JSS ACADEMY OF TECHNICAL EDUCATION-BENGALURU

DEPARTMENT OF ISE
SUBMITTED BY: AMOGH J
USN: 1JS17IS010
4TH SEM A SEC

WiMAX
Worldwide Interoperability for microwave access
WiMAX is one of the latest broadband wireless technologies around today.
WiMAX systems are expected to deliver broadband access services to
residential and enterprise customers in an economical way.
Loosely, WiMax is a standardized wireless version of Ethernet intended
primarily as an alternative to wire technologies (such as Cable Modems, DSL
and T1/E1 links) to provide broadband access to customer premises.
More strictly, WiMAX is an industry trade organization formed by leading
communications, component, and equipment companies to promote and certify
compatibility and interoperability of broadband wireless access equipment that
conforms to the IEEE 802.16 and ETSI HIPERMAN standards.
WiMAX would operate similar to Wi-Fi, but at higher speeds over greater
distances and for a greater number of users. WiMAX has the ability to provide
service even in areas that are difficult for wired infrastructure to reach and the
ability to overcome the physical limitations of traditional wired infrastructure.
WiMAX was formed in April 2001, in anticipation of the publication of the
original 10-66 GHz IEEE 802.16 specifications. WiMAX is to 802.16 as the
Wi-Fi Alliance is to 802.11.
WiMAX is
 Acronym for Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access.
 Based on Wireless MAN technology.
  A wireless technology optimized for the delivery of IP centric services
over a wide area.
 A scalable wireless platform for constructing alternative and
complementary broadband networks.
 A certification that denotes interoperability of equipment built to the
IEEE 802.16 or compatible standard. The IEEE 802.16 Working Group
develops standards that address two types of usage models −
o A fixed usage model (IEEE 802.16-2004).
o A portable usage model (IEEE 802.16e).
What is 802.16a?
WiMAX is such an easy term that people tend to use it for the 802.16 standards
and technology themselves, although strictly it applies only to systems that
meet specific conformance criteria laid down by the WiMAX Forum.
The 802.16a standard for 2-11 GHz is a wireless metropolitan area network
(MAN) technology that will provide broadband wireless connectivity to Fixed,
Portable and Nomadic devices.
It can be used to connect 802.11 hot spots to the Internet, provide campus
connectivity, and provide a wireless alternative to cable and DSL for last mile
broadband access.
WiMax Speed and Range
WiMAX is expected to offer initially up to about 40 Mbps capacity per
wireless channel for both fixed and portable applications, depending on the
particular technical configuration chosen, enough to support hundreds of
businesses with T-1 speed connectivity and thousands of residences with DSL
speed connectivity. WiMAX can support voice and video as well as Internet
data.
WiMax developed to provide wireless broadband access to buildings, either in
competition to existing wired networks or alone in currently unserved rural or
thinly populated areas. It can also be used to connect WLAN hotspots to the
Internet. WiMAX is also intended to provide broadband connectivity to mobile
devices. It would not be as fast as in these fixed applications, but expectations
are for about 15 Mbps capacity in a 3 km cell coverage area.
With WiMAX, users could really cut free from today's Internet access
arrangements and be able to go online at broadband speeds, almost wherever
they like from within a MetroZone.
WiMAX could potentially be deployed in a variety of spectrum bands:
2.3GHz, 2.5GHz, 3.5GHz, and 5.8GHz
Why WiMax?
 WiMAX can satisfy a variety of access needs. Potential applications
include extending broadband capabilities to bring them closer to
subscribers, filling gaps in cable, DSL and T1 services, WiFi, and
cellular backhaul, providing last-100 meter access from fibre to the curb
and giving service providers another cost-effective option for supporting
broadband services.
 WiMAX can support very high bandwidth solutions where large
spectrum deployments (i.e. >10 MHz) are desired using existing
infrastructure keeping costs down while delivering the bandwidth
needed to support a full range of high-value multimedia services.
 WiMAX can help service providers meet many of the challenges they
face due to increasing customer demands without discarding their
existing infrastructure investments because it has the ability to
seamlessly interoperate across various network types.
 WiMAX can provide wide area coverage and quality of service
capabilities for applications ranging from real-time delay-sensitive
voice-over-IP (VoIP) to real-time streaming video and non-real-time
downloads, ensuring that subscribers obtain the performance they expect
for all types of communications.
 WiMAX, which is an IP-based wireless broadband technology, can be
integrated into both wide-area third-generation (3G) mobile and wireless
and wireline networks allowing it to become part of a seamless anytime,
anywhere broadband access solution.
Ultimately, WiMAX is intended to serve as the next step in the evolution of 3G
mobile phones, via a potential combination of WiMAX.

WiMAX Goals
A standard by itself is not enough to enable mass adoption. WiMAX has
stepped forward to help solve barriers to adoption, such as interoperability and
cost of deployment. WiMAX will help ignite the wireless MAN industry by
defining and conducting interoperability testing and labeling vendor systems
with a "WiMAX Certified" label once testing has been completed successfully.

WiMAX Pros
WiMAX isn't just for fixed connections either, like at home. You can also
subscribe to a WiMAX service for your mobile devices since USB dongles,
laptops, and phones sometimes have the technology built-in.

In addition to internet access, WiMAX can provide voice and video-transferring

capabilities as well as telephone access. Since WiMax transmitters can span a
distance of several miles with data rates reaching up to 30-40 megabits per
second (1 Gbps for fixed stations), it's easy to see its advantages, especially in
areas where wired internet is impossible or too costly to implement.

WiMAX supports several networking usage models:

 A means to transfer data across an Internet Service Provider network

commonly called backhaul
 A form of fixed wireless broadband internet access, replacing satellite
internet service
  A form of mobile internet access that competes directly with LTE
technology
 Internet access for users in extremely remote locations where laying cable
would be too expensive

WiMAX Cons.
Similar to when several devices suck away at the bandwidth when connected to
a single router, multiple users on one WiMAX radio sector will reduce
performance for the others.

Wi-Fi is much more popular than WiMAX, so more devices have Wi-Fi
capabilities built into them than they do WiMAX. However, most WiMAX
implementations include hardware that allows a whole household, for example,
to use the service by means of Wi-Fi, much like how a wireless router provides
internet for several devices.

Case Study: Vodafone WiMAX

The Vodafone Group is conducting WiMAX trials in different parts of the
world but it was in Malta where it launched commercial services first. Joseph
Cuschieri, Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) at Vodafone Malta, explains to
Ken Wieland why the Vodafone subsidiary believes WiMAX is a perfect fit for
delivering broadband to the home.

Malta is Europe’s smallest telecom market but it may prove to be a hugely

significant one for the WiMAX industry. In June 2007, Vodafone-the largest
mobile operator in the world in terms of revenue-launched its first commercial
WiMAX service via its Maltese subsidiary.

If Vodafone Malta has a good WiMAX experience then it would do the

technology’s chances no harm at all of being adopted by Vodafone on a larger
scale.

The good news for WiMAX supporters is that Joseph Cuschieri, CCO at
Vodafone Malta, is pleased with the technology’s performance so far and is
giving positive feedback to the Vodafone Group. “The public are embracing the
technology,” he says. “It is proving a good substitute for traditional fixed-line
services and we are satisfied with the take-up, particularly as we are up against
providers who have been in the broadband market a long time. Vodafone has
had to work hard at being perceived as an Internet broadband provider.”
Using 802.16d equipment from Air span in the 3.5GHz frequency band-7
channels of 3.5MHz-Vodafone Malta has achieved island-wide coverage with
24 base stations and an investment of around Eur2m.

Vodafone’s WiMAX strategy is to provide a fixed-line broadband product to

complement its mobile service and has managed to attract 2,000 subscriptions.
Vodafone Malta, with over 200,000 mobile subscribers, is the largest mobile
operator on the island, which has a population of around 400,000.

But how does Vodafone Malta distinguish its WiMAX offering from its 3G
service (to which it has 5,000 subscribers since launch last year), particularly as
it will upgrade its HSDPA network later this year from 1.8Mbps maximum
downlink speeds to 3.6Mbps? After all, some mobile operators in Europe-most
notably Telekom Austria-are already uses HSDPA as a DSL substitute. With
Vodafone’s enormous purchasing power, the 3G route to fixed broadband might
be even more attractive than it is for Telekom Austria, but Cuschieri doesn’t see
it that way-at least not where Malta is concerned.

“We are positioning WiMAX as a household product that directly competes

with ADSL and cable modem services from other providers,” he says. “With
WiMAX you can have multiple PCs attached via Wi-Fi to the CPE unit; it is
mobile Internet within the home for the whole family. For HSDPA, we are
positioning that as an individual mobile data product-broadband on the move.”

Vodafone Malta offers 2Mbps connections over the Air span kit, which includes
VoIP. There are monthly data download limits associated with the service,
ranging from 4GB to 12GB, and defecting subscribers from other providers can
keep their existing fixed-line number when they use the VoIP WiMAX service.

“We price the 2Mbps service practically identical to the incumbent’s,” says
Cuschieri, “but the 3G mobile data package is almost double the basic tier
WiMAX package.”

Although Vodafone Malta’s main competitors, GO! (formerly Maltacom) and

Melita Cable, are bringing mobile and fixed bundled packages to the market,
Cuschieri has no immediate plans to follow suit (which is understandable given
that bundles invariably mean price discounts). However, Cuschieri says mobile
and fixed bundled packages are “something to consider” if they prove to be
popular. He will follow the market, not lead it, in this area.

Melita Cable has also recently announced a 10Mbps service, which may require
a response from Vodafone Malta. “We are evaluating future WiMAX products
that will go up to 4Mbps, but that will take another round of investment,” says
Cuschieri, but he would not be drawn on how much extra investment that would
take.

Country by country
It would be a mistake, says Cuschieri, to view WiMAX rollout in Malta as
merely a technology test bed for the Vodafone Group as a whole (and the
associated implication that the Vodafone Group is contributing funds to its
rollout). “The rollout of WiMAX [in Malta] is being done purely on its own
business case merits to address the fixed broadband market,” he says. “Every
market has different characteristics that affect the WiMAX business case. It has
to be done on a country-by-country basis.”

One potential drawback of the 802.16d business case is the lack of indoor
coverage, which requires the installation of an outdoor CPE unit. “We estimate
that around 70-75 percent of installations will require an engineer to install an
outdoor CPE, but that is factored into the business case,” says Cuschieri.

The attractiveness of the WiMAX option also increases when the terms and
conditions set by the incumbent on local loop unbundling (LLU) and wholesale
bit-stream services appear unreasonable. Such conditions exist in Malta. “We
are evaluating the LLU option and working on a business model, but we are not
happy with the LLU terms,” says Cuschieri. “We have started discussions with
the regulator on this but nothing has happened so far. There is lot of uncertainty.
One way to get round that uncertainty is to build an alternate network, which
WiMAX allows us to do.”

Vodafone Malta is one of three WiMAX licence holders on the island. The
other two-Cellcom and Mobisle-have yet to roll out their WiMAX networks
(blaming the lack of standardised and certified WiMAX equipment) and have
consequently been find by the regulator, Malta Communications Authority
(MCA), for not fulfilling their licence obligations.

It was in October 2005 when the MCA awarded the three WiMAX licences on
the understanding that the ‘pre-WiMAX’ services would be later upgraded to
802.16e, and island-wide coverage to be achieved within two years.

Due to the complaints by Cellcom and Mobisle in early 2006 on lack of

certified kit, however, the coverage deadline was extended for all three WiMAX
licence holders (the new deadline for Vodafone Malta being 50 percent of the
network to be deployed by April 2007 and 99 percent deployed by April 2008).

But that was not the end of the story. In October and November 2006 MCA
received further requests from Cellcom and Mobisle for a ‘significant
relaxation’ of their rollout and coverage obligations. MCA undertook a
consultation period in early 2007 to weigh up the case but ruled in March 2007
that the requests for a further extension were unjustified. However, to make up
for the lapse of time from the date of the initial extension request to the
publication of the MCA’s decision, the regulator granted a 3-month extension to
each of the three licence holders (the Vodafone Malta 50 percent coverage
target being moved to July 2007 but the 99 percent target remaining at April
2008).

Vodafone Malta beat comfortably all the WiMAX coverage targets set by
MCA. “We wanted to make sure we had as wide a coverage area as possible
before commercial launch,” says Cushier.

Vodafone and WiMAX

Vodafone, through its Mobile Plus strategy, not only wants to provide mobile
broadband but also make inroads into the fixed-line markets; it is positioning
itself to be a ‘total communications service provider’. In doing so, it hopes to
develop other revenue streams that can help offset any future losses in mobile
voice and SMS revenue, particularly in developed markets where the twin
forces of competition and regulation are taking its toll.

How big a role WiMAX will play in Vodafone’s Mobile Plus strategy is open to
debate. If Vodafone Malta is anything to go by, where WiMAX is preferred to
HSDPA in delivering fixed broadband, it suggests that it could be significant.

On the other hand, Vodafone is already committed to undertaking LTE trials

with Verizon Wireless and China Mobile in both FDD and TDD modes. And
Arun Sarin, Vodafone CEO, speaking at this year’s Mobile World Congress
event in Barcelona, expressed his desire for a unified 4G standard-combining
both LTE and WiMAX.

The official position of Vodafone is that it is technology agnostic- it’s not

averse to using DSL in some cases-but some commentators take the view that
Vodafone’s apparent trumpeting of WiMAX is no more than a ploy to
encourage the 3G community to ramp up its efforts to provide a better mobile
broadband experience.

The most overt pro-WiMAX pronouncements by Vodafone are, of course,

Sarin’s keynote presentation at 3GSM in Barcelona in 2007-where he warned
that alternate 3G technologies may ‘eat our lunch’-and Vodafone’s subsequent
announcement in August 2007 that it had joined the WiMAX Forum.
It is difficult to support the view, however, that Vodafone is not taking WiMAX
seriously. Not only does it have commercial WiMAX operations in Malta but
also, via its subsidiaries, it either has WiMAX trials or commercial services in
Bahrain, France, Greece, New Zealand and South Africa.

In terms of using WiMAX for true mobility services, Cuschieri says Vodafone
Malta is “keeping its options open”. MCA is currently in a consultation period
regarding the allocation of 2.5GHz spectrum, which would open the door for
mobile WiMAX if awarded, but Cuschieri is not convinced a true mobile
WiMAX service will be necessary. “From a personal point of view, I don’t see
mobile WiMAX as being able to provide the mobility that customers need,” he
says. “Mobile WiMAX is not a substitute for 3G. Technology is always
changing and developing, of course, but, at this point, mobile WiMAX can’t
offer anything that 3G can’t in terms of mobility.”