WiMAX Deployments Today
Conquering the Digital Divide
In 2004, hardware and software manufacturers began in earnest to develop and test the components necessary to deploy a WiMAX network. As a result, companies such as Intel, Motorola and others have begun worldwide deployments, leapfrogging cable and DSL technologies to bring wireless broadband access to rural communities and metropolitan areas with poor or little wired infrastructure. As we stand today, 2007 is being widely touted as the debut year for WiMAX technology, with widespread acceptance being expected by 2009.
While fixed WiMAX deployments are what is happening today, the rapid development of both proprietary and open standards technology leads pundits to believe that mobile WiMAX will be rolling out in early 2008. Asia and Africa are proving to be the testing grounds, with deployments in Vietnam, Taiwan, South Africa, and Nigeria to name a few.
In the US, most of the available spectrum has already been bought up, mostly by Sprint/Nextel and Clearwire Communications, and wireless broadband is beginning to show up in many metropolitan and suburban areas.
As it is not expected that WiMAX technology will replace DSL or cable, or even that mobile WiMAX will take over the cellular industry, the ease of deployment and efficiency of cost make it a technology set to conquer the digital divide.
With all this in mind, let’s look at some of the deployments going on today throughout the world.
Lao Cai, Vietnam
Located in a mountainous area on the Chinese border in Vietnam, Lao Cai is in a rural, agrarian region with a population of around 600,000, one of the poorest regions in Vietnam. In 2004, Intel, along with USAID and Vietnam Data Communication (VDC), embarked on a partnership to bring wireless broadband and VoIP telephone services to the citizens of Lao Cai through the technology of WiMAX.
The vision was to encourage foreign investment and foster economic development by better enabling trade with the regions Chinese neighbors to the north. At the time, Lao Cai had pretty good cell phone coverage in the city, but virtually no broadband data access. The outer lying rural areas would have no cell phone access, and in some cases would rely on one community phone.
The WiMAX network would consist of a single base station with internet access through a fiber optic backhaul, servicing the city and surrounding areas. VoIP services would also be implemented, providing telecommunications to people that in some cases never had a phone.
The base station used was an Alvarion BreezeMAX, its antenna installed 70 meters up on a telecommunications tower, and about 20 BreezeMAX CPE’s (modems) installed in such settings as schools, government offices, an Internet café, health care centers, and a farm outside the city. Sip phones were also provided for each site
A LignUp VoIP switch and gateway connected to the local PSTN, and their VoIP Communications Server was located 300 miles away in Hanoi.
With Intel providing the project leadership through its World Ahead program, the citizens of Lao Cai can now forge ahead economically with their new state of the art broadband and telecommunication infrastructure. The same partnership trio is now planning a WiMAX deployment in a nearby region using a satellite backhaul to provide broadband and VoIP access.
Gauteng, South Africa
The maker of the BreezeMAX is also busy in other areas of the world. Alvarion announced in April that Telkom South Africa has selected its BreezeMAX platform as the basis of their ambitious nationwide rollout of WiMAX wireless broadband services. Deployments will begin in the Gauteng province, a large industrial region that includes the cities of Johannesburg and Pretoria. Subsequent rollouts are planned for the coastal regions of South Africa.
Based out of Tel Aviv Israel, Alvarion is a leading provider of wireless broadband with deployments in over 150 countries and a WiMAX industry market share of over 60%. Telkom will be deploying the BreezeMAX platform in the 3.5 GHZ frequency range, offering subscribers the broadband triple play of voice, data, and multimedia internet services.
A recent Finger report indicates that while the Internet continues to gain acceptance in South Africa, there is a large discrepancy of access between the so called first and second economies. In the black townships, many homes do not have telephones, much less internet.
Past decisions by Telkom regarding infrastructure build out has skewed the
country into a digital divide of haves and have nots. Says Finger, "This
has socio-economic ramifications that go beyond the ideological or moral with
very real implications for the growth of the Internet economy in South Africa."
The deployment of WiMAX gives Telkom South Africa an economically feasible way to offer equal access for all. Disadvantaged south africans who now gather at internet cafes are expected to embrace the new technology, which should be affordably priced for subscribers of all economies.
WiMAX in the United States
In the US, Sprint Nextel and Clearwire Communications have been buying up much of the available WiMAX spectrum auctioned off by the FCC. A recent spectrum swap by the two companies indicates that they will be cooperating more than competing, by staying out of each others market segments.
Sprint Nextel is reported to be going after large metropolitan markets and has an obligation to the FCC to offer wireless broadband in the 2.5 GHz frequency range to 30 million consumers by the end of 2010. Sprint has chosen the WiMAX format for its next generation 4G network, and has selected Intel, Motorola, Samsung, and more recently Nokia as partners in its wireless broadband initiative.
Clearwire, with a subscriber base of around 200,000, is focusing on the rural and suburban markets, where the competition from DSL and cable is less stringent. The rural areas in particular have been plagued by lack of broadband internet service, and Clearwire’s proprietary WiMAX technology is poised to bridge the digital divide in the US. With financial backing from Intel and Motorola and a recent public offering, Clearwire promises to be a major player in the WiMAX market.
By avoiding head on competition and buying up the 2.5 frequency range, the
two companies expect to be able to roll out their networks more quickly, shutting
out competition from the Bellco’s and others, and effectively dominating
the industry.
As an emerging technology, WiMAX has benefited greatly from the guidance of the WiMAX Forum and the support of such heavy hitters as Intel and Sprint Nextel. While earlier implementations by such companies as Clearwire and Motorola were proprietary in nature, the development of open standards has allowed hardware and software manufacturers to quickly bring new technologies to market.
Considered to be a disruptive technology, at least to the Telco’s, WiMAX is expected to compete with DSL, cable, and even cellular with the emergence of mobile WiMAX in the near future.
Where WiMAX has the biggest advantage over wireline broadband technologies is in regions that have poor wired infrastructure, most prevalent in underdeveloped areas. 2007 marks the beginning of widespread deployment, particularly in these areas of underdevelopment.
The ability to build networks capable of transmitting voice, video, and data
cost effectively can only add to the movement of mass globalization. Benefiting
the most from this new technology will be the informationaly challenged in populations
around the world, as big business and governments bind together to conquer the
digital divide.
4/4/07
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