Category Archives: WiMAX

Nokia Signs On To Help With Sprint Nextel’s WiMax Deployment

Sprint named Nokia as its main partner in building its WiMax network in four Texas cities — Austin, Dallas, Fort Worth, and San Antonio — which is expected to be operational by the first half of next year. Sprint earlier announced that it is teaming up with Motorola and Samsung to provide WiMax connection inContinue Reading

Mobile WiMax Vs. 3G: Will Faster And Cheaper Win?

Though no one contests that mobile WiMax has been gathering momentum, some doubt whether the technology will deliver what it promises in terms of performance. Sprint Nextel believes its mobile WiMax network, which it will roll out in 2008, allows for download speeds of 2 Mbps to 4 Mbps and upload speeds of about 1Continue Reading

Sprint Facing WiMax Delays?

Analysts are skeptical that Sprint Nextel will meet its target of launching its WiMax network in the U.S. in 2008. According to Dresdner Kleinwort, “the whole project will be marred by severe delays, quality deficiencies and functional slippages.” The analyst firm does not see mass market rollout until 2009 to 2010. Vendors at the 3GSMContinue Reading

Clearwire: Taking WiMAX To The Street

Clearwire has gone public. The company’s initial public offering was scheduled for March 6, and through it, Clearwire hoped to raise $513 million or about $25 to $27 per share. Scott Sweet, managing partner at IPOBoutique.com, expected the share price to come to between $25 and $27, thus generating some $621 million for Clearwire, oneContinue Reading

Fujitsu, KDDI Improve WiMAX Amplifier

Fujitsu and KDDI are coming out with a high-efficiency mobile WiMAX amplifier that could pave the way for cheaper and less energy consuming base stations. After optimizing the amplifier circuits of a gallium-nitride (GaN) HEMT device, Fujistu went on to build a prototype transmitter amplifier that can attain power efficiency of about 30 percent withContinue Reading

Staking Out WiMAX

After Sprint Nextel, other carriers have announced that they also plan to venture into WiMax. According to TeleGeography Research, over 200 operators worldwide are now testing the technology or have deployed commercial WiMax networks, with the most recent being Horizon Wi-Com and CTC Telcom in the U.S., the national Hellenic Telecommunications Organization in Greece, andContinue Reading

Vodacom Looking At WiMax And WiFi Services

Vodacom announced it will expand its offerings to include WiMax and WiFi services. The company recently made an investment in Wireless Business Solutions (WBS) or iBurst, one of only four firms that own a WiMax spectrum. Vodacom has earned a reputation of being unafraid to readily adopt new technologies – it is among the firstContinue Reading

Work Begins On 1Gbps Mobile WiMAX Spec

The IEEE has started working on 802.16m, a protocol that promises WiMAX speeds of up to 1Gbps and backward compatibility with 802.16e-2005 or Mobile WiMax. The group hopes to conclude the technology development phase by the end of this year, vote on the spec in 2008, and ratify as well as finalize it by theContinue Reading

Sify Picks Proxim For WiMAX

Sify Limited, India’s leading ISP, has opted for Proxim Wireless’s 5.8 GHz Tsunami MP.11 WiMAX-ready product line to serve as its core platform for last-mile access and other mobile features. The decision came following an eight-month testing and evaluation of products from various vendors. MP.11, which enables WiMAX capabilities for unlicensed frequency bands, houses shock-resistantContinue Reading

WiMAX IPOs Are On The Way

Clearwire and NextWave plan to go public by early 2007 and have already filed their S-1 forms with the Securities & Exchange Commission. Both companies, which are beset by losses, are banking on WiMax for future profitability. Clearwire already secured backing from chip manufacturer and WiMax champion Intel and cell phone maker Motorola for itsContinue Reading

Is WiMax Secure?

The IEEE 802.16 committee has introduced mechanisms aimed at minimizing possible security risks associated with WiMax. The committee included support to the Extensible Authentication Protocol (EAP) for 802.16e networks. The amendment is in response to earlier authentication issues. Under the fundamental principle, each subscriber station will carry X.509 certificates that are required for uniquely identifyingContinue Reading

Is WiMAX Going Places? It Depends Who You Ask

The debate as to whether WiMax will gain global acceptance continues. Intel believes that with the existence of global frequency support for standards-based WiFi and WiMAX, scalable channel bandwidth, and high-performance multiple-antennas, the technology is ready to “bring about mobile communications and rich content across supported networks anywhere in the world. Peter Gardner, technology sectorContinue Reading

Clearwire Pushes WiMAX to The Big Time

Clearwire finally rolled out its WiMax service and has chosen Seattle for this maiden venture. The company, which owns a license on 2.5 GHz spectrum, uses a proprietary “pre-WiMax” technology instead of the IEEE 802.16 standard that is equated with the term, for the network. The service offers 768 kbps downlink/256 kbps uplink speeds underContinue Reading

NZ Wireless Has Cash For WiMax Network

Wireless Internet provider NZ Wireless revealed it has earmarked tens of millions of dollars to develop a WiMax network with spectrum that the New Zealand government plans to auction next year. According to NZ Wireless managing director Chris Aspros, the company, which recently rolled out its first WiMax networks in Wellington, obtained funding from aContinue Reading

WiMAX To Roll Out In India

Starting January 2007, broadband subscribers of Bharat Sanchar Nigam (BSNL) will get an upgrade in their connection — speeds will go up from 256 kilobits per second to 2 megabits per second. India’s national telecommunications carrier has no intention to charge more for the service; thus the tariff will remain at 250 rupees (or aContinue Reading