Ericsson: Jury is still out on WiMax
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In a meeting with BetaNews, Ericsson said that HSPA is a more compelling wireless broadband solution than WiMax.
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Wavesat Inc., a developer of broadband wireless chips, said today it has delivered the first-ever WiMAX chip, the DM256. The company is planning to make the chips generally available early next month.
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Craig McCaw discusses Cingular's acquisition of AT&#38;T Wireless and looks toward his new WiMax venture.
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More details of Sprint's WiMax initiative at CES, including pledges by several partners and Sprint that the effort is on track.
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While companies are promoting fourth-generation wireless as the next wave in Internet access, its future is far from certain.
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Europe has been slow to adopt 3G mobile-phone services, and now the opportunity for cashing in may have passed. A new Wi-Fi design from a British company threatens to cut away the ground 3G has gained. By Wendy Grossman.
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(InfoWorld) - As the mobile phone industry scrambles to put cellphones in the hands of billions of unconnected people in emerging markets, less-expensive, higher-speed WiMax is likely to be the technology of choice to connect them to the Internet. "We will see some operators in emerging markets upgrade their cellular networks to support lower-speed data services such as e-mail, but there is a very strong case for deploying WiMax to provide high-speed Internet services in these regions," David Taylor, director of strategic operations high-growth markets in the mobile devices division of Motorola, said Wednesday in an interview at theÂ 3GSM World CongressÂ in Barcelona. WiMax networks require fewer base stations than 3G (third-generation) higher-speed mobile phone networks, according to Taylor. And not only are WiMax base stations cheaper, they also consume less energy because their systems don't need cooling. That's a huge benefit as powering networks cost efficiently can be a big challenge in emerging markets. Add to that the speed of WiMax -- up to 10GbpsÂ -- and the result is "a very strong case for WiMax in emerging markets," Taylor said. "Particularly small and medium-size businesses in rural areas can be served very cost-efficiently with this technology." Pakistan has already announced plans to deploy WiMax. So what happens to the many cellular networks already built or being built in these markets? They won't disappear, according to Taylor. On the contrary, operators will continue to use them to deliver basic voice and text services. Some may also decide to upgrade them to GPRS (General Packet Radio Service) or EDGE (Enhanced Data GSM Environment) technologies to support low-speed data services. "This is not a costly upgrade," he said, unlike an upgrade to 3G or LTE (Long-Term Evolution), the cellular rival to wireless WiMax. Motorola has learned "valuable lessons" about designing products for users in emerging markets, Taylor said. "Simplicity is crucial," he said. "Handsets should have few features -- they should be touch and go." Reliability is another issue. Phones must be robust and not easily breakable. "Many people spend two months of income or more to purchase a phone," he said. "They've made a huge investment in a piece of technology they expect to work -- always." Low power consumption and long battery life are also crucial as many people in emerging markets still live without electricity and need to pay to have their batteries recharged.
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(InfoWorld) - Samsung Electronics this week will demonstrate a version of WiMax that can transport data at double the speed of current systems at theÂ 3GSM trade showÂ in Barcelona, Spain, it said Monday. The "Mobile WiMax Wave 2" system uses MIMO (multiple input multiple output) technology and smart antennas to realize speeds of around 34MbpsÂ downstream from the network to the user and about 8Mbps in the opposite direction, the company said in a statement. MIMO involves sending data using multiple antennas to increase the total data throughput. At those speeds it's possible to download an MP3 music file in about one second and a full CD of data in less than three minutes, said Samsung. A commercial service based on the technology on show in Barcelona isÂ planned by Sprint NextelÂ in the U.S. later this year. The carrier will use Mobile WiMax to supplement its 3G (third-generation) cellular service and plans to reach 100 million U.S. residents with the new network by the end of 2008. Before that service can be utilized terminals compatible with the network are needed. At 3GSM Samsung will also be showing a chip set compatible with the technology that can be integrated into devices. Competitors have also been showing similar chips recently. On Monday NXP Semiconductors and Israel's Runcom Technologies said they also plan to offer a chip set compatible with the Wave 2 system.
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The debate on how quickly Apple&#39;s iPhone would sell one million units is over, but the rumors about whether the Mac-maker will buy wireless spectrum are still swirling.
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Now that mobile WiMax has officially been certified as a 3G technology, Sprint backing off calling its new WiMax service 4G.
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Banners hanging at&#160;Macworld Expo&#160;on Monday read, &quot;2008: There&#39;s something in the air,&quot; suggesting wireless news to come in CEO Steve Jobs&#39; keynote Tuesday morning.Faster cellular service for the iPhone is already on its way later this year, AT&amp;T&#39;s top executive reportedly said in November, but Apple could go beyond that plan and extend high-speed wireless WAN (wide-area network) capability to its MacBook notebooks and even a rumored &quot;ultramobile&quot; computer.Many consumers have been clamoring for more speed on the iPhone since it was announced a year ago with support only for Wi-Fi and EDGE (Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution), a version of GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) that generally runs below 200Mbps. U.S. iPhone carrier AT&amp;T Wireless and other operators around the world already have a set of faster systems called HSPA (High-Speed Packet Access) that can deliver more than 1Mbps.At the same time, wide-area wireless has been moving into PC notebooks and smaller PC-like devices. The big notebook vendors, including Dell, Lenovo, and Hewlett-Packard, have rolled out products with built-in 3G. And the Asustek Computer Eee PC and some other small UMPC (ultramobile PC) devices are slated to ship with WiMax.Apple hasn&#39;t made the leap. Mobile Mac owners can hook up to Wi-Fi hotspots but have to buy dongles or other add-on devices from third parties to get fast wireless elsewhere. Offering a built-in 3G card would give MacBook users access to broadband in far more locations.However, that leap would take Apple into a market that hasn&#39;t attracted a large percentage of notebook buyers, analysts said.At least in the U.S., 3G radios are associated with a particular carrier and usually sold along with two-year data contracts. Users keep notebooks longer than they do phones and don&#39;t want to lock them down to a particular carrier, said Forrester Research analyst Charles Golvin. In addition, many notebooks are purchased by enterprise IT departments, which demand more flexibility, Golvin said. He doesn&#39;t expect to see another iPhone phenomenon.&quot;I don&#39;t think that laptop users would be as interested in aligning themselves formally with one particular carrier,&quot; Golvin said. One alternative would be to build in a chip that could handle more than one carrier and 3G technology, he added.Avi Greengart of Current Analysis believes Apple&#39;s proven ability to streamline could change the picture.&quot;They have not been in the forefront of 3G on notebooks. However, it wouldn&#39;t surprise me at all if they came out with a simplified offering that just made a lot of sense and became the catalyst, as the iPhone is,&quot; Greengart said. Apple simplified the iPhone experience for customers by sticking with one carrier and letting subscribers sign up with AT&amp;T through iTunes.Apple could also jump-start the market by offering an alternative to the expensive monthly service model that carriers typically use, said Gartner&#39;s Ken Dulaney. Most consumers don&#39;t travel frequently enough to justify spending US$30 or more per month for cellular service on their notebooks, but they might be willing to buy a system with built-in 3G and pay for service as they need it, he said. Verizon has a little-known offering like this, in which users can pay $15 for 24 hours of service, according to spokesman Jeffrey Nelson.Because of its greater mobility, a rumored Mac that&#39;s smaller than a notebook but bigger than the iPhone would be an ideal candidate for 3G. If the company unveils it on Tuesday, that product could lead Apple&#39;s new wireless charge.But that &quot;something in the air&quot; could be a number of other things, too, analysts said. Apple is expected to make its SDK (software development kit) for third-party applications on the iPhone available next month, Greengart said. And the iPhone could gain GPS (Global Positioning System) capability, or some iPods could get Wi-Fi, he said. As always, it&#39;s all speculation until Jobs speaks.&#160;
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InfoWorld - As the mobile phone industry scrambles to put cellphones in the hands of billions of unconnected people in emerging markets, less-expensive, higher-speed WiMax is likely to be the technology of choice to connect them to the Internet.
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Intel touts WiMax, but analysts say it likely won't go beyond niche applications.
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TechWeb - The company will be one of the first to test mobile Wimax in the United States.
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A boat trip on the Chicago River helped show WiMax as a fast mobile wireless network technology, but less clear are when mobile workers and consumers can get the products, at what price and how WiMax world will interact with Wi-Fi or other networks.
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Here&#39;s one way to jumpstart WiMAX deployment: make a &quot;significant investment&quot; in a wireless broadband company that promises to use your technology and products.
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InfoWorld - Now thatÂ WiMax has been certified as a form of 3G mobile data infrastructure, Sprint Nextel is changing its tune about the WiMax network it plans to launch commercially in April.