Technology choice for the future
AS THE RACE TO determine the shape of fourth-generation wireless networks intensifies, backers of the long-term evolution (LTE, a GSM standard taking 3G technologies into the future) and WiMax (a new, long-range wireless broadband technology) are locked in a battle for the minds of operators. Following its approval last year by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) as an IMT 2000 standard, the spectre of WiMax taking centre stage in the creation of a new world broadband order looms large.
And backers of 3G, which until recently had been enjoying unprecedented success as the de facto technology standard for mobile operators, are rallying to scupper WiMax's adoption. At the recent 3GSM congress in Barcelona, China mobile, the world's largest cellphone operator, and Nokia, the biggest mobile handset maker, became the latest industry heavyweights joining Vodafone, US carriers AT&T and Verizon Wireless in the anti-WiMax crusade.
"We've embraced LTE as the main 4G technology going into the future," says Wang Jianzhou, CE of China Mobile. However, despite the LTE proponent's spirited push to isolate WiMax, operators looking to cut costs and accelerate data services are warming to WiMax as the alternative to conventional broadband connectivity.
As for consumers, they want higher speed mobile data services, and WiMax – among the plethora of wireless technologies flooding the industry – is better suited to deliver those services at an affordable cost, says Tim Haynes, CE of Nujira, a wireless technology developer.
Currently, there's estimated to be 280 WiMax trials and deployments (the bulk being in emerging markets) under way, of which around 103 are designated mobile deployments rather than fixed WiMax, which effectively replaced a fixed DSL broadband link with a wireless connection.
The recent 3GSM mobile congress gave both WiMax vendors and operators the best platform to showcase the technology. On display by WiMax vendors, Intel, Motorola and Samsung, were WiMax toolkits, including base stations required to build a network and end user devices, such as handsets, WiMax PC cards and USB modems that plug into laptops to enable them to connect wirelessly to the Internet at broadband speeds.
WiMax's biggest drawcard is that it's easy and almost ready to deploy, says Bertina Tratz Ryan, a Gartner analyst with a deep insight into the unfolding WiMax-LTE battle. "Large-scale equipment and silicon vendors are banking on mobile WiMax to make their money," says Tratz Ryan.
Mobile WiMax equipment vendors are currently prowling Africa for market opportunities, a fact Motorola SA country director Judy Nwokedi readily acknowledges. "Given the continent's sparsely distributed telecoms infrastructure, the potential for market growth in sub-Saharan Africa – particularly SA and Nigeria – is huge," says Nwokedi.
SA's fixed line incumbent Telkom has earmarked R30bn for a network upgrade that will include WiMax. Neotel, SA's second fixed line national operator, will also run on a WiMax network. Such has been demand for access to the WiMax spectrum that Vodacom, part owned by Vodafone, has had to circumvent the formal licensing procedure through its acquisition of a strategic interest in wireless broadband provider iBurst.
The number of telecoms firms testing the technology include Internet Solutions (IS), Altech and M-Web – the biggest indication yet that WiMax is fast gaining appeal as the technology of choice for the future.
However, one of the biggest factors hindering uptake is the lack of spectrum. But Tratz Ryan advises respective African tele-coms regulators to take a leaf from the European Commission's telecoms reform package, which is spearheading the introduction of legislation permitting technology neutrality and secondary trading of spectrum throughout member states. If successful, the proposal – which has been presented to the European parliament and council of ministers – will compel EU member states to move towards spectrum neutrality, particularly for the award of 3G expansion and band frequencies.
Sean Maloney, Intel GM for sales and marketing, says: "With the certification and recognition of the technology by the ITU and the arrival of the first real WiMax products on the market, we now can differentiate hype from reality. If only the hurdles around access to spectrum could be urgently dealt with, this could become an interesting phase in the WiMax revolution."
Acknowledging the WiMax threat, Vodafone CE Arun Sarin is now far more conciliatory, breaking from his initial fierce opposition. "There's a need for us to embrace WiMax. In fact, co-opting it into LTE will benefit the industry a great deal. What consumers need going into the future is a range of cost-effective broadband services delivered on a cost-effective technology platform," Sarin told the 3GSM gathering.
Could that platform be WiMax?
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