March 31, 2008Airspan Defends WiMAX
The negative comments shared by Garth Freeman, CEO at Buzz Broadband, in regards to WiMAX technology have spurred Airspan, the WiMAX equipment supplier to retaliate and defend its technology. According to Airspan, Buzz Broadband lacked the technical and financial resources required to operate a performing network. In regards to Freeman’s specific qualm concerning the short distance that the WiMAX network was able to operate successfully in, Airspan blamed Buzz Broadband’s decision to purchase less-expensive micro-cell base stations. Cheaper base stations resulted in a trade off of range performance.
The future of WiMAX is still to be discovered and will continue to stir debate but I find the most insightful observations concerning the Buzz Broadband/Airspan situation was made by Nordic Nowire CEO Michael Blomqvist. Blomqvist acknowledges the mistakes made by Buzz Broadband. However, he also notes that such mistakes are typical and therefore Airspan and other WiMAX vendors need to take greater responsibility when it comes to educating carriers.
As far as Blomqvist’s opinion of WiMAX, he feels that “vendors have over-hyped WiMAX, promising features and then not delivering. At the same time, WiMAX does offer a better price/performance ratio compared to competing mobile broadband technologies—when done right.”
Technorati Tags: WiMAX, Broadband, Ari Zoldan
Posted by Arizoldan in : WiMAX, WiMAX, Wi-Fi, wireless, Word on the Street Is...March 24, 2008WiMax Expert and Quantum CEO Ari Zoldan on Fox News
Staying up in a down market: Fox News interviews Ari Zoldan, founder and CEO of Quantum, a WiMax technologies company:
Posted by Ariel in : Analyses and Speculations, WiMAX, Wi-Fi, wirelessIndia Vs Australia: Is WiMAX Booming? Or Just Blowing Up?
While WiMAX tends to have a futuristic image, the Convergence India exhibition in Delhi proved that WiMAX and 3G mobile phone services may be affordable to the lay user sooner than predicted.
The speed of WiMAX that allows for such multitasking is a huge attraction especially in our fast paced environment. Yet, despite the optimistic news in Delhi for WiMAX believers, doubts have been made clear by Garth Freeman, CEO of Hervey Bay’s Buzz Broadband and Australia’s first WiMAX operator. In fact, Freeman has concluded that WiMAX technology is a “miserable failure.” According to Freeman, while the main selling point of WiMAX technology to entice people to switch has been the Internet applications, the non line of sight performance was so poor that such applications including VoIP would not work.
As WiMAX technology continues to be experimented with and tested in real world applications, we will see whether or not it pays to be a believer.
March 13, 2008The Launch of MXtv & The decline of the land-line
Since the introduction of the mobile phone, the land-line telephone has slowing become an endangered species.
The addicting Blackberry is quickly settling itself as “man’s best friend.” As life moves faster, we are predisposed to demand services and products that satisfy our on-the-go attitude.
In line with such a demand, NextWave Wireless, Inc has just recently launched MXtv. Wireless Design and Development Asia describes MXtv as:
“a breakthrough mobile multicast and broadcast technology that enables WiMAX operators to deliver a broad range of rich and personalized multimedia services including mobile TV, interactive media services, and digital audio without having to invest in new spectrum or additional radio access network equipment… With the unique ability to interleave broadcast content with voice and data content in each user transmission, MXtv enables WiMAX network operators to maximize service revenues by allowing them to dynamically optimize the mix of voice, data, and broadcast services on each RF carrier based on user demand, service pricing and advertising revenue. Furthermore, over 300 high fidelity radio broadcast channels or any combination of mobile TV, personalized radio, voice and data services can be offered in the same 10 MHz of spectrum”.
Having already affected the entertainment and media industry, it will be interesting to see how advertising will adapt to the speedy growth of mobile technology. With the introduction of MXtv, WiMAX has the potential to enable video delivery and thus commercials/video advertisements. Consumer’s ability to receive mobile TV and personalized radio on their mobile devices can improve the personalization or customization of entertainment and media directed toward individual users. While the ability to tailor advertisements and the reach of those advertisements may at first thought seem like a dream come true. The actual implementation of such a dream will be a challenge for advertisers and marketers to do successfully. As the customer population becomes more and more segmented by the personalization of media, advertising becomes more complicated. Still, it is interesting to explore the potential impact of WiMAX will have outside of the technology industry.
Posted by Arizoldan in : Uncategorized, WiMAX, WiMAX, Wi-Fi, wireless
March 8, 2008Developments with WiMAX Chips
The development of WiMAX-enabled chips provides a foundation on which WiMAX can take hold in the wireless world. Being that many have cited this year as the “year for WiMAX,” an increase in the development and release of WiMAX-enabled chips has been an intuitive projection for the near future. Intel and Motorola intuitively come up on top in such discussions. Intel in particular has received some buzz for its Centrino 2 Montevina chip. Intel is quoted with this description:
Apparently this development is only the beginning. As more compact and efficient WiMAX-enabled chips are developed and popularized, the more cost may ease for end-users–ultimately good news for general growth and developments in the field. Along the same vein, Investor’s Business Daily provides a comprehensive analysis of the current state of WiMAX chip development, citing roughly 40 companies that are involved in developing WiMAX chips.
Technorati Tags: WiMAX, Intel, WiMAX chips, Ari Zoldan
Ari Zoldan
Launch 3 Communications
March 6, 2008Maritime WiMAX
Singapore’s port sees over 500 ships each day–many of which have to perform internet-intensive tasks. To facilitate this, Singapore’s port is now launching a Mobile WiMax network known as the WISEPORT network. The network will provide connectivity throughout the port as well as up to 10 miles at sea, according to WiMAX Day. Thus it will enable more off-shore communication including the exchange of files, maps and other vital commercial data. For casual use, crew members will also now have better access to VoIP and video conferencing.
Some of the implications of the WISEPORT network provide interesting opportunities, particularly for cruise ships. Though some ports for cruise ships do have internet cafes available on port, access on ships themselves can sometimes be limited, if not grossly expensive. A WiMAX-based system could increase access points and in the future potentially defray some of the costs. This logic could extent to ferries and smaller passenger ships.
As brought out by the article, benefits of such a network can also extend onshore. For Singapore’s port,
Shipyards and marine engineering companies, shipping lines, terminal operators, technology companies and government agencies are all expected to benefit from the network. Already, companies and organisations such as Shell, APL, Global Marine Transportation and Tropical Marine Science Institute (TMSI) have expressed interest in connectivity.
Technorati Tags: WiMAX, Singapore, WISEPORT network, Ari Zoldan
Ari Zoldan
Launch 3 Communications
March 3, 2008On LTE and WiMAX
Though Ali Tabassi, Sprint’s vice president for technology development was recently quoted as (mockingly) branding LTE as an acronym for “Late To Evolve,” there is more to the relationship between LTE and WiMAX than the speed with which the technology evolves. True, WiMAX has arguably stood at an advantage to LTE due to the fact that it is poised to reach the market faster. However, at the same time some at ABI Research forecast that LTE will surpass WiMAX subscriber numbers by 2015 due, in part, to the fact that it has a stronger hold on global carriers. But is it really the inner workings of LTE and WiMAX as technologies that will determine their stronghold on the mobile community?
Gary Kim on TMCNet elaborates effectively on this recurring issue, making the point that the “battle” between LTE and WiMAX will not ultimately boil down to the merits of each technology, but rather to the success of the business models associated with either one. Successful business models would be inclusive of a wide range of devices while providing fast, cost-effective connectivity, among many other factors. This means that WiMAX needs to act now from a business angle in establishing itself as the next big thing in technology. WiMAX’s timetable advantage over LTE is not necessarily enough. Rather, a timely and business-savvy entrance into the market could mean all the difference for developments in the next five years.
Technorati Tags: WiMAX, LTE, Sprint, Ari Zoldan
Ari Zoldan
Launch 3 Communications
