Motorola still bullish on mobile WiMax

By Martin Czernowalow for Motorola
Johannesburg, 31 Aug 2007

Motorola has lost out on its opportunity to be the first mobile WiMax solutions provider in SA, mainly due to regulatory delays. However, it believes demand for the mobile standard is yet to come.

Until recently, Motorola boasted it was the only player that could commercially deploy the 802.16e mobile WiMax standard. This is an evolution of the de facto 802.16d fixed WiMax standard, which has been widely deployed around the world.

However, the Independent Communications Authority of SA (ICASA) had numerous delays publishing its criteria for allocating WiMax spectrum. It also missed the May deadline it set to gazette the WiMax criteria.

Nokia Siemens, Alcatel Lucent and Samsung have, meanwhile, developed their own mobile WiMax offerings, competing with Motorola for WiMax network projects in SA.

Not alone

Noel Kirkaldy, director of wireless broadband for Motorola home and networks mobility in the Middle East and Africa, says the delays are not all bad. "We are not alone anymore, which is healthy."

He expects next year to be critical for WiMax deployment, as SA is expected to start large-scale network roll-outs along with the rest of the world.

The delays mean SA will most likely leapfrog the rest of the world and deploy the 802.16e mobile standard, he argues. This is a similar situation as with local and African voice telephony roll-out, where most of the continent leapfrogged fixed-lines and moved to mobile.

Earlier deployment would have meant most operators would have rolled out the "d" standard, while the focus will now be on "e", Kirkaldy explains.

The global WiMax market is still in its infancy, with about 500 000 users in total, he notes.

Most South African players are awaiting spectrum allocation from ICASA. Those that have received licences - Sentech, Neotel and iBurst - are in the process of awarding contracts for WiMax network construction.

Telkom, which rolled out a commercial WiMax network in May, deployed a "d" standard network. This, says Kirkaldy, is due to the fact that the operator has a mandate to connect rural and remote areas. This meant it had to go with available technology that it has been investing in for some years.

It is likely the company may redeploy a mobile WiMax network at a later stage.

Unfinished business

ICASA councillor Marcia Socikwa says the authority has not yet decided how it will allocate radio frequency spectrum, including bands used for WiMax technologies.

"We know mobile operators are competing for limited bands, but we don't know how we will allocate those bands yet," she said at Wi-World 2007, held in Sandton this week.

However, ICASA has made some decisions regarding spectrum allocation, including issues of price. "We agreed spectrum fees should at least cover administration costs," she said.

ICASA will also ensure available spectrum is allocated to address the widest services and reach maximum people, Socikwa noted.

An anonymous source predicts more delays in the final allocation of WiMax spectrum. He says ICASA's allocation decisions are likely to be challenged by ICT players, as demand is too high and many telecoms providers are counting on the allocation to take their business to the next level.

The source, who is associated with a small telecoms provider, also argues that mobile operators should not be allocated WiMax spectrum. "They already have 3G HSDPA," he says.

Socikwa said, while there is no clear dispute resolution mechanism on spectrum issues, ICASA will deal with disputes swiftly, on an ad hoc basis.

Sentech previously said it would make its spectrum available to Internet service providers on a wholesale basis, allowing them to begin their WiMax projects in underserviced areas.