Motorola backs mobile WiMax

Motorola has placed its bets on the WiMax 802.16e standard, the so-called mobile WiMax standard.

Noel Kirkaldy, Motorola wireless broadband director: Motorola Networks and Enterprise in the Middle East and Africa, on a recent trip to SA, outlined the company's vision of future broadband demand, and the technologies needed to fill it.

WiMax is an Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers standard, the most well-known of which is the 902.11 WiFi technology.

The WiMax family of protocols (16a - the 10 - 66GHz range, 16d - 'fixed' wireless broadband, the 2 - 11GHz range, and 16e - 'mobile' wireless broadband, yet to be published) offer what is sometimes referred to as 4G or 4.5G (although it is not actually a cellular technology), ie, the next evolution in both downlink and uplink speeds.

To date, says Kirkaldy, over 1 000 WiMax licences have been issued globally, including four in SA, to Neotel, Sentech, iBurst and Telkom. Both Neotel and Telkom have opted to roll out fixed WiMax.

Motorola, however, is backing the mobile WiMax standard, which, Kirkaldy says, can be used for fixed or mobile applications, offers lower cost, better performance and better security. "It's a real operators' play.

"It's a cost-effective technology," he says. "As WiMax systems are interoperable, vendor competition exerts a downward pressure on price, while standard IP networking equipment can be used within network cores - taking advantage of the fierce economics of the IT market. WiMax coverage can be built exceptionally quickly too."

Kirkaldy believes we will see major usage of fixed broadband technologies in the next two to three years, after which consumer demands for mobility will drive us toward mobile WiMax. This, he says, is why operators should invest in mobile WiMax now.

"Given the choice of D or E, operators need to choose for the next 10 to 15 years," he says. "Operators have the choice now. We learnt from GSM, voice has gone mobile, the chances are users will demand the same in data, so why invest in technology that does not have the potential to go mobile?"

In support of its case, Motorola cites the 30-odd vendors globally which are investing in and developing 802.16e systems and chipsets, among them Intel, Alcatel-Lucent, Fujitsu and Nortel.

Kirkaldy also highlights research released recently by Rethink Research, which shows new spend (ie, new infrastructure investments) on WiMax technologies will overtake fixed WiMax this year, and comprise 70% of new spend by 2010.

"E supports fixed and mobile," he reiterates, "and there is a roadmap of fixed and mobile type WiMax devices already in place, from fixed through to handhelds. Further," he says, "the Wireless Communications Association through the Global Development Council is leading discussions among service providers and vendors spanning specifications for end-user devices (modems, PC, laptops and mobiles) and infrastructure to enable global connectivity.

"Given the progress made in equipment interoperability for WiMax, there are strong indicators that standards for roaming will be available in due course.

"It will be a development that delivers a simple, but highly compelling proposition: a common, high-speed, global, always-on connection to wireless services, voice communications and the Internet that's geared to dominate a new phase of growth in global data and voice connectivity," he concludes.