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|orldwide ¬nteroperability
for icrowave
 ess

ess
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 M ort for |
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 ,, and it also goes by t e


 
IEEE name 
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metropolitan
metropolitan area network
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 Jew tec nology t at proposes to solve problems
of broadband access and WiFi access.
 Jew WiMAX tec nology would provide:
‡ T e ëë
  of broadband service
‡ |   rat er t an wired access:
‡    like t e cell p one network
instead of tiny little otspots of WiFi
 |
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A WiMAX system consists of two parts:

 A |

 , similar in concept to a


 ,
cell--p one tower - A single WiMAX tower
cell
can provide coverage to a very large area
-- as big as 3,000 square miles (~8,000
square km).
 A |

    - T e receiver and
antenna could be a small box or PCMCIA
card, or t ey could be built into a laptop
t e way WiFi access is today.
|




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? WiM? tower station can connect directly to the Internet using a high-
bandwidth, wired connection. It can also connect to another WiM? tower using a
line-of-sight, microwave link. This connection to a second tower (often referred to
as a backhaul), along with the ability of a single tower to cover up to 3,000 square
miles, is what allows WiM? to provide coverage to remote rural areas.
 |
|

 WiMAX operates on t e same general principles
as WiFi -- it sends data from one computer to
anot er via radio signals.
 A computer (eit er a desktop or a laptop)
equipped wit WiMAX would receive data from
t e WiMAX transmitting station, using encrypted
data keys to prevent unaut orized users from
stealing access.
 WiMAX s ould be able to andle up to 70
megabits per second. It will provide at least t e
equivalent of cable-
cable-modem transfer rates to eac
user.
 T e biggest difference isn't speed; it's 
 ..
WiMAX outdistances WiFi by miles. WiFi's range is
about 100 feet (30 m). WiMAX will blanket a
radius of &
  (50 km) wit wireless access.
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of--sight§|
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lower frequency range   
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higher
higher
frequencies§
frequencies §


  
 
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 Fixed Wireless:
‡ P ase One: Outdoor, professionally installed antennas
providing ig speed service to businesses. Also, will
serve in a ³back aul´ role, linking WiFi ot spots to t e
greater Internet.
‡ P ase Two: Introduction of indoor, self-
self-installable
Customer Premises Equipment (CPE). Consumers will
be able to bring ome a box resembling a cable modem,
plop it down anyw ere in t e ouse and receive ig
speed service.
 Mobile Wireless:
‡ P ase T ree: Manufacturers to integrate WiMAX into PC
Cards, laptops, and ot er portable devices to enjoy ig
speed connectivity at ome, around town, and even
w ile speeding down t e ig way.
‡ 
 
ë


'!(
 ë )
‡ DM
can only reac about 18,000 feet (3 miles)
from t e central office switc many urban,
suburban and rural locations may not be served.
‡ Many older cable networks aven¶t been equipped
to provide a return c annel and converting t ese
networks to support ig -speed broadband can be
expensive.
‡ Cost of deploying cable is a significant deterrent to
t e extension of wired broadband service in areas
wit low subscriber density.

‡ 
 
ë
|*
+,
 )
‡ Hot spots are very small, so coverage is sparse.

‡ Current generation of proprietary wireless systems are

relatively expensive for mass deployments because,
wit out a standard, few economies of scale are
possible.
 |
#



$




 Can provide service to underserved areas
 Can fill in t e gaps in cable and DM
coverage

ine of sig t not required
 Provides ig bandwidt
 In erent flexibility and low cost elps to
overcome t e limitations of traditional wired and
proprietary wireless tec nology
 Privacy and encryption features are included in
802.16 standard
 Mtandards based tec nology
 w


#

 Enables economies of scale t at can bring down t e cost of
equipment
‡ Wit out industry-
industry-wide standards, equipment
manufacturers must provide all t e ardware and
software building blocks and platforms t emselves
 Ensures interoperability
‡ Ensures compatibility and interoperability of broadband
wireless access equipment
‡ Establis es a subset of baseline features and protocol
t at all compliant equipment must satisfy-
satisfy- allows
equipment from multiple vendors to interoperate
‡ Allows service providers to purc ase equipment from
more t an one supplier
  
|

 Certain conditions terrain, weat er and large buildings
buildings
can act to reduce t e maximum range.

imited underserved customer base--
base--Approx
Approx 85% of U.M.
ouse olds can now buy broadband services and about 70%
ave a c oice between DM
and cable.
 Most commercial WiMAX services likely to be small in
scale
scale markets limited to ard-
ard-to-
to-reac rural areas or city
neig bor oods t at aren¶t already ooked up for broadband.
 Cost to build a nationwide network could reac $3 billion.
 Mcarcity of suitable airwaves
airwaveslicensed airwave frequencies
are allocated by t e FCC
FCClimited availability. Unlicensed
airwaves are free but all can use t em
emdifficult to control
service quality as ot er users of t e same band could cause
interference.