The WiMAX market has entered a stage of sustained growth.  Operators have moved from the slide deck and vendor selection stage to the more demanding jobs of building networks and signing up customers.  A couple of years ago, the focus of operators’ attention was on the fundamentals - which type of equipment worked best and how fast the price of subscriber units would decrease.  Today operators are asking vendors for a wider variety of devices that will enable them to increase the capacity and reach of their networks, and new base station form factors that will give them the flexibility they need as they expand their networks.  They are also experimenting with new services and new ways to reach their subscribers, and to make the services more attractive.

The feedback from subscribers.  The fast growth in subscribership and traffic per user demonstrates that WiMAX operators have got the attention of subscribers in their markets.  Yota in Russia has signed up 500,000 subscribers in less than a year of operation, with most subscribers from two cities, Moscow and Saint Petersburg.  In Malaysia, P1’s major challenge is to roll out enough base stations to meet demand.  P1 has 180,000 subscribers and is the country’s second-ranking broadband operator in terms of net subscriber adds.  In the US, Clear was close to reaching the one million subscriber mark at the end of 1Q2010, signing up almost 100,000 subscribers per month.  Equally impressive has been the growth in per-user traffic, with many operators in emerging markets reporting monthly average usage levels over 10 GB, well above the 7 GB average traffic generated by Clear subscribers in the US.

The present and the future of WiMAX.  We have conducted a survey of WiMAX operators to illustrate market progress to date and as the basis for our forecast of how the market will evolve during the 2009 to 2014 period.  The survey covers Mobile WiMAX (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers [IEEE] 802.16e, also simply referred to as WiMAX in the rest of this paper) operators with over 1,000 subscribers worldwide, split into six geographical regions.

This paper reports on subscribership, service revenues, usage models, devices, traffic, base stations deployed, and plans to move to the next generation of WiMAX—WiMAX 2.  Based on IEEE 802.16m, WiMAX 2 is set to become an International Mobile Telecommunications (IMT) Advanced Fourth Generation (4G) technology.

Key Findings:

- By 2014, we expect to see more than 90 million subscribers worldwide, with 47% of them in Asia Pacific.

- Service revenues will reach $24 billion, with ARPUs at $22 per month, with the highest ARPUs in North America and the lowest in Asia Pacific.

- WiMAX operators will increasingly push mobile services and devices.  Today 66% of subscribers use WiMAX as a fixed broadband service.  By 2014, only 47% of subscribers will.  The rest will increasingly use WiMAX as a mobile service, using dongles (31%), embedded laptops (7%), or phones or other devices (27%).

Click here to download the complete whitepaper

The discussion was highlighted in a recent webinar by Maravedis Research as part of the Q1 2010 update on their 4GCounts Quarterly Report.  According to Maravedis, while the number of WiMAX base station declined 10.9 percent from 2008 to 2009 due to operator uncertainty, the WiMAX ecosystem remained strong with over 5 Million WiMAX chipsets shipped in 2009 (332 percent Y/Y increase), WiMAX/BWA revenues of $3.03 billion (79 percent Y/Y increase), and 2.3 million new subscribers added in Q1 2010, bringing the total BWA/WiMAX subscribers to 7.2 million at the end of the quarter.

Indoor modems represented the lion share of the WiMAX device mix, accounting for over 3.6 million or 62% of subscriber units, followed by 1.1 million USB dongles and 528,000 PCMCIA cards.  While mobility is important for many operators, most WiMAX users continue to use the technology as a fixed and portable broadband service.




Operators also remain apprehensive about their migration strategies and are looking for assurances that the technology they have selected will not become obsolete.  Recent announcements by WiMAX Russian operator Yota that they had decided to switch to TD-LTE, as well as the recent exit of WiMAX operators Freedome4 in the UK and WorldMax in Amsterdam only add to the these concerns.

"Carriers are worried about the perceived lack of commitment towards 802.16m," said Maravedis Research Director Adlane Fellah.  "However despite the hype surrounding TD-LTE, we do not see much of an ecosystem in the near term."

Despite the success of recent operator trials, by most accounts a commercially viable TD-LTE ecosystem is still several years away.  Therefore for operators planning to deploy WiMAX or TD-LTE, the two most important factors are the operator's business model and the timing of when they are planning to deploy their network.

For existing WiMAX operators focused on the fixed and portable markets, sticking with WiMAX and incorporating some of the new upcoming features with "803.16e enhanced" makes the most sense according to Jonathan Jaeger, WiMAX Solutions Marketing Director for Aviat Networks.  This is especially true for operators that own 3.5GHz spectrum which is not well suited for full mobility and for which TD-LTE spectrum profiles have not been defined.

"TD-LTE is still in a pre-commercial phase from an infrastructure an device perspective," says Jaeger.  "For the next 18-24 months, 802.16e and 802.16e enhanced is the best path for operators planning to deploy in this timeframe."

For new operators planning to deploy now or in the next 18-24 months, and where full mobility is not the primary driving factor, WiMAX would also continue to be the best option.  The WiMAX ecosystem is well established and both infrastructure and device costs are low and continue to decline. 

For operators planning to deploy in 18-24 months (early 2012) AND mobility is a significant part of the business case, then TD-LTE may be an option to consider says Jaeger.

Cintia Garza with Maravedis in earlier comments also indicated the dilemma that operators are facing.  "Spectrum winners, especially those in India, cannot afford to wait 2-3 years before deploying TD-LTE while WIMAX deployments move forward," said Cintia Garza, 4GCounts Team Leader.  "If a carrier deploys WiMAX now with the intention of migrating to TD-LTE in the future, a significant challenge emerges regarding how to manage the millions of WiMAX device users."

To alleviate operators concerns, a number of telecom equipment vendors such as Motorola are offering RF base stations that are software upgradeable to other 4G technologies such as LTE.  However, Aviat Network's Jonathan Jaeger cautions that the base station is just one part of the network and that operators should plan their migration strategy based on the entire network including spectrum, subscriber units and network elements such as the ASN gateway.

Although carriers like Clearwire are the exception with over 100MHz of 2.5 GHz spectrum in most of their markets, many global operators have only 20-30MHz of spectrum and are therefore limited in how they deploy their networks.  Operators with large spectrum positions can add network overlays as new technologies mature, but operators with smaller spectrum positions would not have these options.

While decisions around the network infrastructure are important, how an operator plans to manage the multitude of customer subscriber devices based on a potential technology change can have a huge impact.  Providing base software upgrades and migrating network components is one thing, but swapping out and replacing thousands of customer devices can quickly drive OPEX not to mention disruptions to customers.  Dual mode WiMAX/LTE devices based on chips from vendors such as Beceem are also planned for release in 2011 that will enable subscribers to access both networks will certainly help.


 

Electric utilities are reliable, ubiquitous providers of essential services, but have often been seen as resistant to change and innovation.  Smart grid initiatives are rapidly reversing this perception, as utilities take a leading role in technological innovation and the efficient use of natural resources.  With smart grid applications, utilities can increase operational efficiencies, improve service quality, and save on costs.  To make these achievements possible, utilities need to transform the way they operate their business-how they generate power, and how they deliver it to the end customer.

To take full advantage of smart grid applications, utilities' commitment has to extend beyond the initial capex.  In particular, smart grid applications require a powerful, reliable, and secure telecom infrastructure to transport crucial information across all the utilities' assets.  A growing number of utilities realize they need to become full-fledged telecom operators, managing networks that integrate a variety of wireline and wireless technologies in order to extract full benefits from the smart grid.

Utilities are under heavy pressure to move forward quickly and to select cost-effective, future-proof technologies that will generate a positive return on investment (ROI).  The choice, however, can be difficult, because smart grid deployments break new ground, and utilities cannot rely solely on their previous experience.  They need to chart new paths.

Our latest white paper focuses on how utilities can leverage 4G wireless broadband technologies like WiMAX to implement smart grid applications, using standards-based technologies that meet their unique performance, security, and reliability requirements.




We begin with an overview of the evolving role of telecoms and, specifically, wireless telecoms within utilities, and of the requirements involved in supporting smart grid applications.  We continue with a discussion of the benefits of WiMAX, its business case proposition, and deployment considerations.

Download the complete whitepaper
 

Mobile WiMAX Enhancements

Highlighting the first day was the show of solidarity by leading WiMAX ecosystem members through their support of enhancements to the current 802.16e mobile WiMAX profile.  These enhancements include a menu of technical "quick fixes" that are designed to increase the performance of the current 802.16e profile ahead of the completely revised WiMAX 2 profile (802.16m).

The changes consist of increased link budgets that improve the performance of WiMAX devices operating at the outer edge of WiMAX cells or that increase the coverage of a given cell, techniques to reduce interference within cell sites, and improved frequency Reuse 1 deployment schemes allowing more efficient use of spectrum at adjacent cell sites.  Most of these changes would be made through software upgrades.  Additional enhancements would further increase overall network capacity by 70% and double the peak data rates, but would require some hardware changes including additional multiple-input/multiple-output (MIMO) antennas.

These changes along with others are designed to increase the performance and capacity of current WiMAX networks to meet the higher data demands that are being experienced by users of 4G networks.

"On average, our mobile 4G customers are consuming more than seven gigabytes of data every month," said Ron Marquardt, vice president of technology for Clearwire.  "We're committed to constant innovation and these enhancements to the 802.16e standard will increase our ability to meet the incredible demand for super fast mobile Internet both in the home and on the go."

Products incorporating the new WiMAX enhancements are expected to be available beginning in Q1 2011.


Flexible 4G Platforms for Operators

With the recent Indian BWA auctions and attention given to TD-LTE, many operators are looking to safeguard their technology choices and ensure they have a clear migration path should they choose to change technologies in the future.

To ease operators concerns, Motorola announced a solution that allows operators to deploy available 4G technologies while allowing them the option to re-use equipment should they chose to deploy other technologies in the future.  According to Motorola, its single RAN (radio access network) solution allows operators to reuse 70-80 percent of a base stations hardware and up to 100 percent of other major network components such as IP/MPLS core, backhaul and device management.

Motorola has leveraged its extensive WiMAX development experience incorporating much of the same technology in its TD-LTE solution which also shares the same hardware platform.  The single RAN solutions allow operators that are currently deploying 802.16e or 802.16e enhanced WiMAX networks, a path to upgrade to 802.16m, TD-LTE or to add LTE to their existing WiMAX networks.  Motorola's solution is available with both its WAP 450 and WAP 650 access points.



Motorola WAP 650 access point

"As consumer demand for mobile data continues its explosive growth, WiMAX operators around the world are facing 10GB to 30GB average subscriber data usage per month," said Fred Gabbard, vice president of product management, Motorola Networks.  "Motorola is working closely with these operators to plan capacity for the next five years.  Our WiMAX Evolution - Single RAN solution allows operators to migrate to WiMAX 802.16m or LTE, thus reducing cost and offering the best path for 4G growth."


Certification of 2.3 GHz equipment & Plans for WiMAX Femtocells

Samsung and Huawei were announced as the first two infrastructure vendors to receive the WiMAX Forum certification for 2.3G GHz products.  The 2.3 GHz band is important due to the recent licensing of BWA spectrum in India, but was somewhat overshadowed by the recent news that Reliance controlled Infotel was looking to deploy TD-LTE with its 2.3 GHz spectrum.

The WiMAX Forum and the Femto Forum also announced the publication of the first WiMAX femtocell standard allowing vendors to start developing standardized femtocells and equipment based on the IEEE 802.16e profile.  Femtocells are designed to enhance coverage and capacity inside buildings and in small outdoor areas as well as support advanced new services. 

"Femtocells add a powerful tool to the WiMAX arsenal by allowing operators to cost-effectively improve coverage indoors and in rural areas while also adding capacity in urban locations," said Ron Resnick, president and chairman of the WiMAX Forum.  "This standard represents the culmination of a major WiMAX Forum effort and we look forward to moving on to the next phase in early 2011 when certification of compatible equipment can begin."
 

The new personal Wi-Fi/4G hot spots allow users to connect Wi-Fi enabled devices utilizing Clearwire's speedy 4G network.  The hotspot devices include the CLEAR Spot 4G and the CLEAR Spot 4G+, which falls back on a 3G connection where 4G networks are not yet available. 

The new completely integrated devices are an improvement over the first generation CLEAR Spot, which required users to plug in a separate USB WiMAX dongle.  The new CLEAR Spot 4G is being manufactured by Korean based Infomark while the CLEAR Spot 4G is from Sierra Wireless, which also produces a similar device for Sprint


CLEAR Spot 4G

The Mac-compatible 3G/4G dual-mode mobile USB follows the previously launched Windows compatible device and allows Mac notebook users to access both 3G and 4G networks.

"In today's on-the-go world, everyone deserves fast speeds and the usage they want at a fair price - without constantly checking their usage or worrying about their end of month bill," said Dow Draper, vice president of product development for Clearwire.  "These new devices offer today's mobile user, and the millions of Wi-Fi products in use across the country, even greater access to CLEAR's fast and affordable 4G service."

Unlimited 4G Usage

While other major carriers including AT&T and Verizon with constrained 3G networks rush to implement data caps, Clearwire continues to offer (at least for now) its 4G service without any restrictions.  This can be important, especially when sharing a 4G connection with other devices and users.

The CLEAR Spot 4G will be available for $99.99 while the CLEAR Spot 4G+ will be available for $224.99, with monthly leasing options for both devices.  Unlimited mobile data plans start at $40 per month in most markets.  All devices can be pre-ordered now and will be available nation-wide beginning July 1st.  Additional information on the products can be found at www.clear.com.
 

By BP Tiwari
Beyond4G.org

The LTE camp is euphoric about Qualcomm wining four circles and Reliance controlled Infotel's interest towards LTE after the conclusion of the BWA auctions in India.  Other players like Aircell ,Bharti, Augere and Tikona are certainly watching Infotel's next move for BWA deployment.

The WiMAX camp spearheaded by Samsung, Hauwei and ZTE will try to convince Infotel to begin immediate WiMAX deployment to be able to enter the market in similar timelines as 3G.  The strategy is not impending from the fact that they do not have a LTE roadmap, but rather their eagerness to enter an agreement with Infotel and secure their mobile data business. 

The companies which are involved in TDD LTE system development are ALU, Ericson, Motorola, Huawei, ZTE, Nokia and Samsung to name few.  Huawei has a working trial network in Shanghai, followed by Motorola who has also deployed TDD LTE indoors.  Nokia Siemens, in a bid to be part of the big LTE ecosystem from China, has opened a new lab Hangzhou R&D facility.

Most of the suppliers are working towards ensuring their base stations are ready as early as possible to grab markets share where WiMAX is gaining momentum especially in the TDD space in India.  In a bid to accelerate uptake and proliferation of LTE, suppliers are aggressively developing LTE systems and strengthening the ecosystem.  The case for LTE in India is being aggressively promoted by Qualcom, Nokia, ALU and Ericson. 

The new BWA operators are in the midst of this battle of titans who are ensuring their interests in mobile data business in India is maintained.  In this short article, I would like to present my own findings to provide new BWA operators with sufficient data to help decide their technology choice.  The data is collected from various research reports, direct discussions and Industry news. 

TDD LTE Base Station availability for India BWA operators



- The suppliers who have previous WiMAX experience and are working on LTE products will become the first to supply LTE TDD trial equipment.  It is expected that ALU, Motorola and Huawei can quickly demonstrate a working LTE TDD systems followed by Nokia and Ericson in a quarter or later.  Trials are expected to happen in Q4-2010 timeframe. 
- Readiness to ship equipment for mass scale deployment of LTE TDD is only expected to happen after Q1-2011 or later.

LTE TDD Devices Availability

The most interesting of all is the LTE TDD device ecosystems.  Let me report some broad timelines based on my data which I have captured over period of time talking to industry experts and analysis reports. 



- The commercial availability of chipsets will start as early as Q3, 2010 and most of them would be ready by Q1-2011.
- It will realistically at least take one quarter more for ODM's to supply finished products i.e.  Q2-2011.
- We have learned from WiMAX development that time to complete device interoperability cannot be shortened beyond a specific period of time and hence the devices ecosystem would most likely to be ready by Q2-2011.  Only USB dongles are expected in this time frame.
- Expect additional one quarter for Indoor Devices


When do we see handsets and Smartphone's in LTE TDD?



- The commercial availability of chipsets for handsets and Smartphone's is not expected before Q2- 2011. 
- Most reasonably it will at least take one or two quarter more for ODM's to supply finished products.
- It is reasonable to expect readiness of handsets by 2012. 

It is my estimation that most Indian operators will launch their 3G services by November 2010.  Four 3G operators per circle are expected to launch services apart from the old mobile data players who are operational with Ev-Do technology.



- It is critical for BWA operator to launch their mobile data services in similar timelines otherwise the operator will face intense competition and early market entry benefit will be lost. 
- If BWA is launched in similar timeline as those in line with 3Goperators, the chances of mobile data from BWA technology ( WiMAX today, LTE later) can succeed in winning a bigger market share.
- Ability to offer QoS, and time and volume based unlimited plans will play an important role is customer behaviors in choosing mobile broadband networks as wireline is very limited in country.
- It is imperative to launch services before 3G operators or parallel with 3G operators to take that early lead and outperform competition to become market leader. 

Finally, it is reasonable to expect a mature TDD LTE ecosystem evolving only after Q2-2011 for commercial deployments.  Up to this period acquiring customers and retaining market share could be the best strategy for BWA operators.  WiMAX could be explored for immediate deployment and it is imperative for BWA operator to start the services in the similar timelines when 3G networks are made available to compete and take the early market entry advantage. 

A long term strategy could be centered on or around TDD-LTE with initial deployment happening in WiMAX with migration plan towards LTE TDD.  The Migration to LTE can be achieved in phased manner as suppliers are developing LTE products and in most cases it can be seamlessly upgraded with new software's and channel cards.  Operator can also look to 16m migration which has an added advantage of reusing existing devices. 

Note: Views expressed here are my own and by no means reflect my company's opinion.  More detailed analysis may be requested at admin@beyond4g.org
 

According to reports, the device dubbed the "Samsung Galaxy S Pro" will be similar to the Samsung Galaxy S expected to be released by T-Mobile in July, but will also include a 5-row, landscape-oriented, sliding QWERTY keyboard.

The Android 2.1 device will feature Samsung's 1 GHz Hummingbird processor, 512 MB of RAM, a micro SD memory card slot and a 4-inch Super AMOLED display with Samsung's TouchWiz 3.0 user interface.  The Galaxy S Pro will also have a small front-facing camera for video conferencing as well as a more powerful 5 megapixel rear-facing one for pictures, including an LED flash.


Samsung Galaxy S Pro, courtesy Android Community

The inclusion of a sliding keyboard would be strong addition and is likely targeted at more data-intensive business customers who prefer a dedicated hardware keyboard.  Although no further details are available at this time, Sprint is planning a Galaxy S launch event on June 29 and may include additional details on the Galaxy S Pro at that time.

by BP Tiwari
Beyond4G.org

It is not my intention to reprimand the whole 3G and BWA auction which took place after repeated delays and embarrassments in India.  However while the high government with cherish the funds raised from the high price of spectrum, the real loss will be for the people of India.  I am therefore not surprised to read the comments of Sunil Mittal, Chairman & Group CEO of Bharti Enterprises, in an interview with The Financial Express where he commented "The bidding which is happening for broadband wireless access is wrong and the same was the case with regard to the 3G auctions which preceded it.  The government may be in a celebratory mood with high revenues, but having bid so high, one thing is ensured: Tariffs for 3G services will remain high and unaffordable for large sections of people."

This is not a win-win situation for the government or the people of India.  With only two spots available for auction, the spectrum reached exorbitantly high levels and is challenging the vision for delivering affordable broadband to the masses in India.

What would be the impact of such high spectrum prices in Mumbai and Delhi?

Assuming an operator brought Mumbai and Delhi spectrum at combined price close to US $ 1 Billion for BWA application.  My analysis predicts that price of mobile broadband services will shoot up 1.5 to 2 times the current levels.  This is not an encouraging situation for India consumers. 

-Assuming BWA operator acquires 75 thousand subscribers every quarter in Mumbai and Delhi, which will take them to total of 3 million at the end of Q4, 2014. 


(Note : Projected subscribers in Mumbai and Delhi)

-Using the current average price of Rs 905(US$18, average price seen in Ev-Do) will make operators stand at negative Rs. 2000 Crores ( approx US$400 million) at end of five years.  The exorbitantly high BWA spectrum cost would make impossible to offer services at current price levels in the country.


(Price in Crores)

-To compensate and make the business case viable, anticipate price to go up 1.5 to 2 times higher than current levels.  Expect price of services to remain high in next 2-3 years as operators will try to recover the spectrum expenditures and other initial capex.  With 1.5 times higher price, operator has much better business case and in this scenario will stand at cash flow positive of Rs.140 Crore (Approx US$30 million) . 


(Price in Crores)

In summary: What to expect in Indian wireless broadband market?

-To compensate and make the business case viable, anticipate mobile broadband service price to increase 1.5 to 2 times higher than current levels.  Expect price of services to remain high in next 2-3 years as operators try to recover the spectrum expenditures and other initial capex. 

-Expect coexistence of enterprise services in the same BWA RAN to make business case more viable and attractive. 

-Expect low device prices to make entry cost as minimum as possible.  Operators may subsidize devices or bundle with low cost netbook to boost uptake of mobile broadband services.  The low cost netbooks from Intel and others may become popular. 

-Without doubt, India will have tiered pricing and differential QoS based services to maximize return from the network.

-The high cost of spectrum will require mass scale adoption among consumers.  This is an interesting challenge for BWA operators:  Acquiring high volume subscribers, delivering true mobile broadband experience and remaine competitive.  I anticipate lot of innovation in technology, policy, charging, device and services. 

-If WiMAX which has upper hand today becomes natural choice for operators, than 802.16m will have a very important role to play in India broadband market.  It's all about maximizing subscribers per base station with the least amount of spectrum while remaining competitive. 

Finally, there could have been a win-win situation for both consumers and operators, if more spectrum had been made available for auction with encouragement for new players to make broadband as affordable as possible for the people of India.   I'm sure we can learn from Japanese regulators who have made spectrum available for free with the only condition of a nationwide deployment, benefiting the people of Japan and the economy. 

Note: Views expressed here are my own and by no means reflect my company's opinion
 

SINOPEC is the largest integrated energy and chemical company in China with complete operations in exploration, production, refinement and distribution of petroleum and chemical products.  Based on 2009 sales, SINOPEC Corp.  is also the largest listed company in China.

The company has utilized Aperto's PacketMAX WiMAX products to build a region-wide broadband wireless network supporting multiple services including integrated voice, data, and video applications.  SINOPEC develops and manages gas fields in the mountain area of Sichuan where safety is one of the most important considerations. 

"We are pleased with the reliability and performance of the Aperto solution," said Mr.  Wu Weide, managing director of production management center at SINOPEC.  "Our application demands high availability and predictable performance by the communication system.  Aperto has worked closely with us to design and deployment of this critical infrastructure."

Aperto offers complete point-to-point and point-to-multipoint broadband wireless solutions for service providers and enterprise customers covering a wide range of frequencies including 2GHz, 3GHz, and 5GHz.  The company was recently acquired by Tranzeo Wireless in April 2010 to round out its broadband offerings, which include Wi-Fi, WiMAX and soon to be released LTE products.

Although the company has not released specific figures from its June 4 debut, analyst David Dixon with FBR Capital Markets said the figure is likely close to 320,000 devices and that the carrier may have gained 100,000 new customers and 220,000 upgrades.  Sprint claims the launch marked the largest quantity of a single phone it has ever sold in one day, with the Evo 4G beating the previous records the carrier held with the Samsung Instinct and the Palm Pre.

The phone went on sale at some 22,000 locations across the U.S.  including RadioShack, Best Buy and Walmart.  Sprint said it experienced shortages at some of these locations, including its own stores, and that it is working with HTC to replenish the stocks.

"HTC EVO 4G has more than lived up to our expectations that it would be one of the most anticipated technology products of the year," said Kevin Packingham, senior vice president of product development for Sprint.  "We are working closely with our partners at HTC to increase the supply and get EVO 4G into the hands of everyone who wants one as quickly as possible."



Sprint 4G WiMAX Evo Handset


The phone is being offered by Sprint for $199 with a 2 year contract and a $100 mail in rebate.  The device will also require Sprint's "Everything Data Plan," which begins at $69.99 per month, along with an additional $9.99 premium add-on for WiMAX, regardless of whether a subscribers lives in an area where WiMAX is available.  Activating the mobile Wi-Fi hotspot feature will require and additional $29.99 per month for unlimited data.

The timely availability of sufficient and suitable spectrum for mobile communications is a prerequisite to extending the benefits of mobile broadband to all people, and to furthering the global success story of mobile communications.

Broadband access is becoming a high priority across all countries, and thus it is important to evaluate spectrum usage.  Harmonized IMT Spectrum will be the key mass-market enabler for mobile broadband deployment.  IMT stands for “International Mobile Telecommunications” system.  It is a family of standards for mobile telecommunications fulfilling specifications by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).  IMT Includes UMTS/3G, CDMA2000, WiMAX, and more recent 4G standards.

Current Status

The following candidate bands are identified for IMT in the Radio Regulations (RR).  This identification does not preclude the use of these bands by any application of the services to which they are allocated or identified, and does not establish priority in the Radio Regulations.  It has to be noted that different regulatory provisions apply to each band.  The Regional deviations for each band are described in the different footnotes applying to each band included in the technical documents.

• 450-470MHz
• 698-960MHz
• 1710-2025MHz
• 2110-2200MHz
• 2300-2400MHz
• 2500-2690MHz
• 3400-3600MHz

Since 4G is gaining momentum, there is need for additional spectrum.  Across all these different bands, what are the options available?

The first band, 450-470MHz, has very limited bandwidth with only 20MH available.  That means that if the bandwidth is limited, the number of operators that can use this band is reduced; and the capacity of the network is limited, but this band has the benefit of greater coverage.  In some countries, such as most countries in the Middle East, this band is not allocated for mobile services, but for security, public safety, therefore this band in many countries might not be used for 4G in the near future. 

The other band is 689 to 790MHz which is allocated for Mobile services in Region 2 (The Americas) and in Region 3 (Asia Pacific), but this band is not allocated for mobile services in region 1 (Europe and MENA).  So, if that band does not have an allocation for mobile services in Region 1, it would be difficult for all the countries in this region to use this band for 4G, and there is not a good chance for this band to become available for mobile services in the near future.

The next band is 790 to 862MHz.  This band is also known as the “Digital Dividend” spectrum, because a lot of countries switch from analog to digital television, then this band might become available and can be used for mobile services.  This band is currently shared between mobile and broadcast.  If used for mobile, this band is a good candidate band for 4G deployment, but will not be available in many countries before 2015-2020.

The next band is 880 to 960MHz (850 MHz in North America).  At present this band is widely used for GSM services.  In some countries, regulators are planning to use this GSM spectrum for 3G services, which is what is commonly called “spectrum re-farming”.

The first part of the 1710 to 2025MHz band is presently being used for CDMA and the other part of this band is being used for UMTS.

The next band 2110 to 2200MHz is being used for UMTS services and will continue to be used for UMTS/3G, 3G Advanced (3G+), HSPA and HSPA+ services.

The 2300 to 2400MHz band is not available in the majority of countries because this band has been historically available for public safety.  For some countries, especially in Middle East, Latin America, and Europe it might be difficult to make this band available in the near future for 4G.  However, for other countries, such as India and China, this band is under consideration for 4G.  And if those big markets start using this band, maybe many other countries will start considering this band for IMT services.  Also, this band has been opened to WiMAX in Korea, Malaysia and few other countries for some time now.

The 2500 to 2690 is the band which is presently available for IMT services in the majority of countries, just like Europe, Americas, APAC and Middle East; so this is considered with high priority for mobile broadband.  Since it is 190MHz there is plenty of spectrum, so it will be able to offer good data rates, good capacity, and therefore seen in most countries for IMT and IMT advanced services.

For more information, contact the author at afellah@maravedis-bwa.com

 

The new Android based HTC EVO 4G represents one of the most technologically advanced smartphones available and will be the first 4G handset offered from a major U.S. carrier.  The device features a 4.3-inch capacitive touchscreen display, an 8 megapixel camera on the back capable of supporting 720p HD video, a front-facing 1.3 megapixel camera for video chats/calls, Bluetooth 2.1, GPS, digital compass, proximity sensor, accelerometer, FM radio and a mobile Wi-Fi hotspot supporting up to 8 Wi-fi enabled devices.  The handset is powered by a 1 GHz Snapdragon processor, 1GB of built-in memory and 512MB of RAM.

One of the more interesting features is the full support of Adobe flash video, something currently not offered on Apple's popular iPhone.  Combined with a faster 4G WiMAX connection, the device will provide a much richer internet browsing experience unlike other smart phones. 


Sprint 4G WiMAX Evo Handset

The phone is being offered by Sprint for $199 with a 2 year contract and a $100 mail in rebate.  The device will also require Sprint's "Everything Data Plan," which begins at $69.99 per month, along with an additional $9.99 premium add-on for WiMAX, regardless of whether a subscribers lives in an area where WiMAX is available.  Activating the mobile Wi-Fi hotspot feature will require and additional $29.99 per month for unlimited data.

The device also supports 3G connectivity and will fall back on Sprint's 3G EVDO network where WiMAX service is not available.  In partnership with Clearwire, Sprint's 4G WiMAX service is currently available in 32 U.S. markets with plans to expand into another 18 markets by the end of 2010.  The device will be sold through Sprint's retail location and national retailers such as Best Buy, Radio Shack and Wal-Mart starting June 4.

PureWave develops high performance, compact outdoor 4G base stations and is the only company that utilizes advanced beamforming technology to achieve the coverage and capacity of a macro base station in a small form factor that can be deployed anywhere.  This unique cost/size/performance combination results in a significantly lower CAPEX/OPEX, which makes PureWave Quantum Base Stations attractive to any type of operator, from large mobile service providers to small Wireless ISPs (WISPs), in rural, suburban and dense urban areas.

"As we migrate our wireless network from proprietary equipment to more advanced and capable mobile WiMAX technology, we need a solution that is powerful, simple to deploy, easy to maintain and cost effective, all at the same time," said Lee Miller, President and CEO of KBI.  "We field tested the PureWave Quantum against a number of other solutions, and PureWave came out the clear winner in terms of range, capacity and over-all link budget.  The end result is that we are now able to deliver such advanced services as streaming video to customers located 7.5 miles away from the base station in a non-line of site environment.  We are reaching customers we were never able to serve before."

The PureWave Quantum family of mobile WiMAX base stations is uniquely suited to the needs of rural operators, and allows them to profitably deliver voice and data services even in sparsely populated areas.  Employing six antennas to deliver an unmatched service range of up to 15 miles or more from the base station, PureWave Quantum base stations are designed to be deployed completely outdoors with no need for either shelter or air-conditioning, greatly reducing site deployment and maintenance costs. 


PureWave Quantum 6000 Base Station

PureWave Quantum base stations can operate with or without an ASN gateway, reducing operators' capital spending while enabling support for full mobile service when the operator is ready to offer it.  Moreover, PureWave Quantum base stations operate with standard, off-the-shelf mobile WiMAX CPE, finally releasing operators from the tyranny of expensive single vendor proprietary subscriber devices.

"We are proud to be KBI's vendor of choice for their advanced WiMAX network" said Gideon Ben-Efraim, PureWave's Chairman and CEO.  "As they expand their service into new communities and offer their customers advanced services, we are pleased to have been selected as KBI's technology partner."

The update was given during a webinar to media and analysts earlier this week in conjunction with the start of the Shanghai World Expo.  The event which runs through October features pavilions and exhibitions from more than 240 countries and is expected to draw more than 70 million visitors.

Motorola has partnered with China Mobile, the world's largest carrier and a major sponsor of the expo, and is showcasing its TD-LTE network solutions at the Information & Communication Pavilion.  The demonstration features live video streaming, high speed internet browsing and remote monitoring.

The update comes a week after the company reported strong first quarter results that were better than many analysts had expected.  In preparation for the planned separation of its Mobile Devices and Network Business in the first quarter of 2011, the company has begun reporting separate operating results for the two groups.

Motorola's Networks Business group delivered an impressive first quarter performance while some of its competitors including Ericsson and Alcatel-Lucent reported disappointing earnings.  Although sales were down 7 percent to $896 million, the group reported a 40 percent increase in operating earnings of $125 million, and an increase in operation margin from 9.2 percent to 14.0 percent of revenue.



While many carriers continue to invest and build-out 3G networks, Brda says there are significant advantages for carriers that move quickly to 4G.

"Any of the 4G technologies including WiMAX, TD-LTE or LTE are 5 to 10 times more spectrally efficient and one-fifth to one-tenth the costs to operate compared to 3G networks," says Brda.  "Carriers that shift more quickly to 4G are going to have a significant cost advantage in the long run."

For the uninitiated, the "TD" in TD-LTE stands for "time division duplexing" and describes the method in which bits of data are transmitted over spectrum.  With TD networks, data is transmitted over a single channel with the sending and receiving of that data controlled by time-based algorithms.  In contrast, FDD or "frequency division duplexing" (the basis for most LTE networks), uses paired spectrum and separate channels for sending and receiving data.

Motorola continues to be a strong advocate of a multiple radio access network approach and believes that many different technologies including WiMAX, TD-LTE, FDD LTE and Wi-Fi will be needed to meet the insatiable demand for mobile broadband.  "We don't believe there will just be one access technology," says Brda.  "Carriers will need to deploy many different technologies to meet the enormous demand."

Given its early involvement with WiMAX and the similarities with LTE, the company is leveraging its R&D investment across both technologies.  According to Brda, Motorola's hardware platforms are identical and the company is able to leverage 70% of the R&D between the two technologies.

The company also reiterated its support for WiMAX which was becoming an increasingly larger share of its business.  Motorola currently has over 40 global WiMAX contracts, including some of the largest market deployments with U.S.  based provider Clearwire, and has shipped over 2 million WiMAX dongles and CPE units.

"WiMAX as a 4G technology is a significant portion of our Q1 business and is on an increasing trend," says Brda.  "Two years ago this number was zero."

The company highlighted several of its recent LTE wins and said that it plans to target and invest in LTE customers where it sees that it has an inherent advantage or customer relationship.  In addition to the TD-LTE trial with China Mobile, Motorola has recently announced FDD based LTE networks wins with Zain Wireless in Saudi Arabia and KDDI in Japan.  Interesting, KDDI is also deploying a WiMAX network in Japan through its joint venture investment in UQ Communications, although utilizing WiMAX base station equipment from NEC.

Highlighting the release was an additional 283,000 net subscribers, greater than the entire year for 2009 and bringing the total subscribers to 971,000, up 94% from the prior year.  The amount came in higher than analysts estimates of 150,000 - 240,000 and puts the company on plan for ending 2010 with over 2 million subscribers.

The company also reported a tripling of its wholesale customers to 157,000 subscribers.  Interestingly, over one-third of the wholesale subscribers consist of dual mode 3G/4G device users that reside outside of Clearwire's currently launched WiMAX markets, indicating strong demand for 4G services even where the service is currently not available. 

"Customer demand for 4G services is truly making 2010 the year of mobile broadband, as always-on true mobile broadband keeps people connected to the information, services and applications that matter most," said Bill Morrow, CEO of Clearwire.  "With record breaking subscriber growth, a robust wholesale 'network of networks' approach to 4G, and customer usage that far surpasses anything seen on 3G networks today, Clearwire is standing at the forefront of the next evolution in telecommunications and technology."

Clearwire reported strong financial results as well with recorded quarterly revenue of $106.7 million, a 72% increase over first quarter 2009 revenue of $62.1 million and a 33% increase over fourth quarter 2009 revenue of $79.9 million.  The first quarter 2010 adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization and non-cash expenses related to capital assets (adjusted EBITDA) loss was ($251.6) million, an improvement from fourth quarter 2009 adjusted EBITDA loss of ($295.7) million.  The adjusted EBITDA loss for the first quarter 2009 was ($144.0) million.  The company ended the first quarter of 2010 with cash and investments of approximately $3.1 billion.

Clearwire reported a 30% reduction in its retail cost per gross subscriber addition (CPGA) at $439 for the first quarter 2010, down from $624 in the fourth quarter 2009, and an improvement in retail monthly churn from 3.0% in the first quarter 2010 compared to 3.6% in fourth quarter 2009.  Improvements in both CPGA and churn were driven by higher gross additions and improvements in marketing efficiencies.

The company also indicated that it was on pace to reach EBITDA profitability in its first three launched WiMAX markets of Portland, OR, Las Vegas and Atlanta.  Based on the company's plans, WiMAX markets are expected to reach EBITDA profitability after 18 months of launch with a "mid single-digit" market penetration rate.  According to Morrow, after an average of 10 months the three markets are on track with an average market penetration of around 2.7%.

While not providing many details, the company also announced the availability of two new 4G WiMAX handsets available later this year.  The handsets include an Android-based 3G/4G/Wi-Fi device from Samsung optimized for heavy video and video communications use, and a 3G/4G/Wi-Fi enabled phone from HTC, most likely similar to Sprint's 4G WiMAX Evo handset planned for this summer.

Clearwire confirmed its final 2010 market build-out plan to bring 4G network coverage to 120 million people by the end of the year.  The company announced plans to launch 4G WiMAX service in 19 additional cities this summer, including previously announced markets Kansas City, KS; St.  Louis, MO; Salt Lake City, UT, and the core area of Washington, D.C.  and newly announced markets Nashville, TN; Daytona, Orlando and Tampa, FL; Rochester and Syracuse, NY; Merced, Modesto, Stockton, and Visalia, CA; Wilmington, DE; Grand Rapids, MI; Eugene, OR; and Yakima and Tri-Cities, WA.

The company also reiterated its plans to launch service other major markets across the country by the end of 2010, including New York City, Los Angeles, Boston, Denver, Minneapolis, the San Francisco Bay Area, Miami, Cincinnati, Cleveland and Pittsburgh.  This adds to the recently launched markets of Houston, TX and three markets in Pennsylvania. 

 

First quarter results were impacted negatively by delays in the U.S.  Broadband Stimulus Program, delays in spectrum auctions in India, and the soft overall global credit situation, according to Alvarion's President and CEO Eran Gorev.

The company posted Q1 2010 revenue of $51.9 million, down 13.8% from Q4 2009, off 23.5% from Q1 2009 and lower than Wall Street expectations of $55.7 million.  A GAAP net loss of ($4.9) million was reported, considerably larger than the net loss of ($1.3) million in Q4 2009 and ($0.8) million in Q1 2009.  The company ended the quarter with cash, cash equivalents and investments totaling $103 million.

While giving no specific guidance, the company said it may experience a further decline in revenue in the second quarter before seeing an improvement towards the second half of 2010.  The company recognizes revenue with its customers based on reaching certain milestones and further delays in Q2 could adversely impact revenue in that quarter.

To offset the loss of revenue and align the organization, the company is taken action to reduce expenses by $30 million annually, mostly through a 20% head count reduction in the second quarter with plans to eliminate approximately 175 jobs.  Savings from the cost reductions will be used to fund initiatives in other areas including an expansion of its professional services business.

"Q1 results were within the range of our guidance and, as expected, reflect continued delays in several business catalysts,” said Eran Gorev, President and CEO of Alvarion.  "Meanwhile, we continued the expansion of our business with several existing customers and made important progress toward securing several major projects in Asia Pacific, EMEA and North America.  The timing of actual orders is difficult to anticipate, but we hope to see some impact from these developments in 2010.  We are using the delay in the business catalysts to strengthen our capabilities in order to capture a larger share of the projects once the vendor selection processes move forward."

Round one of the US Broadband Stimulus program was certainly a point of frustration for many service providers and broadband wireless access (BWA) vendors.  More than a year after the American Recovery and Reinvestment was passed creating $7.2B in stimulus funds, little of the money until recently had been awarded and virtually none for last mile broadband or WiMAX related projects.  This week, Alvarion WiMAX customer Digital Bridge announced that it had finally been awarded a $4.3 million grant from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) to deploy 4G WiMAX services to three counties in Idaho.  WiMAX and last mile projects are expected to fare better in the second round of the program, with nearly $2.5 billion in funds managed by the Rural Utilities Service (RUS) expected to be awarded starting in June.

Further WiMAX opportunities should come in India, where auctions for 2.3 GHz BWA TDD spectrum is expected to begin in the coming weeks after the conclusion of the 3G auctions that are currently underway.  Alvarion is competing with a number of vendors including Motorola, Samsung, Huawei, ZTE and others for the highly coveted Indian market.

Alvarion also announced that it had recently completed a review of its entire business and was implementing a two-phased strategic plan to improve its business.  "First, we are transforming the organization, including our cost structure, into one that will best serve our near-term strategic business objectives," said Gorev.  "These changes will allow us to more effectively focus on the right opportunities, deliver end-to-end network solutions including professional services, and, in turn, capture a larger proportion of the total project dollars than we have in the past."

Gorev continued.  "The second stage of our plan will focus on positioning Alvarion for profitable growth in the increasingly complex multi-technology environment that will evolve over the next couple of years.  We intend to complete the process and begin to implement the next phase of our plan during the second half of the year."

Alvarion noted that one of the conclusions from its business review was that there was a "healthy WiMAX market that was large enough to support several vendors."  Furthermore,  Alvarion's CEO commented that the company needs to "think and act big" and sees additional opportunities in pursuing larger deals where it can provide complete turn-key solutions.  The company has recently completed several types of these larger projects with WiMAX service providers LINKEM S.p.A. in Italy and VMAX in Taiwan.

 

by Spencer Pangborn, CNET Asia

Taiwan has been making some innovative stabs at promoting the WiMAX technology.  Last month, we saw 1,000 taxis become WiMAX-enabled so passengers could surf the Net while cruising around the city.  Now, the Digitimes has reported that the island's bullet train system has gotten the WiMAX bump:

"Taiwan government-sponsored Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) on April 12 announced its successful test of WiMAX-based mobile broadband access to the Internet, including browsing and YouTube video watching, on high-speed trains at a speed of 300km/h, a milestone in Taiwan's WiMAX development."

Due to the fact that Taiwan has invested heavily in WiMAX, it's good to see things finally coming to market.  No word on pricing or availability as it's still in development, but all in due time.

The High Speed Rail (HSR), gao tie in Chinese, had quite a few problems and no one knows if it's actually profitable.  Not only did it take some heavy lifting to get off the ground, but the HSR also threw the proverbial monkey wrench in the domestic airline and bus industries.

For a country as small as Taiwan, there's not a lot of room for competing transportation solutions, but everyone seems to be getting by.  Time will tell if WiMAX bullet trains will tip the scales in favor of the HSR. 

So, let's take a closer look.  Here are some photos I took a while back when traveling from Taipei to Kaohsuing.
 

Finding the right train.



 The HSR chariot awaits



Even at 257km/h, the ride was still smooth and comfortable.



Villages and trees zipping by the window.

The company features a broad product line serving the Oil & Gas, WISP (wireless internet service providers) and SCADA (supervisory control and data acquisition) backhaul markets.  Axxcelera is also known for its Dynamic Frequency Selection (DFS) technology which provides operators with the option of utilizing 5 GHz spectrum which has historically been reserved for radar usage.  Regulatory bodies have begun to require DFS operation in select frequency bands to make the spectrum available to Wireless Wide Area Network (WWAN) operators while minimizing interference to incumbent radio systems, primarily Radio Detection and Ranging (radar) systems.

Could you please introduce Axxcelera to us?

Axxcelera is a privately held company established in November 2001 by our parent company, Moseley Wireless Solutions Group, by purchasing assets of Adaptive Broadband.  Adaptive was a pioneering provider of fixed broadband wireless solutions.  Today Axxcelera offers one of the most comprehensive product offerings for outdoor applications in both point-to-point as well as multipoint topologies in licensed and unlicensed frequencies.

Our WiMAX multipoint portfolio consists of our flagship ExcelMAX and AB-MAX systems.  The ExcelMAX comes either as a carrier grade modular chassis or a pico-type all inclusive access point and covers frequencies from 3.3 to 3.8GHz.  For our US customers, 3.65GHz is addressed with an FCC certified flavor of ExcelMAX.   AB-MAX is the only 5 GHz WiMAX multiband system available on the market today.  Equipment comes fully featured, covering 380 MHz of spectrum from 5.47GHz to 5.85GHz, dual polarity antennas, built-in GPS as well as many other standard features that are either not available from other manufacturers or costing a  premium.  



Axxcelera ExcelMAX WiMAX System

On the point-to-point front, AB-Full Access II and ExcelFlex allow us to provide backhaul links from 5.8 to 38GHz.  Both platforms share same Software Defined IDU SDIDUTM  and deliver robust, field proven performance.  AB-Full Access II comes in either 50 or 100mbps and is software upgradeable.  ExcelFlex supports up to 310Mbps and comes as a PDH or SDH technologies.  Both platforms come with multiple Ethernet as well as TDM interfaces and allows support of 1+0/1+1/2+0 modes as well as consecutive ring architecture to build redundant loops.

Where do you see Axxcelera's strengths?

With our multipoint and point-to-point products, we are finding ourselves uniquely positioned for applications with high demand for multiple services such as voice, video and data.  Since VoIP is becoming one of the most required applications, all of our products offer additional optimization for voice packets to improve performance.  Customers with specific bandwidth requirements due to applications such as video, telemetry and others that needs a special attention, are able to adjust the system to their specific need.  Features from advanced spectrum management to elaborate QoS are standard with every device that we ship.  Currently there are over 150,000 Axxcelera subscriber units deployed worldwide.  

How do you see your future?

I see Axxcelera well and uniquely positioned within the market from both a financial and product perspective.  We are well capitalized and delivering field proven hardware and software solutions that no other vendor can match.  That being said, another element worth mentioning is loyalty.  We are very passionate in what we do and build mutually beneficial and long lasting business partnerships with every customer based on trust, loyalty and integrity.  


Jerry Kollmann is the Senior Vice President, Worldwide Sales, Marketing and Customer Support for Axxcelera Broadband Wireless. He can be reached at jkollmann@axxcelera.com.

About Axxcelera

Axxcelera Broadband Wireless is a data networking solutions company, developing technology to deploy networks for broadband wireless communications over the Internet-from the "first leap" to the last mile.  Combining leading packet-on-demand technology and time division duplexing, Axxcelera's wireless networking solutions provide the capability for voice, real-time video conferencing, transmission of full streaming video, Web surfing, and transmission of data files - all simultaneously and over one connection.
 

The comments came during a Business Line interview with Sriram Viswanathan, Vice-President, Intel Architecture Group, and General Manager, WiMAX Program Office.  The BWA auctions are expected to begin 2 days after the conclusion of the 3G auctions which are currently underway and expected to be completed in the coming weeks.

"Intel Capital has taken the initiative to drive broadband adoption all over the world, and is prepared to do it even in India," said Viswanathan.  "We have had discussions with the various players, and are prepared to work with them in a number of ways including enabling specific devices for their networks or creating innovative distribution models."

Viswanathan stoped short of any direct equity investment saying that the company only considers investments as long as it "meets Intel's strategic and financial targets."

The Intel executive also downplayed the debate around the recent popularity of TD-LTE (time division LTE) and instead emphasized the availability of WiMAX equipment today.  U.S.  chipmaker Qualcomm has partnered with local Indian service provider GTL Infrastructure and plans to participate in the upcoming BWA auction.  If successful, the joint venture plans to deploy a TD-LTE network using the 2.3GHz spectrum.  Some critics have argued that TD-LTE (different than the more popular FD-LTE) is still several years away from commercial deployments and therefore could result in delays in deploying broadband services.

"If LTE enables fast deployment of broadband services in the country then that is great," said Viswanathan.  "We are technology-agnostic in that sense and we will also invest in LTE if it develops over the next 2-3 years.  However, at this point in time our bet is on WiMAX since it is the only technology available that can achieve the objectives of reaching broadband to the masses."
 

Sriram Viswanathan, Intel

CNN just released a nice video on Sprint's 4G WiMAX and the upcoming HTC Evo smartphone.  Interesting comparison on the size of the infrastructure equipment on its 3G CDMA network compared to WiMAX.