Speaking on Summit TV this afternoon, Gerard Rebelo, acting chief executive of the Carrier Division of Saab Grintek, said that the time for WiMax is now. The programme was broadcast live from Satnac, the South African Telecommunication Network and Application Conference hosted annually by Telkom.
Rebelo said WiMax is an exciting broadband delivery system which has seen a very large amount of money invested in its development. He said that from the start of the development process, industry had formed the WiMax forum, a non-profit organisation promoting and certifying compatibility and interoperability of broadband wireless products. This ensures that equipment from various manufacturers can work together in one network providing operators with the flexibility to interoperate with equipment from various suppliers.
He said that the users of broadband have experienced the speed of ADSL and are now ready to enjoy the benefits of the real broadband that WiMax can offer. He cited triple play and IPV as examples.
Triple play is a marketing term for the provisioning of three services: high-speed Internet, television and telephone services over a single broadband connection. It facilitates Internet Protocol television (IPTV) which clears the way to video on demand and other education and business activities using streaming video over Internet connections.
"I believe that the consumer market is ready for video on demand and the ability to order a feature film over the Internet and stream high quality images on a home theatre screen," Rebelo said. "IPTV will offer so much."
In questioning if 3G and HSPDA have not already superseded WiMax, he said that one should clearly separate WIMax from the other systems which operate from a mobile platform and cannot deliver the bandwidth of WiMax.
WiMax is about broadband data which with VOIP can deliver voice efficiently. He also said that it is a myth that VOIP delivers an inferior voice service. VOIP can deliver HiFi quality. It all depends on the codec used to create the digital steam. WiMax offers the bandwidth to do that efficiently.
WiMax will enable telcos to offer high-speed services in areas where no cable infrastructure is available or where the cost of laying cables would be prohibitively high.
Currently WiMax is available for fixed-line applications. It is expected that portability will be available from 2007 and soon after that mobility.
"Video streaming will become a reality," Rebelo said. "I am confident that it will be available soon with the quality and size of picture comparable with home theatre video systems. All that the world is waiting for is the bandwidth needed to achieve this and WiMax will enable telcos to deliver this."
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Saab is one of the world`s leading high-technology companies, with its main operations focusing on defence, aviation and space. The group covers a broad spectrum of competence and capability in systems integration.
Saab Grintek
Grintek is a leading empowerment technology company and employs some 1 000 people, most of whom are engineers and technicians. The company is a privately held partnership between Saab AB (70.3%) of Sweden and Kunene Bros Holdings (29.7%). The company specialises in three main market segments, namely telecommunications and selected niche opportunities within industrial and defence electronics. Saab Grintek is a business unit of Saab.
Saab Grintek Technologies
Saab Grintek Technologies applies the group`s core technologies in the ICT, transport and energy sectors through the development of its own products as well as partnerships and distribution agreements with world-class suppliers.
The division provides tailored and innovative solutions from initial project and business requirement consulting, through to implementation, integration, continuous support and training.
The company focuses on providing high end communications solutions in the following areas: transmission, voice, data, wireless, convergence services, antennas, RF components, DC power systems, pre-payment electricity meters, electric load management systems and a full range of professional avionics and aeronautical electronics.
The division`s solutions have been implemented in over 500 top South African companies and in more than 22 African countries. Over 25 leading international vendors have selected Saab Grintek Technologies as a South African service provider and partner. Saab Grintek Technologies` head office and support centre is located in Centurion, Pretoria, and it has full regional support offices in Cape Town, Windhoek and Nigeria.
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