Subject: [NEXTEL-1] WiMAX promises breakthrough in broadband access

From: [email-masked]
Date: Wed, 26 Nov 2003 15:58:22 -0500

WiMAX promises breakthrough in broadband access 
 
By Sumner Lemon
IDG News Service, 10/15/03

A new wireless networking technology, called WiMAX, is poised to 
reshape the way that service providers offer broadband Internet 
access in the U.S. and other countries, holding out the promise that 
high-speed network services may take off in these markets, according 
to a senior Intel executive. 

WiMAX, also known as 802.16a, is a wireless networking standard that 
offers greater range and bandwidth than the Wi-Fi family of 
standards, which includes 802.11a, 802.11b and 802.11g. While Wi-Fi 
is intended to provide coverage over relatively small areas, such as 
in offices or hot spots, WiMAX can transfer around 70M bit/sec over a 
distance of 30 miles (48 kilometers) to thousands of users from a 
single base station. 
 
By comparison, the most commonly used flavor of Wi-Fi, 802.11b, can 
transfer data at speeds up to 11M bit/sec over ranges up to 1,000 
feet in open areas. 

The greater range and higher bandwidth of WiMAX gives service 
providers the ability to offer broadband Internet access directly to 
homes without having to worry about the problems that can arise when 
laying down a physical connection over the so-called "last mile," 
which connects homes with service providers' main networks, according 
to Anand Chandrasekher, vice president and general manager of Intel's 
Mobile Platforms Group. 

"WiMAX is a very effective replacement for the last mile for 
broadband," Chandrasekher said in an interview Monday.

Besides making it easier to offer broadband services, WiMAX can help 
service providers cut the costs associated with installing broadband 
Internet connections. 

"For a service provider to provide broadband, it costs them about 
$400 in just getting the truck out there, doing the installation," 
Chandrasekher said. 

On average, installing a single broadband connections requires about 
20 minutes, Chandrasekher said. However, in a worst-case scenario 
that time can stretch to as long as two hours, increasing the 
installation costs for the service provider and wiping out its 
profits in the process, he said. 

"WiMAX would eliminate that because with WiMAX you'd be able to 
broadcast the broadband capabilities and in the home environment you 
could have an access point," Chandrasekher said. 

WiMAX-based products are not currently available. The standard was 
finalized in January and commercial products aren't expected until 
sometime in 2005, according to information released by Intel on 
Monday at the Intel Developer Forum in Taipei. 

For its part, Intel wants to be one of the first companies to get 
WiMAX-based products into the market. The company has announced plans 
to start production of chips that can be used in WiMAX-based 
equipment during the second half of next year. With service provider 
trials set to begin next year, Intel expects WiMAX products to be 
commercially available in 2005. 

WiMAX could be the key to breaking through the last-mile barriers 
which have slowed broadband adoption in the U.S., especially in rural 
areas where the cost of deploying broadband connections has not been 
economical, Chandrasekher said. The technology could also open up 
availability to broadband Internet access in developing countries, 
like China and India, he said. 

WiMAX will also promote greater competition in countries, such as 
Taiwan and South Korea, where broadband penetration rates are already 
very high, Chandrasekher said. 

"You may see service providers (use WiMAX to) compete for business. 
If somebody already has a wire into your house and somebody else is 
not going to get another wire into your house, they may choose to 
offer WiMAX as a means of getting into that business," he said. 

The higher speed and longer range of WiMAX won't immediately be 
available in mobile computers or handsets, Chandrasekher said.

WiMAX will first be used to overcome the problems, such as local laws 
and regulations, that are associated with crossing the last mile. 
Chandrasekher envisages WiMAX being used to wirelessly connect homes 
to broadband networks through access points that incorporate Wi-Fi, 
offering wireless access within the home. 

However, in the future, users will be able to connect to WiMAX 
networks directly from their laptops or cellular handsets, 
Chandrasekher said. 

"But that's still a ways away, the first priority is the last mile 
problem," he said.

http://www.nwfusion.com/news/2003/1015wimaxpromi.html

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