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ABSTRACT
WiMax, the Worldwide Interoperability Microwave Access protocol (or IEEE 802.16,
as it is know in technical circles), promises to deliver wireless broadband which quite
literally envelops the world. WiMax is a ―standards based wireless technology that
provides high-throughput broadband connections over long distances.‖ Unlike other
current broadband offerings, WiMax has its origins in the data side rather than in
voice. It also has the ability to link hotspots together, providing more complete
coverage over a larger area, and offers higher data rates—some claim up to 280 Mbps
at 50 miles out. In this seminar, we take a deep look into how this technology works,
the proposed architecture to include QoS, security threats involved in the physical
layer and the MAC layer and finally the performance issues involved and future
possible enhancements.
INDEX
1) What is WIMAX
2) Standards associated to WIMAX
3) The technological vision for WIMAX
4) How WIMAX is different from WI-FI
5) Market for WIMAX
6) WIMAX as a metro-access deployment option
6.1) Fixed
6.2) Portable
7) Flexible channel bandwidth
8) Smart antenna support
9) WIMAX for fixed wireless access
10) WIMAX for portable internet
12.1)WIMAX,a natural complement to WI-FI
12.2)From nomadicity to portable internet
12.3)The WIMAX CPE
11) The problems that WIMAX solves
12) How does WIMAX compare to 3G
13) Progress on the Wimax standards
14) What will it take to put WIMAX out around the world
15) WIMAX technology challenge
15.1)WIMAX,more flexibility and security
15.2)WiMAX very efficient radio solution
16) Conclusion
17) References
What Is WiMAX?
WiMAX technology involves microwaves for the transfer of data wirelessly. It can be
used for high-speed, wireless networking at distances up to a few miles. The term
WiMAX comes from 'Wireless (Wi) Microwave Access (MA).' WiMAX is very
similar to Wi-Fi in that it uses the same core technology of wireless modulation
developed way back in the '60's and '70's, called OFDM (Orthogonal Frequency
Division Multiplexing).
The real benefit of WiMAX technology is that you can run signals very, very close to
each other on wireless channels. You can have super narrow lanes, so you can put a
lot of traffic over them and they don't disrupt each other.
802. What?
The popularity of wireless networking has grown very quickly because of effective
standardization. Wi-Fi encompasses a family of specifications within the IEEE 802.11
standard. These include 802.11b (the most popular, at 11Mbit/sec., with a typical
range of up to 300 feet), 802.11a (54Mbit/sec., but at a shorter range than 802.11b)
and 802.11g (combining the speed of "a" with the range of "b").
WiMax is the new shorthand term for IEEE Standard 802.16, also known as "Air
Interface for Fixed Broadband Wireless Access Systems." .
The initial version of the 802.16 standard, approved by the New York-based IEEE in
2002, operates in the 10-to-66-GHz frequency band and requires line-of-sight towers.
Additional 802.16 standards are in the works; here's what they'll cover:
802.16b—Quality of service
The other big difference between Wi-Fi and WiMAX – starting right away – is that
we're going to use licensed spectrum to deliver WiMAX. To date, all Wi-Fi
technology has been delivered in unlicensed spectrum. WiMAX will use one of the
unlicensed frequencies, but we're also supporting two other frequencies that are
licensed. What that means is that you can turn up the output power and broadcast
longer distances. So where Wi-Fi is something that is measured in hundreds of feet,
usually WiMAX will have a very good value proposition and bandwidth up to several
miles.
WiMAX will boost today's highly fragmented BWA market thanks to standardization
and interoperability, state-of-the-art radio efficiency with NLOS capability, and strong
support from the radio equipment manufacturers and chipset industries. WiMAX will
also target the data-centric mobility market with the introduction of lower power
consumption chipsets. The strong support from some of the most important chipsets
manufacturers such as Intel is a key enabler for the success of WiMAX, since it will
lead to wide availability of affordable WiMAX-enabled terminals (e.g., laptops,
PDAs, etc.).
Fixed
The IEEE 802.16-2004 standard (which revises and replaces IEEE 802.16a and
802.16REVd versions) is designed for fixed-access usage models. This standard may
be referred to as ―fixed wireless‖ because it uses a mounted antenna at the subscriber’s
site. The antenna is mounted to a roof or mast, similar to a satellite television dish.
IEEE 802.16-2004 also addresses indoor installations, in which case it may not be as
robust as in outdoor installations.
The 802.16-2004 standards is a wireless solution for fixed broadband Internet access
that provides an interoperable, carrier-class solution for the last mile. The Intel
WiMAX solution for fixed access operates in the licensed 2.5-GHz, 3.5-GHz and
license-exempt 5.8-GHz bands. This technology provides a wireless alternative to the
cable modem, digital subscriber lines of any type (xDSL), transmit/exchange (Tx/Ex)
circuits and optical carrier level (OC-x) circuits.
Portable
The IEEE 802.16e standard is an amendment to the 802.16-2004 base specification
and targets the mobile market by adding portability and the ability for mobile clients
with IEEE 802.16e adapters to connect directly to the WiMAX network to the
standard. The 802.16e standard is expected to be ratified in early 2005.
The IEEE 802.16-2004 standard improves last-mile delivery in several key aspects:
• Multi-path interference
• Delay spread
• Robustness
The IEEE 802.16-2004 standard uses OFDM for optimization of wireless data
services. Systems based on the emerging IEEE 802.16-2004 standards are the only
standardized OFDM based, wireless metropolitan area networks (WMAN) platforms.
In the case of 802.16-2004, the OFDM signal is divided into 256 carriers instead of 64
as with the 802.11 standard. As previously stated, the larger number of subcarriers
over the same band results in narrower subcarriers, which is equivalent to larger
symbol periods. The same percentage of guard time or cyclic prefix (CP) provides
larger absolute values in time for larger delay spread and multi-path immunity.
The 802.11 standard provides one-fourth of the OFDM options for CP than does the
802.16-2004 standard, which provides 1/32, 1/16, 1/8 and 1/4, where each can be
optimally set. For a 20-MHz bandwidth, the difference between a ¼ CP in .11 and 16
would be a factor of four because of the ratio 256/64. In OFDMA with 2048 FFT size,
the ratio is 32.
The physical layers (PHYs) for both 802.11 and 802.16-2004 are designed to tolerate
delay spread. Because the 802.11 standard was designed for 100 meters, it can tolerate
only about 900 nanoseconds of delay spread. The 802.16-2004 standard tolerates up to
10 microseconds of delay spread— more than 1000 times than in the 802.11 standard.
The IEEE 802.16-2004 and IEEE 802.16e standards have flexible channel bandwidths
between 1.5 and 20 MHz to facilitate transmission over longer ranges and to different
types of subscriber platforms. In addition, this flexibility of channel bandwidth is also
crucial for cell planning, especially in the licensed spectrum. For scalability, an
operator with 14 MHz of available spectrum, for example, may divide that spectrum
into four sectors of 3.5 MHz to have multiple sectors (transmit/receive pairs) on the
same base station.
With a dedicated antenna, each sector has the potential to reach users with more
throughput over longer ranges than can an omni-directional antenna. Net-to-net,
flexible channel bandwidth is imperative for cell planning.
The 802.16-2004 standards have strong commercial backing to go along with its
technical capabilities. The WiMAX Forum, a nonprofit group that promotes 802.16-
2004 technology, has as its goal the certification of interoperable 802.16-2004
standard products, regardless of vendor. In that regard, the forum is following the lead
of the Wi-Fi Alliance, which helped popularize and commercialize 802.11 standard
technologies.
• Receive spatial diversity antennas—Entails more than one antenna receiving the
signal. The antennas need to be placed at least half a wavelength apart to operate
effectively. Note that wavelength can be derived by taking the inverse of the
frequency. For example, for a 2.5-GHz carrier the wavelength would be 0.13 meters
or 5.1 inches. For a 5.8-GHz carrier the wavelength would be 0.05 meter or 1.9
inches. When considering half a wavelength for the frequencies of interest, we are
talking one to two and a half inches. Maintaining this minimum distance ensures that
the antennas are incoherent, that is, they will be impacted differently by the
additive/subtractive effects of signals arriving by means of multiple paths.
• Simple diversity antennas—detect the signal strength of the multiple (two or more)
antennas attached and switch that antenna into the receiver. The more incoherent
antennas to choose from, the higher the likelihood of getting a strong signal.
The service gap can be categorized by two characteristics: the type of area (rural or
urban) and the level of national development. In developed countries, DSL service
deployment has been massive in urban and sub-urban deployments, whereas coverage
of remote areas - smaller towns and rural areas - is lagging behind. Hurdles to
overcome are the poor line quality of the installed copper base, the large distances to
the central offices or cabinets, or the low population density. In this context, WiMAX,
with its QoS support, longer reach, and data rates similar to DSL, is naturally
positioned as a viable first mile option to offer broadband access to residential users.
In emerging countries, the main focus of broadband deployment is on urban and sub-
urban areas, and will remain so in the near future. The low POTS penetration and the
low quality of the copper pair prevent mass scale DSL deployment and foster the need
for alternate broadband technologies. In this context, WiMAX is positioned as an
excellent option. Moreover, the possibility of offering broadband services in
combination with voice services will gradually lead to narrowband WLL substitution.
WiMax is of interest for large enterprises with several locations in the same
metropolitan area. WiMax will permit Operator's bypass under license conditions:
building a metropolitan private network of IP lines at a very low cost (no civil works).
The comparison to leased lines rental fee is in favor of WiMax even for two sites only.
For customers located several kilometers from the WiMAX base station, a self-install
outdoor antenna may be required to improve transmission quality. To serve isolated
customers, a directive antenna pointing to the WiMAX base station may be required.
For customers requesting voice in addition to broadband services, specific CPE will
allow the connection of standard or VoIP phones. Ultimately, WiMAX chipset will be
embedded in data-centric devices.
WiMAX can also solve the problem of how to keep wireless notebooks and other
mobile devices connected between 802.11 hotspots. An 802.16e amendment will add
mobility to 802.16. As early as 2006, 802.16 could be incorporated into end-user
devices like notebooks and PDAs, enabling the delivery of wireless broadband
directly to the end-user on the move.
What differentiates 802.16 from earlier broadband wireless access (BWA) iterations is
standardization. In these earlier solutions, the chipsets were custom-built for each
broadband wireless access vendor, requiring a great deal of time and cost. Intel,
Fujitsu and others would like to bring economies of scale to broadband wireless-cost
savings that would go a long way toward creating a larger market.
What will users be able to do via WiMAX that they can't do with existing
technologies?
There are areas of the world - especially in emerging markets and rural areas - where
deploying wired broadband infrastructure is not cost effective. WiMAX is very cost
effective technology to quickly deploy in the regions which otherwise would not have
broadband access. So WiMAX helps spread broadband to more users more quickly
than existing technologies.
Another benefit of WiMAX is the ability to get higher connection speeds farther away
from the transmitter. Right now you can get a really high speed connection in Wi-Fi
close to the transmitter. The other option is that you can get a pretty slow Internet
connection using a cellular technology, which spans a greater distance. WiMAX fits
between those two offerings. You'll get speeds similar to close-up Wi-Fi connections
out to several miles away from the transmitter.
WiMAX will also be much easier to install, which makes it more cost-effective for
service providers and hopefully some of those savings will accrue to users.
When 802.16e comes out in 2006, the improvements become more obvious.
Scalability and multi-access capabilities would be added to the fixed OFDM
technology. This will make the channels scalable and the lanes different sizes to
extend broadband wireless access across a larger geography. Fixed wireless access is
known as OFDM, and the industry term for this scalable technology is SOFDMA – or
Scalable OFDM Multi-Access. From the technical side, it's a pretty big change. So it's
very similar in concept to today's more evolved, multi-access cellular technologies.
The WiMAX Forum (the Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access Forum) is
a non-profit corporation formed by equipment and component suppliers, including
Intel Corporation, to promote the adoption of IEEE 802.16 compliant equipment by
When WiMAX is fully developed, you'll no longer be limited to 300 feet within the
Wi-Fi hotspot. And you won't have to drive around looking for a connection. Even
though it's only five minutes, it's still five minutes, and that's just not as natural as
getting a connection anywhere.
When people have a broadband connection they tend to use their computer more, they
leave it on and they integrate it more into their lifestyle. WiMAX technology extends
the range of broadband wireless access to more users in more geography. This
happens first with last mile connections where anyone wants them, and eventually in
notebook mode for mobility. We believe WiMAX can be deployed in any metro area,
using the licensed spectrum that we are working with today and it moves around the
world.
The 802.16a collection of amendments takes into account the emergence of licensed
and license-exempt broadband wireless networks operating between 2 GHz and 11
GHz, with support for non-line-of-sight architectures that could not be supported in
higher frequency ranges. The 802.16a version adds three new PHY-layer
specifications: a single-carrier layer, a 256-point FFT OFDM (fast Fourier transform
orthogonal frequency division multiplexing) layer, and a 2048-point FFT OFDMA
layer. The 256-point waveform is employed by both WiMAX and the E the WiMAX
Forum will conduct testing and label compliant products "WiMAX Forum Certified."
This will guarantee they have been independently verified to conform to the standard
and be interoperable with other vendor equipment. Service providers will
The WiMAX system relies on a new radio physical (PHY) layer and appropriate
MAC layer to support all demands driven by the target applications.
• Beam forming using smart antennas provides additional gain to bridge long
distances or to increase indoor coverage; it reduces inter-cell interference and
improves frequency reuse,
• Transmit diversity and MIMO techniques using multiple antennas take advantage
of multipath reflections to improve reliability and capacity.
Although 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz non-licensed bands are largely available, their usage
could be limited to trials because of the risks of interference preventing QoS
commitments.
The 2.5 and 3.5 GHz licensed bands will be the most common bands for WiMAX
applications. It should be noted that the 5 GHz band is also partially licensed in some
countries.
Conclusion
The latest developments in the IEEE 802.16 group are driving a broadband wireless
access (r)evolution thanks to a standard with unique technical characteristics. In
parallel, the WiMAX forum, backed by industry leaders, helps the widespread
adoption of broadband wireless access by establishing a brand for the technology.
Initially, WiMAX will bridge the digital divide and thanks to competitive equipment
prices, the scope of WiMAX deployment will broaden to cover markets where the low
POTS penetration, high DSL unbundling costs, or poor copper quality have acted as a
brake on extensive high-speed Internet and voice over broadband.
WiMAX will reach its peak by making Portable Internet a reality. When WiMAX
chipsets are integrated into laptops and other portable devices, it will provide high-
speed data services on the move, extending today's limited coverage of public WLAN
to metropolitan areas. Integrated into new generation networks with seamless roaming
between various accesses, it will enable end users to enjoy an "Always Best
Connected" experience.
The combination of these capabilities makes WiMAX attractive for a wide diversity of
people: fixed operators, mobile operators and wireless ISPs, but also for many vertical
markets and local authorities.
Alcatel, the worldwide broadband market leader with a market share in excess of
37%, is committed to offer complete support across the entire investment and
operational cycle required for successful deployment of WiMAX services.
References
[2] Fourty N.; Val T.; Fraisse P.; Mercier J.-J, ―Comparative Analysis of New High
Data Rate Wireless Communication Technologies from Wi-Fi to Wimax―,
Proceedings of Joint International Conference on Networking and Services
(ICAS/ICNS 2005), 2005.
[3] Alavi H.S.; Mojdeh M.; Yazdani N., ―A Quality of Service Architecture for IEEE
802.16 Standards―, 2005 Asia –Pacific Conference on Communications, Perth,
Australia, October 2005.
[4] Michel Barbeau, ―WiMax/802.16 Threat Analysis‖. Proceedings of the 1st ACM
International Workshop on Quality of Service & Security in Wireless and Mobile
Networks, Q2SWinet ’05, October 2005.
[5] Ghosh A.; Wolter D.R.; Andrews J.G.; Chen R., ―Broadband Wireless Access
WiMax/802.16: Current Performance Benchmarks and Future Potential‖ IEEE
Communications Magazine, Feb 2005.