMAX is the WiMAX radio. A radio contains both a
transmitter (sends) and a receiver (receives). It generates electrical
oscillations at a frequency known as the carrier frequency (in WiMAX that
is usually between 2 and 11 GHz). A radio might be thought of as a
networking device similar to a router or a bridge in that it is managed by
software and is composed of circuit boards containing very complex chip
sets.
WiMAX architecture, very simply put, is built upon two components: radios
and antennas. Most WiMAX products offer a base station radio separate
from the antenna. Conversely, many CPE devices are also two piece
solutions with an antenna on the outside of the building and subscriber
station indoors as illustrated in the figure below.
Figure 9: Most WiMAX solutions use radios separate from antennas
The chief advantage of this is that the radio is protected from extremes of
heat cold and humidity all of which detract from the radio's performance
and durability. In addition, having the antenna outdoors optimizes the link
budget (performance of the wireless connection) between transmitter and
receiver especially in line of sight scenarios. The antenna is connected to
WiMAX radio via a cable known as a "pigtail". One simple rule for wireless
installations: keep the pigtail as short as possible. Why? The longer the
pigtail the more signal is lost between the antenna and the radio. The
popular LMR-400 cable, for example will lose about 1 dB (pronounced
"dee-bee" for decibel, a measure of signal strength) for every 10 feet of
cable. Very simply put, if an antenna is placed at the top of a 20-story
building and the radio in the wiring closet on the ground floor, one may
lose all signal in the cable.
Radios-Enclosures
Radio-placement
The photo above shows the WiMAX radio deployed in an enclosure. Note
from left to right: a) copper grounding cable on the inside of the enclosure
b) Ethernet connection to the data source c) Heliax "pigtail" to the
antenna (Heliax is a heavy duty, lightning resistant cable) d) 110v power
via an APC UPS (note black box in top right hand corner of enclosure.
What are some strategies to ensure the antenna can be as high as
possible to take advan-tage of line-of-sight topologies where ever possible
while keeping the pigtail as short as possible? One approach is to co-
locate the radio on or near the roof with the antenna in an enclosure.
Considerations for enclosures include: a) security and b) weather
resistance-how hot or cold can your radio gets and still function?
WiMAX Antennas
Figure 11: Different antenna types are designed for different applications
WiMAX antennas, just like the antennas for car radio, cell phone, FM radio, or
TV, are designed to optimize performance for a given application. The figure
above illustrates the three main types of antennas used in WiMAX deployments.
From top to bottom are an omni directional, sector and panel antenna each has a
specific function.
Omni-directional-antenna
Figure 12: An omni-directional antenna broadcasts 360 degrees from the base station
Sector-antennas
Panel-antennas
Figure 14: Panel antennas are most often used for point-to-point applications
Panel antennas are usually a flat panel of about one foot square. They can
also be a configuration where potentially the WiMAX radio is contained in
the square antenna enclosure. Such configurations are powered via the
Ethernet cable that connects the ra-dio/antenna combination to the wider
network. That power source is known as Power over Ethernet (PoE). This
streamlines deployments as there is no need to house the radio in a
separate, weatherproof enclosure if outdoors or in a wiring closet if
indoors. This configuration can also be very handy for relays.
Xx Subscriber Stations
The technical term for customer premise equipment (CPE) is subscriber
station. The generally accepted marketing terms now focus on either
"indoor CPE" or "outdoor CPE". There are advantages and disadvantages
to both deployment schemes as described below.
Outdoor-CPE
Figure 15: An outdoor CPE device. Note mounting brackets for outdoor mounting on roof or side of
building
Source Airspan
Outdoor CPE, very simply put, offers somewhat better performance over
indoor CPE given that WiMAX reception is not impeded by walls of
concrete or brick, RF blocking glass or steel in the building's walls. In
many cases the subscriber may wish to utilize an outdoor CPE in order to
maximize reception via a line of sight connection to the base station not
possible with indoor CPE. Outdoor CPE will cost more than indoor CPE due
to a number of factors including extra measures necessary to make
outdoor CPE weather re-sistant.
Indoor-CPE
Figure 16: Indoor WiMAX CPE (Airspan EasyST)- object on left) with telephone handset and VoIP
adapter
Link-Budget
Figure 17: The link budget determines the success or failure of a wireless operation
The figure above illustrates a link budget. It is the equation of the power
of a signal transmitted minus detractions between the transmitter and
receiver (rain, interference from other broadcasters, vegetation, gain at
the antennas ate either end) and what signal is received at the receiver.
Frequency-Plan
Part of the site survey process is to determine a viable frequency plan.
The wireless op-erator must make maximum use of limited spectrum
assets. How does one do that?
Figure 18: By reusing frequencies at different base stations, a WiMAX operator can avoid interference from their own network
Figure 19: Imagine each window or floor paying $500 per month in WiMAX services
Objections to WiMAX
A discussion of WiMAX is not complete without taking on objections to the
technology. Before any one can sell a high technology product, they must
first sell the customer on the technology.
Figure 20: Objections to WiMAX are best understood via the provisions built into the
WiMAX Physical and MAC layers
Source: EEE Technology sales people invariably encounter objections to
the technology they are sell-ing.
The primary objections to WiMAX are:
The answers to those objections are best understood via the Physical
(known as the PHY, pronounced "fi") and Medium Access Control (MAC
pronounced "mac") Layers. The WiMAX Working Group no doubt were
aware of these objections based on experiences with earlier wireless
technologies (Wi-Fi, LMDS, MMDS, CDMA, GSM) and have engineered
WiMAX to fix failures of past wireless technologies
Interference
Wireless services have been around for a century. There is always the potential for
inter-ference and the service provider must engineer accordingly.
Figure 21: Interference occurs in a number of forms and interference mitigation is a matter of good
engineering
Source: IEEE Countering interference is a matter of understanding it and
engineering accordingly. Interference occurs naturally in the
electromagnetic spectrum. Figure 21 above shows out-of-channel
interference, which comes from other transmitters that are not on the
same frequency as the primary radio. A co-channel interfering
transmission occurs on the same frequency as the desired signal. Step
One in interference mitigation is to avoid co-channel interference through
thorough frequency planning, use of licensed spectrum, and dynamic
frequency selection. Step Two is to pay close attention to the link budget
on the wireless network and plan power and spectrum to overcome
interfering signals. Much of the im-pact of out-of-channel interference can
be avoided using such technologies as OFDM, OFDMA, and a host of
antenna technologies.
Solutions-to-Interference-OFDM
Figure 22: Multipath and intersymbol interference occur with all wireless transmissions
OFDM mitigates interference by breaking the signal into subcarriers. The loss
of the data on a small percentage of the subdivided signal does not degrade
the reception of the received signal.
Figure 24: By utilizing AAS and beam steering technologies, WiMAX overcomes
interference while boosting range and throughput
Figure 25: Dynamic Frequency Selection enables a radio to shift frequencies when interference is
present
Multiple in and multiple out (MIMO) antenna systems work on the same
principle. With multiple transmitters and receivers built into the antenna, the
transmitter and receiver can coordinate to move to an open frequency
if/when interference occurs.
Software defined radios (SDR) use the same strategy to avoid interference.
As they are software and not hardware defined, they have the flexibility to
dynamically shift frequencies to move away from a congested frequency to
an open channel.
Figure 23: OFDM and OFDMA mitigate interference by breaking the signal into mul-tiple
subcarriers
Quality of Service
Quality of Service (QoS) is what determines if a wireless technology can successfully deliver
high value services such as voice and video. The chief detractors from good QoS are latency,
jitter and packet loss. Solve these issue and you have a carrier-grade service. Very simply put,
WiMAX offers a very low latency across the wireless span. Most ven-dors have products where
latency is less than 10 milliseconds from base station to CPE (and vice versa). To put this in
perspective, latency must be measured end-to-end. VoIP, for example, is highly susceptible to
latency. If latency exceeds 150 milliseconds for ex-ample, the quality of the conversation begins
to drag. At or above 200 milliseconds many listeners may find a conversation unintelligible.
In the case of WiMAX, the large majority of latency will not occur on the air link be-tween
subscriber and base station but rather on the wired portion of the connection be-tween the
subscriber and what ever the "other end" might be (web site server, IPTV server or VoIP called
party). The figure below illustrates how any latency on the wireless portion of a network is
minimal relative to that on the wired portion of a network.
Figure 26: Over-the-air latency in a WiMAX network is minimal relative to the latency on
the IP backbone or the rest of the network
Prioritizing-Traffic
The chief solution in offering good QoS is to prioritize time sensitive traffic such
as VoIP and video. Fixed WiMAX offers 4 categories for the prioritization of
traffic and mobile WiMAX has 5 categories.
Table 1: Prioritization of packets depending on traffic type (voice, video, etc) ensures good QoS
Spectral-Efficiency
Spectral efficiency is the measure of the width of the signal's beam through
the air. It is also the measure of the WiMAX radio's scalability. In mobile
WiMAX, for example, commonly used beam widths range from 1.25 MHz to
20 MHz. Efficiency of the product is determined by how much bandwidth
(measured in megabits per second in this case) can be transported over how
little beam width (MHz in this case). Spectral efficiency is especially
important in cases where a service provider is paying a high price for
spectrum (example: 40 MHz at 2.5 GHz). With high spectral efficiency, the
service provider can service more customers at a lower cost per subscriber
for the spectrum in use.
WiMAX-Security
Figure 29: WiMAX offers state of the art security via authentication and strong encryption
Security in WiMAX is set in the Privacy Sub layer in the MAC Layer. Per their
respective specifications, fixed WiMAX (802.16-2004) uses X.509 certificates
for authentication and 56-bit Digital Encryption System (DES) for encryption
of the data stream. Mobile WiMAX (802.16e-2005) uses EAP for
authentication and Advanced Encryption System (AES, also used by the US
government) for encryption. Vendors may use variants of these. Some
vendors offer 152-bit AES, which is rumored to take millions of years to crack
with a consumer grade PC. Both variants use Privacy Key Management (PKM)
for authentication between base station and subscriber station. While Wi-Fi
may have suf-fered a bad reputation for security given early problems in the
industry, WiMAX offers strong security measures to thwart a wide variety of
security threats.
WiMAX Reliability
Some supporters of the telephone network say it offers 99.999% reliability or
that it is down 5 minutes per year. That may be true of the switches in the
Central Office, but is not true of the telephone network as a whole. The
copper wires coming to the home or office, for example, represent a single
point of failure (that is, there is no back-up if the wire or fiber optic cable
breaks or is cut). Businesses using the telephone company should ask
themselves two questions:
WiMAX service providers have no wires or cables that can be cut and can
offer 99.999% of reliability by using redundant radios to cover a given
market. Use of licensed spectrum ensures that only one service provider is
broadcasting on a given frequency. Finally, ra-dios with high quality chips
have a mean time between failure (MTBF) of 40 or more years. If nothing
else, businesses should consider WiMAX as a cost effective disaster re-covery
solution. Note: a backhoe operator cannot cut a WiMAX wireless connection
to the home or office.
WiMAX VoIP
A fixed wireless solution not only offers competitive internet access, it can do
the same for telephone service thus further bypassing the telephone
company's copper wire network. Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) offers a
wider range of voice services at reduced cost to subscribers and service
providers alike. The diagram below illustrates a typical solution where a
WiMAX service provider can obtain wholesale VoIP services (no need for the
WiMAX service provider to install and operate a VoIP softswitch) at about
$5/number/month and resell to enterprise customers at $50.
Figure 34: VoIP is the "killer app" for WiMAX
IMS-Vision
The vision for IMS is that an all-IP network will allow a subscriber to access a
multitude of services regardless of how they access the network (cable TV
modem, DSL, cellular, Wi-Fi, or WiMAX). Very simply put, the subscriber will
be able to access any service on any device
Figure 32: IMS allows a subscriber to access any service on any device using any form of
access
IMS began as a concept in the cell phone industry to offer voice, short
messaging service (SMS) and video on cell phones. It utilizes a simple three-
layer architecture consisting of the Connectivity Layer (similar to the physical
layer in the OSI model), a Control Layer, which provides switching and
signaling functions, and the Service Layer where applica-tions such as IPTV
and VoIP features are offered. Running parallel to those function layers are a
range of support systems, which control security and QoS across the network.
The signaling protocol known as Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) provides
signaling across the network.
Fixed Wireless (IEEE 802.16-2004) Applications
Perhaps the most lucrative application for WiMAX is that of substitute for the telephone
company's copper wire. This is achieved through fixed wireless solutions. A majority of
US businesses and residences receive their telephone service and internet access via the
telephone company's copper wires. A T1 data line from the telephone company may re-
tail for $800/month in many US cities. About 50% of that expense is "local loop" charges
or paying to use the telephone company's copper wire to access a wider network. As the
diagram below illustrates, a WiMAX service provider could purchase the bandwidth
equivalent of a T1 (1.54 Mbps) at, say, $45 and resell to an enterprise customer for $400.
Through oversubscription (overselling), that service provider could realize a multiple of
that profit.
In addition to IPTV programming, the service provider can also offer a variety
of video on demand (VoD) services. The subscriber can select programming a
la carte for their television, both home and mobile, viewing needs. This may
be more desirable to the sub-scriber as they pay only for what they want to
watch as opposed to having to pay for doz-ens of channels they don't want to
watch. IPTV over WiMAX also enables the service provider to offer local
programming as well as revenue generating local advertising.
WiMAX-as-cellular-alternative
Of all the sub industries in telecommunications, perhaps the one best
positioned to take advantage of WiMAX is the cellular service providers. They
have a lot going for them including a wireless culture (RF engineers, wireless
savvy sales staff, etc) and millions of "early adaptor" customers. On the other
hand, the transition from legacy circuit switching and a dependency on the
incumbent telephone service provider's network will not be easy or
inexpensive.
As the diagram below supports, a large percentage of a cell phone operator's
monthly operating expense (OPEX) is T1 backhaul to support their base
stations. In addition, they use aging circuit switches (Class 4 and 5 as well as
Mobile Switching Centers) to switch phone calls. These come with expensive
annual service contracts. A WiMAX substitute for the cell phone infrastructure
could be operated at as little as 10% of the OPEX of a cellular operator using
legacy infrastructure.
Figure 36: The cellular network is a mixture of wireless and PSTN architectures
Source: Trendsmedia Replacing a cell phone infrastructure with WiMAX will need to incorporate
a large mo-bile data and mobile TV element with it as data bandwidth demands on the system
will be far greater than what is now seen with a voice-centric cell phone network. The diagram
below provides a high overview of a converged voice and data wireless network.
Figure 37: Perhaps the most immediate application for mobile WiMAX is mobile voice (cell phone)
&data
When one mentions "mobile" the first thing to come to mind is cell phone
service, which is a huge industry in itself. However, mobile now connotes a
wide range of services be-yond voice to include mobile data and TV, as well
as emergency services (police, fire, ambulance, aka 4.9 GHz market).
A wireless operator will want to pay close attention to their ARPU while
minimizing their OPEX. WiMAX allows an operator to do both simultaneously.
Failure to update a legacy network could put an operator at risk of losing
business to new market entrants armed with WiMAX.
WiMAX Economics
WiMAX costs less to deploy than any other broadband technology. As the
table below indicates many technologies such as fiber to the home (FTTH) are
exponentially more expensive to deploy. The doomsday scenario for service
providers using an expensive landline technology (and their investors) such
as FTTH or cable is that after an invest-ment in the many billions of dollars to
serve one small region, a WiMAX operator could enter their market and far
less capital expenditure (CAPEX) and drive the incumbent, high CAPEX
operator out of business.
The table above shows the strong economic advantage of WiMAX over other
broadband technologies. With the exception 2.5 and 3 G wireless technologies, the
other broadband technologies cannot offer mobile services and are not quadruple
play capable. Disruptive technology is defined by Harvard Business School
Professor Clayton Christensen as being "cheaper, simpler, smaller and more
convenient to use" than legacy technologies. WiMAX is clearly a disruptive
technology.
WiMAX: Low barrier to entry
As Table 4 would suggest, the barrier to entry for WiMAX service providers is
very low relative to other broadband technologies. This has the potential to
invite entrepreneurs into many markets to offer WiMAX-related services in
direct competition with incumbent service providers who have invested
millions if not billions of dollars in their respective network infrastructure. The
best way to illustrate this is the notion that, for the price of a new pickup
truck, an entrepreneur could be the ISP, the telephone company, the cable
TV company and even the cell phone company for a small city. This puts at
risk investment in incumbent service providers who do not upgrade their
infrastructure to compete with WiMAX.
WiMAX-Value-Networks
Is WiMAX Safe?
Since much of the technology being utilized in the IEEE 802.16 standard
(WiMAX standard) is widely deployed, there is a historical body of evidence
supporting the safety of technologies used in upcoming WiMAX and WiMAX
products. Microwave and other spectrum technologies enjoy over a hundred
years of historical evidence of safety when prudently handled and
configured. The amount of power allowed to deliver broadband wireless
signal varies from frequency to frequency, however, most are modest topping
out at around 40 watts at the tower relay site. While certain basic
precautions need to be taken when onsite at communications towers (i.e.
standing directly in front of active microwave links at essentially zero range)
the configurations for public use are understood and safe. Customer premise
equipment is even safer.
DSL
DSL has a number of show stoppers: a) it is inextricably tied to the incumbent
telephone service providers copper wire infrastructure making it vulnerable
to the whims of the in-cumbent's executives and regulatory decision makers
and b) it is a fixed wire line solution i.e. no mobility possible, c) a single
DSLAM costs tens of thousands of dollars giving it a high cost per subscriber.
Cable-Modem
Only cable TV operators can use this technology. In order for this to be a
means of access the coaxial cable networks must be bi-directional. Not every
operator has made that up-grade or has the financial means to upgrade their
network (or at least a portion of it) to bi-directional service capable of
supporting cable modem service. So, the chief limitations of cable modem as
an access service are: 1) requires the network to be bi-directional and 2) it's
a fixed, wire line technology that offers no mobility.
FTTH(Fiber-to-the-Home)
The show stopper with FTTH is its $2,000/home or office served price tag. In
addition to trenching and laying the fiber to the subscribers home, massive
rights of way issues have to be over come in order to even begin the
trenching and laying of fiber. Also, it offers no mobility options.
BPL(Broadband-over-Power-line)
The chief argument against BPL is that, in order to install service in
conjunction with existing power company service, an electric company
technician must make a physical circumvention of the power line at each
residence or business where service is to be installed. Read: big truck roll
expense. A second argument is that copper power line, like copper telephone
line, offers a good deal of resistance leading to the need for numerous
repeaters and a limited number of prospective subscribers per home passed.
Finally, it offers no mobility. Truthfully, a power company would be better off
in terms of cost per subscriber and return on investment to deploy WiMAX
utilizing their existing rights of way and access to power poles for attaching
radios and antennas than attempting to roll out service to existing
subscribers using BPL.