Frequently Asked Questions

1.  What is WiMAX™ technology?

WiMAX™ is based upon the IEEE 802.16 standard enabling the delivery of wireless broadband services anytime, anywhere. WiMAX products can accommodate fixed and mobile usage models. The IEEE 802.16 standard was developed to deliver non-line-of-sight (LoS) connectivity between a subscriber station and base station with typical cell radius of three to ten kilometers. All base stations and subscriber stations claiming to be WiMAX compliant must go through a rigorous WiMAX Forum Certified™ testing process. WiMAX Forum Certified systems can be expected to deliver capacity of up to 40 Mbps per channel. This is enough bandwidth to simultaneously support hundreds of businesses with T-1 speed connectivity and thousands of residences with DSL speed connectivity. The WiMAX Forum expects mobile network deployments to provide up to 15 Mbps of capacity within a typical cell radius of up to three kilometers. WiMAX technology already has been incorporated in notebook computers and PDAs to deliver high speed mobile Internet services anytime, anywhere.

2.  What will WiMAX services offer to the average consumer?

WiMAX will provide broadband connectivity anywhere, anytime, for any device and on any network.

Examples include:

• High speed internet access where it is currently unavailable
• Substantially increase data speeds for applications to include online gaming, streaming video, video conferencing, VoIP and location based services
• Drive wireless Internet equipment and access prices to a competitive price point comparable to cable, DSL, and fiber Internet services
• With a robust telecommunications infrastructure already in place in the U.S. Mobile WiMAX services from Sprint and Clearwire will reach more than 150 million consumers by year end 2008.
• In Australia, WiMAX technology will establish an affordable and efficient broadband network. This wireless broadband technology is perfectly suited for regional and rural areas and the purchase and installation process of WiMAX technology is faster, simpler and cheaper than other offered solutions. Additionally, the non-line-of-sight (NLoS) capability means that WiMAX technology can provide coverage despite the challenges of geography and the limited footprint of wireline.
• Taiwan has continued its leadership in the development and deployment of WiMAX operability with six commercial WiMAX licenses awarded in July 2007 for six separate Taiwanese wireless communication providers. In regions like Taiwan, where users are spread out and the wireless traffic is going a long distance, WiMAX technology provides a reliable, inexpensive solution for constant wireless broadband connectivity.
• In Africa as a developing continent, WiMAX technology provides the opportunity to connect the African people with Internet and VOIP services faster and more affordably than wireline.

3.   What are the key elements of WiMAX technology?

A key differentiator for WiMAX is the interoperability of WiMAX Forum Certified equipment, resulting in mass volume economy of scale and assurance for service providers that when buying equipment from more than one company, the technologies are interoperable. The WiMAX Forum has assembled an alliance of leaders in the communications and computing industries to drive a common platform for the global deployment of IP-based broadband wireless services. Other key elements include cost, coverage, capacity and standards for both fixed and mobile wireless usage models.

Lower cost
A standards based platform for WiMAX technology drives down costs delivering volume economics to WiMAX equipment.

Wider coverage
The technology behind WiMAX has been optimized to provide excellent non-line-of-sight (NLoS) coverage. NLoS advantages are coverage of wider areas, better predictability of coverage and lower cost as it means fewer base stations and backhaul, simple RF planning, shorter towers and faster CPE install times. Thanks to techniques for improving NLoS coverage, such as diversity, space-time coding, and Automatic Retransmission Request (ARQ), coverage are increased.

Higher capacity
A key advantage of WiMAX technology is to use Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiplexing (OFDM) over Edge, GPRS, HSPA to deliver higher bandwidth efficiency and therefore higher data throughput, with more than one Mbps downstream and higher data rates. Adaptive modulation also increases link reliability for carrier-class operation and the possibility to keep higher order modulation at wider distance extend full capacity over longer distances.

Standard for all usage models (fixed to mobile)
By leveraging the same technology networks, WiMAX technology will become the most cost-effective solution for carriers to deploy for any usage model from fixed to mobile.The WiMAX Forum certifies products for conformance and interoperability based upon the standards IEEE 802.16.

4.    What is the data transfer speed of WiMAX technology for end users?

Users can expect to have broadband access speeds ranging from 1-5 Mbps depending on the service provider offering. Plus, there is a range difference because it depends on a number of factors, including which frequency is being used, distance of the user from the base station or node, whether there is line of site or NLoS to the base station, and the number of users on the network.

When the WiMAX Forum refers to 40 Mbps, it is referring to a single channel in wireless frequency (as part of the network) that is likely shared among multiple users. Individual users will have access to that amount of capacity, but the likelihood is they will have the ability to achieve downlink speeds of 1-5 Mbps, which is similar to the cable experience. There is the potential to burst to higher speeds, but that would depend on the operator's plans and business model.

5.   Is there a difference between Fixed and Mobile WiMAX™?

Mobile WiMAX

• WiMAX is also called Mobile WiMAX as it can serve all usage models from fixed to mobile with the same infrastructure. Based on the IEEE 802.16e-2005 standard, Mobile WiMAX offers fixed, nomadic, portable and mobile capabilities
• Does not rely on line-of-sight transmissions in lower frequency bands (2 to 11 GHz)
• Provides enhanced performance, even in fixed and nomadic environments
• Currently uses Time Division Duplexing (TDD)
• System bandwidth is scalable to adapt to capacity and coverage needs

How many subscribers can a single WiMAX node serve?

A single WiMAX base station or node should be able to serve thousands of subscribers. The actual number of users will depend on the guaranteed bandwidth to each users and the actual spectrum used by the operator.

WiMAX Forum Questions

6.  What is the WiMAX Forum?

The WiMAX Forum was established in June 2001 and is an industry-led, not-for-profit organization of more than 520 companies to include over 200 operators formed to certify and promote broadband wireless products based upon the harmonized IEEE 802.16/ETSI HiperMAN standard. The WiMAX Forum strives to ensure global adoption of a common platform to deliver Broadband Wireless services as a standard alone is not enough to effect mass adoption of a technology. Along these lines, the Forum works closely with service providers, regulators, equipment manufacturers, test equipment manufacturers, Certification labs, and application service providers to ensure that WiMAX Forum Certified systems meet customer and government requirements. WiMAX Forum Certified™ products are fully interoperable and support all usage models of broadband wireless services.

7.  Which companies are involved with the WiMAX Forum?

More than 520 companies are members of the WiMAX Forum, representing the entire ecosystem of companies necessary for bringing WiMAX Forum Certified™ products to market, including equipment manufacturers, operators, system integrators, silicon and component makers, test equipment manufacturers, test labs, content and application providers. Each one of its members is essential to the progress of the WiMAX Forum’s vision of global adoption of WiMAX as the Mobile Internet technology of choice anytime, anywhere and in a wide variety of products. Regulators are invited as observers as they play an active role in determining spectrum opportunities for WiMAX technology. Detailed information on each member can be found atwww.wimaxforum.org under the "About Us" tab.

8.  What are the current challenges faced by the WiMAX Forum? How are you trying to address them?

The complexity of obtaining spectrum allocated in all major marketing regions around the globe is a challenge for the industry. The adoption of flexible regulatory attitudes toward mobile broadband technologies like WiMAX is particularly critical at this time, particularly the current effort to get WiMAX based technology approved as an IMT2000 technology.

Pent-up demand for mobile broadband is present in developing and emerging countries. Moreover, many new mobile digital devices capable of a wide range of functionality and in novel form factors are poised to enter the marketplace over the next few years. Consumers demand to secure Internet access globally is strong and WiMAX is poised to deliver on this opportunity.

Furthermore, operators will accelerate the deployment of the mobile broadband infrastructure if they have the flexibility they need to be able to implement the technologies that will support the services in demand by their subscribers. A forward-looking regulatory attitude will hasten the day when the widest possible segment of global consumers will benefit from WiMAX technology and true mobile broadband access.

WIMAX Forum Certified™ Questions

9.  What does WiMAX Forum Certified™ mean? How is this different from "WiMAX compliant?"

As the exclusive organization dedicated to certifying the interoperability of products based upon IEEE 802.16/ETSI Hyperman, the WiMAX Forum defines and conducts conformance and interoperability testing to ensure that different vendor systems work seamlessly with one another. Those that pass conformance and interoperability testing will receive the WiMAX Forum Certified™ designation.

Vendors claiming their equipment is “WiMAX-like,” WiMAX-compliant,” etc., are not WiMAX Forum Certified™, which means that their equipment is not independently certified to be interoperable with other vendors’ equipment and operators are encouraged to be wary of this type of claim. Only look at the Wi-Fi claims of 802.11n to understand the potential problem should an operator who purchases WiMAX like products from one vendor and decide to switch to another vendor. Only WiMAX Forum Certified™ equipment is proven interoperable with other vendors’ equipment that is also WiMAX Forum Certified™.

10.  What are the benefits of WiMAX Forum Certified™ products?

The ultimate goal of the WiMAX Forum is to accelerate the introduction of cost-effective broadband wireless services into the marketplace. Standards-based, interoperable solutions enable economies of scale that, in turn, drive price and performance levels unachievable by proprietary approaches, making WiMAX Forum Certified™ products cost-effective at delivering broadband services on a wide scale. Designed for carrier-class deployments WiMAX Forum Certified™ systems deliver high-capacity service throughput (up to 36 Mbps in a 10MHz channel) and provide a range of up to five kilometers in non-line-of-sight conditions. The systems are scalable for up to thousands of users and because they are interoperable, service providers will be able to purchase equipment from more than one vendor, thereby reducing the overall risk and creating a price-competitive marketplace.

For consumers, WiMAX Forum Certified™ products will ensure interoperability among devices and networks to ensure service anytime, anywhere at a lower price point.

11.  How will WiMAX Forum Certified™ products benefit enterprises? Residential users?

The ease of deployment for WiMAX Forum Certified™ systems can benefit enterprises by bringing new competition into the marketplace and lowering prices, as well as reaching out to locations not served by wireline Internet access. This is especially relevant for industries like gas, mining, agriculture, transportation, construction and others that operate in remote locations.

For some residential customers in suburban and rural areas (where DSL or cable modem service is not available), WiMAX technology can provide the ability to finally have the broadband access they need. This is particularly true in developing countries, where traditional telecom infrastructure is not readily accessible.

The WiMAX Forum plans to have five certification test labs located in the U.S., Europe, China, Korea and Taiwan by end of 2007. With three more labs (India, Japan, and a second in Taiwan) planned to be opened in 2008, Mobile WiMAX certification will have capacity to support global deployments.

12.  When will WiMAX Forum Certified™ products be commercially available?

In January 2006, the WiMAX Forum announced the first commercial products to achieve the designation of WiMAX Forum Certified™. To date, approximately 30 fixed WiMAX products have attained certification. Initial Certification is based on the 802.16 2004 standard. The new 802.16e standard was approved in 2005 to deliver Mobile Internet services. Mobile WiMAX certification is on track and meeting WiMAX Forum schedules to deliver WiMAX Forum Certified Products into market.

Wireless broadband access systems from WiMAX Forum members are already involved in more than 275 trials and deployments in more than 65 countries around the world. Examples of operators that are trialing or deploying WiMAX technology include BT (UK), France Telecom, Rogers (Canada), Korea Telecom, KDDI (Japan), Telmex (Mexico), Unwired (Australia), Reliance (India) and SingTel (Singapore). On July 19, 2007, Sprint Nextel and Clearwire joined together to construct the first U.S. mobile broadband network using WiMAX technology, and promote the global development of WiMAX-based services.

13.  When will the WiMAX Forum begin work certifying FDD mobile WiMAX products?

The WiMAX Forum and its members are tracking the IEEE work on this. As such, we have no specific date at this point.

14.  What companies offer products that have received the WiMAX Forum Certified™ designation?

Approximately 30 Fixed WiMAX network products have been certified and include systems from Airspan Networks, Alvarion, Aperto Networks, Axxcelera Broadband Wireless, Proxim Wireless, Redline Communications, Selex Communications, SEQUANS Communications, Siemens, SR Telecom and Wavesat have received the WiMAX Forum certification. WiMAX Forum certification tests conformance and interoperability of only base station and subscriber station products. There is no testing or certification of chipsets, semiconductors, or networks.

15.  How does the WiMAX Forum’s certification process and organization structure compare to other certifying and testing groups, such as the Wi-Fi Alliance or ZigBee Alliance?

The structure and process of WiMAX Forum certification is most like that of Wi-Fi Alliance, except that Wi-Fi Alliance only tests products for interoperability, whereas WiMAX Forum tests for both conformance to the technical standard and device interoperability. Testing conformance to the standard means that products just don’t work with each other out of luck, rather they are designed in a manner that allows them to implement the protocols in exactly the same way. This ensures that over time the products can be enhanced or new models can be issued with a higher likelihood of deployment in a common network.

WiMAX vs. Other Technologies Questions

16.  How does WiMAX technology compare to broadband and WiFi transfer speeds?

WiMAX is broadband connection to the Internet at service quality. Wi-Fi is a wireless local area network. WiMAX and Wi-Fi are complementary.

We are working with device manufacturers/CE companies to incorporate Wi-Fi/WiMAX into devices everywhere. Our focus is on enabling Internet connectivity/flexible services and applications, as opposed to customer acquisition.

We are working with device manufacturers/CE companies to incorporate Wi-Fi/WiMAX into devices everywhere. Our focus is on enabling Internet connectivity/flexible services and applications, as opposed to customer acquisition.

Cost Related Questions

17.  What will the customer premise equipment (CPE) be like and what will it cost?

The second generation of Subscriber Equipment is expected to be priced from $200 - $300 in 2008. The third-generation CPEs will be integrated into laptops and other portable devices and are expected to initially cost approximately $100 and be available in 2nd half 2008.

18.  What is the estimated cost of deploying a citywide WiMAX network versus a citywide Wi-Fi network?

These are very different systems and applications. Wi-Fi networks are license exempt with no QoS and therefore comparing apples and oranges when comparing these technologies. The WiMAX Forum doesn’t expect Wi-Fi to be a competitor to WiMAX for outdoor wireless broadband connection to the Internet. Indoors, the WiMAX Forum expects many products to include Wi-Fi/WiMAX and when the product is indoors, it can switch to a Wi-Fi or a wireline backhaul connection.

Industry Questions

19.  What does the intellectual property rights (IPR) landscape for WiMAX technology look like? What is the WiMAX Forum’s position on IPR and WiMAX technology?

WiMAX Forum member companies have been the first to bring standardized solutions to the marketplace for wireless broadband, making broadband services more cost-effective to deploy on a wide scale. As of September 2006, there were more than 1,500 patents distributed among 330 companies on WiMAX technologies. Of the 23 companies that hold more than ten patents, 74 percent are WiMAX Forum members. As additional products become WiMAX Forum Certified™ and additional patent holders join the Forum, we believe that we will be able to achieve our goal of interoperability between OEMs and carriers.

20.  What is IMT-2000 and define its current relationship with WiMAX technologies?

In 1999 the International Telecommunications Union – Radio communications (ITU-R) defined a set of standards called IMT-2000, commonly known as 3G technologies. These technologies benefit from access to harmonized spectrum bands worldwide that facilitate global economies of scale. The IMT-2000 provides a framework for worldwide wireless access by linking the diverse systems of terrestrial and satellite based networks. Since the original IMT-2000 standards were agreed upon, updates have been made but no new standards have been approved. I

The IEEE submitted a formal proposal to the ITU-R to make a subset of the 802.16 (WiMAX) standard a member of the IMT-2000 family, as defined by ITU-R recommendations. The process of considering the submission began in Cameroon in January. A special meeting of ITU-R Working Party 8F was held in Seoul Korea Aug 29-31st in an attempt to complete consensus on the inclusion of WiMAX into the IMT-2000 set of standards. As a result, three draft recommendations have been forwarded to the Study Group 8 (parent group) chair for consideration at the upcoming Radiocommunications Assembly October 15-22 in Geneva.

The WiMAX Forum provided substantial supporting material in order to make WiMAX a member of the IMT-2000 family. The WiMAX Forum was instrumental in the development of the supporting material necessary to include WiMAX in the IMT-2000 family.

Spectrum Questions

21.  What frequencies will WiMAX technology operate on?

The WiMAX Forum operates in 2.3 – 2.7, 3.4- 6 and 5.8 GHz bands. The WiMAX Forum is working with operators and equipment manufacturers to expand the frequency allocation to cover all the key spectrum bands that our member companies identify as interesting to potential WiMAX service providers such as 700 MHz. For mobile applications, initial profiles have been developed for 2.3, 2.5, and 3.5 GHz. These are to address the current market demands. The WiMAX Forum has the ability to respond rapidly to development of additional profiles as additional spectrum is auctioned or markets change.

22.  What is the state of WiMAX spectrum harmonization efforts?

The WiMAX Forum continues to see the allocation of spectrum evolve. Underused spectrum is being recalled and reclassified by governments and new allocations are being issued. For the initial WiMAX Forum Certified™ products the majority of spectrum is in the 3.4 – 3.6 GHz spectrum range. We also see market demand for license-exempt spectrum in the 5 GHz region. For mobile applications, we see regulators allocating spectrum in the 2.3 and 2.5 – 2.6 GHz regions, as well as the 3.4 – 3.6 GHz band. The WiMAX Forum continues to track regional and country-specific policies and promote the availability of technology-neutral spectrum.

Members of the WiMAX Forum have access to a database to help identify available spectrum. The WiMAX Forum has formed an agreement with AT4 wireless (formerly known as CETECOM Spain) to provide the WiMAX Forum Spectrum and Regulatory Database, allowing member companies access to real-time data regarding worldwide spectrum licensing and regulatory information. The database focuses information on the 3.5 GHz frequency that already has WiMAX Forum Certified™ equipment and additional key frequency bands targeted for deployment of WiMAX Forum Certified™ equipment based on market need including 2.3, 2.5, 3.7 and 5.8 GHz.

23.  Where can I find out more about spectrum adoptions worldwide?

The WiMAX Forum Spectrum and Regulatory Database provides full technical, licensing, and regulatory information by country. Access to the full database is included with Principal membership in the Forum and is available to regular member companies by subscription. On July 31, additional features were added to the WiMAX Forum Spectrum and Regulatory Database to further enhance the tool. The updates provide WiMAX Forum member companies worldwide spectrum licensing and regulatory requirements as well as some additional new features to be implemented by AT4 wireless. These include the following:

• There will be the addition of a personal user profile feature, which will allow WiMAX Forum members to subscribe and unsubscribe to services that enable them to receive specific messages and/or newsletters via email.
• Subscribers will receive a notification via e-mail stating whenever there has been an update in the country.
• Subscribers will receive a monthly newsletter informing about the latest news concerning WiMAX technology in the worldwide market (public consultants, licensing auctions, new regulation, etc).
• Additional information on regional organizations will also be included in the database.

A trial version of the database is available atwww.wimaxforum.org/members/spectrum_database. If you have additional questions, please feel free to contact a WiMAX Forum representative atmembership@wimaxforum.org.

IEEE 802.16 Questions

24.  What is the difference between IEEE 802.16 and WiMAX technology?

One of the main objectives of the WiMAX Forum is to certify products based upon the IEEE 802.16 and ETSI HiperMAN harmonized standard. WiMAX Forum defines a System Profiles based upon what the WiMAX Forum determines in terms of service provider and vendor equipment demand.

Compliance with the 802.16 standard does not mean equipment is WiMAX Forum Certified™ or that it is interoperable with other vendors’ equipment. However, if a piece of equipment has earned the WiMAX Forum Certified™ designation, it is both compliant with the 802.16 standard and interoperable with other vendors’ equipment that is also WiMAX Forum Certified™.

25.  What is the 802.16m standard?

802.16m is the next generation standard beyond 802.16e-2005 and will become adopted by the WiMAX Forum once the standard is completed in the 2009 time frame. 802.16m is considered to be a strong candidate as a 4G technology. The IEEE has defined its expected parameters for 802.16m and can be found on their web site.

Technical Questions

26.  What is the difference between High-Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA) and WiMAX technology?

WiMAX technology performs at about 2.5 times the speed of HSDPA platforms (depending on equipment and operating conditions). HSDPA cannibalizes voice spectrum bandwidth to supply data services, which can affect call quality and availability. WiMAX technology is designed to supply data bandwidth only, increasing the bandwidth without compromising voice service quality since voice services are not operating on WiMAX bandwidth.

27.  What is orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM)?

OFDM is a digital encoding and modulation technology. It has been used successfully in wire-line access applications, such as Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) modems and cable modems as well as WiFi. Products from WiMAX Forum member companies are using OFDM-based 802.16 systems to overcome the challenges of NLoS propagation.

OFDM achieves high data rate and efficiency by using multiple overlapping carrier signals instead of just one. All future technologies for 4G will be based upon OFDM technology.

Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA) is enhanced OFDM and used in Mobile WiMAX technology and the IEEE 802.16e-2005 standard, and it is the foundation for the next-generations of mobile broadband to come. It is a multi-user version of Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiplexing (OFDM). The difference between the two technologies is that OFDMA assigns subsets of sub-carriers to individual users allowing simultaneous low data rate transmission from several users.