WiMAX: the controversy continues
Last year in February I wrote an article in EngineerIT under the heading “WiMAX the controversy continues”. I could almost repeat verbatim today what I wrote back then because little has changed. Well, that is in the space of public debate because during the past year we have seen successful applications of WiMAX.
Proponents of WiMAX and HSDPA – and now LTE – are still at each other’s throats. The argument seems to mostly revolve around the question of true mobility.
Intel believes that WiMAX suppliers are ready to supply the infrastructure. On the other hand, companies such as Ericsson ask why so much emphasis is placed on WiMAX when it is not ready to be rolled out as a system providing true mobility.
HSPDA is a stable and mature technology but some sectors in the industry have concerns about network saturation. Mobile data is growing at a phenomenal rate and it is unlikely that the Long Term Evolution (LTE) of HSPDA will meet the requirements. This is where WiMAX will have a few years lead. Noel Kirkaldy of Motorola agrees with my observation. He says WiMAX will shake up the telecoms market because of its lower cost base.
WiMAX is a great opportunity for Africa because of its lower cost base and ease of installation. If one considers an average monthly internet usage level of 1 to 1.5GB per customer, the cost of providing access using HSDPA, EVDO-A or WiMAX are much the same.
It is reasonable to assume that the usage of 1 to 2GB per month is the entry level but as customers start experiencing what the Internet offers, monthly usage will increase exponentially. It is then that WiMAX becomes the real differentiator enabling operators to offer real broadband at a lower cost. At 12GB per (user per) month Motorola puts the cost differential of ownership between WiMAX and HSDPA at $47 versus $144 per month.
The question of true mobility keeps being moved into the background. Not so says Intel. They maintain that they have done a lot of work on the theory and modeling of true mobility.
In 2006 Intel built a small network in conjunction with Clearwire in the Portland, Oregon area with Motorola as the equipment provider. The network consisted of 4 base stations and 12 sectors. The aim was to test Intel’s theory and models in a real environment. They entered into the beta phase carrying out a commercial deployment with 40 base stations and users across Portland. Hand-over between base stations while travelling at a speed up to 120 km/h was demonstrated on a daily basis. Is that not true mobility?
This year will be an interesting year. Will WiMAX support true mobility as many claim, or will it flop as proponents of LTE predict?
Most people agree that WiMAX is a great fixed wireless technology. Motorola has proven this in Pakistan and right here under our noses Screamer Telecoms developed a major WiMAX network to offer a complete basket of internet, telephone and data services. Telkom uses WiMAX to supplement its broadband offering where they cannot provide ADSL.
You may have gathered that I am a fan of WiMAX. Why? I have a feeling that it will deliver and deliver well. I have never seen so much cooperation between vendors at any level than in the WiMAX forum with the emphasis on interoperability and flexibility.
Looking at it from a less emotional point of view, we most likely will see WiMAX and LTE next to each other, each finding its niche in the market.
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