WiMAX delivering mobile connectivity
I nearly was until I visited Intel in Portland to find out more about WiMAX and what their views are about its future as a mobile service. I was greeted by an enthusiast Tim Sweeney, Manager of the Advanced Applications lab. His first words were: “I am not going to convince you about WiMAX, you are going to convince yourself.” He handed me a WiMAX enabled laptop to play with for a day and convinced I was.
After my visit to various WiMAX facilities and laboratories, I left Intel eager to surf the web. I travelled by light rail to where I am staying while in Portland, a suburb called Forest Heights. I immediately powered up the laptop and looked at the EE Publisher’s website.
I was reading it faster than I do at home with my Telkom do broadband ADSL. I tried several other websites around the world, watched an NSA video and a few YouTube clips. Before I realised tit he computer voice in the train announced next station Sunset Transfer centre, my destination. In the 30 minutes that I had travelled on the train, I did not loose signal once.
When I walked into my son’s house, I logged on again and looked at what ever website came to mind. I reluctantly returned the laptop the next day.
I measured the speed regularly and it consistently provided a downlink speed of 5Mbps and 500 kbps (the Clearwire specification states a download of between 3 – 6 Mbps with burst of up to 10Mbps) and an upload speed of up to 1Mbps. Forest Heights is a very hilly location and not regarded as the best covered WiMAX area.
I am now playing with a Clear 4G mobile USB dongle which Intel lent me for the rest of may stay here.
I am convinced that WiMAX is an excellent mobility platform, better than what I get on my hand-held at home or even my ADSL.
Intel firmly believes WiMAX is the next-generation of wireless technology designed to enable pervasive, high-speed mobile Internet access to the widest array of devices including notebook PCs, handsets, smartphones, and consumer electronics such as gaming devices, cameras, camcorders, music players, and more.
I have always been fascinated by the WiMAX technology. I am more than ever convinced that LTE vendors are concerned about WiMAX and do not want to admit that it is a working technology while they still have a few years to go before LTE will be at that stage.
WiMAX in South Africa? It the age old story why we in South Africa continue to suffer – ICASA’s inability to sort out the spectrum allocation. ICASA initially bandied around a 20 MHz slot for each WiMAX operator which is inadequate, then they talked about 30 MHz which according to the experts is the minimum required. Intel experts say 50 – 100 MHz would be the real answer to offer a viable pervasive mobile WiMAX service. I guess we will have to be happy with WiMAX as a stand in for ADSL?
I will be talking to Clearwire , the largest WiMAX operator in the USA, next week. Watch this space.
WiMax & mobile connectivity – discussion
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