7Ô 11, 2006 start: What is mobile WiMAX?

Designed to leverage the IP infrastructure to deliver high-

speed data to handsets, PDAs, and other mobile devices
mobile WiMAX can compete with or complement cellular. By
Jack Shandle
The first mobile WiMAX products are scheduled to be rolled
out late this year or very early in 2007—so if you haven't
done some research into this interesting technology already
it's time to start.

Designed from the beginning to connect to the IP network,

mobile WiMAX offers low latency and high Quality of Service
(QoS). It will have no difficulty accessing IP multimedia
data or implement technologies such as VoIP. This is the
basic argument driving the mobile WiMAX campaign for market
acceptance.

In the ever widening world of wireless technologies, mobile

WiMAX is aimed at a very lucrative market: the delivery of
high-data bandwidth digital data streaming off the IP
network. In other words, the much-talked-about delivery of
mobile services.

Cellular, Wi-Fi and even Bluetooth through its relationship

with Ultrawideband (UWB) also have designs on the
multimedia services market. While there is still some
question as to whether there is room for still another
wireless technology, WiMAX has a good story to tell.

Mobile WiMAX can be embedded on any number of personal

devices such as PDAs, notebook PCs, game consoles, iPods,
MP3 players, and cellular phones. As such, its potential to
compete with cellular technology is obvious, particularly
for broadband, data-centric applications.
WiMAX and cellular
But mobile WiMAX may also co-exist with cellular
technology. WiMAX is not optimized to carry circuit-
switched voice traffic. From the WiMAX perspective, voice
is a far more appropriate application for cellular
technology.

The problem with that scenario from the cellular

perspective is that the expected growth in mobile revenue
is in the data segment. Between 2004 and 2008, a 20% CAGR
is forecast for mobile data while revenue for mobile voice
traffic is actually expected to drop by a few percent over
the same period. Voice revenues will still be almost double
data in 2008 but the trend is clear.

The single most important technology advantage that mobile

WiMAX has over 2G and 3G cellular is its adoption of
Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA)
multiplexing. OFDMA works well in multipath environments
and is cost effective for network operators because it has
higher performance and gives them more flexibility in
managing spectrum resources.

Mobile WiMAX performance is typically compared to 3G

technologies such as EVDO (Evolution Data Optimized) and
HSDPA (High Speed Downlink Packet Access), and HSUPA.
Depending on system configuration, mobile WiMAX has a clear
performance edge.

In terms of net throughput per channel, mobile WiMAX

delivers between 50% and 3X greater bandwidth, the greatest
differential coming in a WiMAX system with a two-antenna
MIMO (Multiple In Multiple Out) implementation.

The WiMAX Forum published the data on which this comparison

is based. The information is shown in Figure 1. MIMO is
just as applicable to cellular technology but has not been
implemented as yet.

Figure 1: Mobile WiMAX beats 3G cellular in data

bandwidth.

The cellular industry is, of course, not standing still.

The Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) has
incorporated it in its LTE (Long Term Evolution)
specification. Another indication is that Qualcomm, ever a
dominant player in the cellular market, last year signaled
its interest in OFDMA by acquiring Flarion, a company that
had developed an excellent OFDMA technology.

Another contributor to mobile WiMAX's performance edge is

that it uses Time Division Duplex (TDD) to separate
channels and that is attractive for the implementation of
other technologies that boost performance. TDD is less
complex than FDD (Frequency Division Duplex) technology
favored by the cellular industry. TDD uses a single
frequency channel, separating uplink and downlink traffic
with a guard time. It is the use of the single channel for
uplink an downlink that makes it easier to implement MIMO
and beamforming technologies that it depends on for a good
part of its advantage over 3G cellular.
Mobile WiMAX basics
Mobile WiMAX is based on the IEEE 802.16e-2005 standard.
Although it will probably migrate to higher levels of the
RF spectrum later, it is presently capable of operating in
the 2.3 GHz, 2.5 GHz, and 3.3-3.8 GHz spectrum bands.

Channel sizes range from 3.5 MHz to 10 MHz, which provides

the flexibility mobile operators need to make the optimal
use of the spectrum available to them.

The WiMAX Forum will begin mobile WiMAX late this year or
early in 2007. Although handoffs and power saving
mechanisms are required of all mobile WiMAX products, it is
anticipated that features such as high-speed handoffs,
roaming, and MIMO will all be available after the middle of
2007.

Because any deployment of mobile services will have to find

some way to deal with multiple networks (3G core, LTE, Wi-
Fi, 3G RN, and mobile WiMAX), the industry is developing
architectures that will let service providers utilize them
all with minimum economic impact. From the IP side, IP
Multimedia Subsystems (IMS) will also service providers to
deliver all the services—both now and in the future—that
the Internet provides. Network operators will be able to
control and charge for each service. As a consequence of
its flexible, layered architecture, IMS also gives service
providers the ability to independently develop
applications.

Coming from the cellular side, Multimedia Domain (MDD) does

essentially the same thing. WiMAX supports both IMS and
MDD, although network operators do not have to implement
IMS or MDD to take advantage of core WiMAX capabilities.
Economic perspective
The case for mobile WiMAX being a cost effective technology
is fundamentally one of standards and interoperability.
Equipment must conform to the IEEE 802.16e-2005 and ETSI
HiperMAN 1.3.2 standards but it is well known that meeting
those standards does not necessarily translate into
interoperability between products from different
manufacturers.

For mobile WiMAX, the WiMAX Forum will reprise its

interoperability certification program for fixed WiMAX.
Interoperability allows system operators to shop around for
base stations and end user equipment as well as decide when
to upgrade.

One of the more interesting synergies between technologies

brings together mobile WiMAX and Wi-Fi capability in a
single chipset. The rationale behind this combination is
that mobile WiMAX is better suited for roaming and Wi-Fi is
a technology that is better suited for offices and other
interior spaces. This perspective is not as popular with
the Wi-Fi camp as it is with the WiMAX proponents. But the
combination of the two technologies into a single chipset
would certainly bring down the cost of end-user equipment.

Perhaps the biggest cost advantage of WiMAX compared to

cellular comes not out of standards or higher levels of
integration but royalty payments. Royalties paid by
manufacturers of WCDMA phones, for example, average between
10% and 15% for the average selling price of the phone.

This is big difference from the 2% to 5% royalty charges in

the rest of the telecommunications industry. Significantly,
the WiMAX Forum is clearly looking for royalty solutions
that are far less onerous.
Potential scenarios
As a high capacity IP-based wireless technology, WiMAX can
either overlay an existing 3G network and provide higher
performance data delivery. Its technology mix (OFDMA and
TDD) and its synergies with other wireless technologies
such as Wi Fi, make it a good bet to at least find a niche
if not become a major competitor to cellular.

Mobile WiMAX's appeal is, perhaps, most keenly felt by 2G

operators that what to leapfrog their 3G competitors. But
3G operators may find it appealing as well. Korea Telecom,
for example, is already deploying its WiBro services, which
are based on mobile WiMAX.

In addition, DSL service providers and cable providers may

find mobile WiMAX valuable in areas where their wired
network does not deliver good performance. WiMAX may also
be a good choice in greenfield projects where virtually no
infrastructure exists. Only time will tell.