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What is the Wimax Forum ?

admin on September 29, 2009 | 15 comments

WiMAX-Forum

The WiMAX Forum has more than 500 members comprising the majority of operators, component and equipment companies in the communications ecosystem. It is an industry-led, not-for-profit organization formed to certify and promote the compatibility and interoperability of broadband wireless products based upon the harmonized IEEE 802.16/ETSI HiperMAN standard. The founding members of the WiMAX Forum committed themselves early to the process of creating a collaborative standards body. The WiMAX Forum has organized a number of working groups to address critical areas of focus in bringing WiMAX Forum Certified products to the marketplace. Here are some of the working groups :

Application Working Group (AWG)
Certification Working Group (CWG)
Evolutionary Technical Working Group (ETWG)
Global Roaming Working Group (GRWG)
…

The board is composed by : Airspan Networks , Alcatel-Lucent , Alvarion , Aperto Networks , AT&T , British Telecom , Fujitsu , Intel Corporation , KDDI , KT Corp. , Motorola , Nokia , Samsung , Sprint Nextel , ZTE Corporation.

The WiMAX Forum announced on March 25, 2009 the addition of four new members to its Board of Directors. Additional members are Ali Tabassi (Clearwire Corporation), Dave Williams (Comcast Cable), Thomas Lee (Huawei Technologies) and Bao-Shuh Paul Lin (ITRI).

The WiMAX Forum announced on April 2009 the launch of its Interoperability Testing Certification program, which will leverage Clearwire commercial WiMAX network experience to further ensure interoperability in the 2.5GHz spectrum band. As a result, WiMAX vendors will be able to test their WiMAX products against these proven test cases to ensure interoperability with a commercial network environment and rapidly take their WiMAX Forum Certified solutions to the marketplace.

Worldwide Congress Schedule

WiMAX Forum Regional Focus Russia, Moscow, 18-19 November 2009
WiMAX Forum Congress Americas, Fort Lauderdale, FL, USA, 2-3 December 2009
WiMAX Forum Congress Asia, Taipei, 13-14 April 2010
WiMAX Forum Regional Focus MENA, Dubai, 4-5 May 2010 –
WiMAX Forum Global Congress 2010, Amsterdam, 16-17 June 2010
WiMAX Forum Congress Americas 2010, Dallas, 2-3 November 2010
WiMAX Forum Regional Focus Russia, Moscow, 17-18 November 2010

… Read the rest

Michael Lai

admin on September 28, 2009 | 8 comments

michael-lai

Image credit : Saimatkong

Michael Lai, Chief Executive Officer of Packet One Networks (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd (“P1”) passionately believes in enriching lives through the power of high-quality, high-performance broadband connectivity. Putting this passion into action has resulted in Michael being one of the most sought after leaders in the country to propel the nation forward with broadband for all.
With over 20 years of experience in the Information, Communications and Technologies (ICT) industry, Michael leads one of the world’s leading WiMAX telecommunications companies – P1, with the challenge to develop the startup right from ground zero.
Michael has a formidable track record that includes a fair mixture of technical as well as marketing and branding background. Michael’s pioneering efforts in embracing and actively engaging with online communities has earned him many affectionate nicknames from acclaimed observers.

The Peak Magazine – one of the region’s most exclusive lifestyle publications – dubbed him the Wizard of Wireless, Malaysia’s leading English daily – The Star – reported that Michael has one of the best resumes in the country to drive broadband forward. Mobile World – a leading Asian technology publication – calls Michael Malaysia’s Mr. Broadband for his efforts is pushing the boundaries of broadband penetration and access in the country.

Today with Michael at the helm, P1 is at the global forefront of commercial WiMAX deployment. P1 W1MAX is Malaysia’s leading WiMAX telco and is currently the world’s largest deployment of 802.16e 2.3GHz WiMAX network, outside Korea. P1 is also the first Intel-invested WiMAX telco in Southeast Asia. Recently, P1 entered into the portable wireless broadband market with WiGGY – the region’s most advanced USB modem, incorporating MIMO smart antenna technology capable of download speeds of up to 10Mbps (currently the fastest USB modem in Malaysia).
Michael’s leadership has transformed P1 from a relatively unknown to a global leader in WiMAX technology in a little over eight months. As it stands, P1 currently posses the largest subscriber base and the largest WiMAX network in Malaysia.
Prior to joining the group, Michael was the CEO of TMNet, the region’s largest Internet service provider. Michael’s tenure there transformed TMNet into a billion-dollar enterprise with over 1 million subscribers within 18 months.
Michael was also previously Senior Vice President of Branding and Market Development for Celcom, and Marketing Director for Oracle Malaysia. He is an Electrical Engineer by training with a Masters in Business … Read the rest

Bill Morrow

admin on September 28, 2009 | 4 comments

Bill-Morrow

Bill Morrow is a seasoned telecom industry executive with a diversified background leading wireline and wireless communications companies in the U.S., Europe and Japan. Prior to joining Clearwire on March 9, 2009, he served as President and CEO of Pacific Gas and Electric Company, a subsidiary of PG&E, where he oversaw a business with over $13 billion in annual revenue and more than 20,000 employees. During his tenure, he oversaw operations and successfully directed an overhaul aimed at improving the company’s efficiency, supply chain and customer focus, generating operational efficiencies and improved customer satisfaction.

Before joining PG&E, Mr. Morrow held several leadership positions at Vodafone, the number two wireless provider in the world with more than 133 million subscribers. At Vodafone, he served as CEO for Europe overseeing global marketing, global technology and the largest operating businesses in the company portfolio. Before being named CEO, he held market level responsibility as president of Vodafone K.K. in Tokyo, CEO of Vodafone Ltd in the UK, and was President of Japan Telecom, the third largest telecom company in Japan.

Earlier in his career, he held several strategy and operations positions with Vodafone in the U.S. and Europe, and several international leadership positions with AirTouch. He began his career at Pacific Bell, where he held several technology and engineering positions, including responsibility for company-wide operations of packet data products. He is currently 49 Years Old.… Read the rest

UQ

admin on September 23, 2009 | 3 comments

UQ Communications was founded during August 2007 by several major companies in Japan to acquire a 2.5GHz license and launch Mobile WiMAX services. KDDI owns 32.26% of the company, followed by Intel, East Japan Railway, Kyocera, Daiwa Securities and the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi. UQ Communications has been founded with a combined capital of 17 billion Yen.

UQ Communications is a new company that says it is expanding its employee count to be able to maintain its aggressive wimax rollout plan. It’s majority shareholder KDDI is Japan’s second-largest mobile operator, with more than 15,000 employees and revenues of Yen3.6 trillion in the year ended March 2008. UQ Communications has received a licence for 30MHz of spectrum at 2.5GHz for a nationwide rollout during December 2007. Having received the only mobile WiMAX licence in Japan, UQ Communications is obliged to launch a service three years after the licence has been awarded, and provide 10% and 50% population coverage within 3 and 5 years respectively. UQ Communications will also be obliged to open up its network for third party service providers acting as MVNOs. There is increasing interest from potential MVNOs and that it is in discussion with several companies in the field.

As of July 2008, UQ Communications has not yet announced the number of installed base stations, but the company hopes to officially launch its 802.16e-2005 services during July 2009, after a commercial trial starting February 2009. The initial rollout will take place in Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya, covering 50% of the Japanese population, and will be followed by a nationwide rollout to cover 85% of the population by the end of 2011. The operator will then extend its coverage to fill-in blackspots by 2013.

Speaking at the WiMax Forum Congress Asia event held in Singapore, Takeshi Tanaka – president of UQ Communications – unveiled UQ’s upcoming wimax roll out plan in April 2009. He also criticized the existing 3g cellular internet capacity and the high early termination fees levied by mobile operators on customers wishing to exit their two-year 3G contracts. UQ has been achieving up to 16Mbps on the downlink and up to 3.9Mbps on the uplink since free trials of the wimax service began in February 2009. The trials are taking place in Tokyo, Yokohama and Kawasaki using 600 Samsung base stations. UQ is the first major mobile WiMAX operator to use FFR (fraactional frequency reuse), which can … Read the rest

Tatung

admin on September 23, 2009 | 3 comments

Tatung Telecom Corporation (TTC) is an affiliate of Tatung Company of Taiwan, a US$7 billion strong corporation that is one of the most prominent manufacturers in Asia. With headquarters in the heart of Silicon Valley, USA, and manufacturing facilities in Asia, TTC is defining, designing, manufacturing and marketing superior quality advanced telecommunications products.

Tatung InfoComm was formerly the Tatung Company’s WiMAX Business Unit, which charged with the “M-Taiwan (Mobile Taiwan)” project by the Industrial Development Bureau. The Taiwan Government issued an open call for WiMAX application proposals in 2007 and Tatung InfoComm was granted a WiMAX operation license to service the southern region of Taiwan, along with other Telecom companies including Global Mobile and FET, on November 19th, 2008.

TTC focuses on design and manufacturing of latest generation wireless local loop terminal equipments, wireless telemetry network systems, network management system used by service providers worldwide, intelligent PSTN and wireless payphones, VOIP products, public and private Internet access devices, and electronic payment solutions. TTC provides private label manufacturing to telecom authorities, major telecom equipment suppliers, telephone service providers and agents. By integrating with Tatung Group’s ISO 9001 certified manufacturing facilities, TTC capitalizes on an over 80-year tradition of manufacturing expertise and exacting quality control standards to maintain the precision and superior quality of its telecommunications products.

Tatung InfoComm recently announced its aim to solicit up to one million WiMAX subscribers in five years. The company will officially launch its commercial WiMAX service later this month starting in Penghu, a group of small islands west of Taiwan according to company chairman WS Lin. Tatung will then expand its service areas to include Kaohsiung area in July and to cover Hualien and Tatung areas in August, according to company president Peter Yen. Tatung will also continue to increase its investment in related WiMAX infrastructure with capex likely to exceed NT$5 billion (US$147.5 million) over the next three years. In addition to commercial WiMAX services in the Penghu islands, Tatung on April 21 also started official operation of a WiMAX network on the campus of Tatung University, an affiliate of the Tatung Group. Tatung’s WiMAX equipment partner Alcatel-Lucent helped set up the WiMAX network, the first to be established on a Taiwan campus. The network is intended to serve as a platform for R&D, like the one from Clearwire in Silicon Valley, and is accessible by more than 4,000 students and professors.

Milestones

2006… Read the rest

Huawei

admin on September 23, 2009 | 6 comments

Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. is the largest networking and telecommunications equipment supplier in China. It is headquartered in Longgang District, Shenzhen, Guangdong. Established in 1988 by Ren Zhengfei, Huawei Technologies is a private high-tech enterprise which specializes in research and development (R&D), production and marketing of communications equipments, and providing customized network solutions for telecom carriers. Since 2001 Huawei has started IEEE 802.16 standard tracking and key technology research and has contributed 5% core technology related patents.

Huawei’s WiMAX serves 35 of the top 50 telecoms operators including STC in Saudi Arabia, Vodacom in South Africa, Augere/FT in Pakistan, Telefonica in Morocco. The company puts 10% of revenue into R&D each year. In addition to the R&D centers in Shenzhen, Shanghai, Beijing, Nanjing, Xi’an, Chengdu, and Wuhan in China, Huawei also has R&D centers in Stockholm, Sweden; Dallas and Silicon Valley, U.S.; Bangalore, India; Ferbane in Offaly, Ireland; Moscow, Russia; Jakarta, Indonesia. There are more than 2000 engineers engaged in WiMAX R&D. Huawei provides various WiMAX solution including Base Stations, Network Management System and Customer Premises Equipment (CPEs). Huawei’s total number of WiMAX contracts had reached 31 in September 2008, ranking Huawei in first place for global WiMAX 16e commercial network contracts. Huawei also has become a major vendor in Europe, where it has won numerous contracts with players such as Vodafone and Orange. And Huawei has gained a foothold in Canada, where it is building third-generation networks for BCE Inc.’s Bell Canada and Telus Corp.

In March 2009, the Wimax Forum announced four new members to its Board of Directors including Thomas Lee, the Vice Director of the Industry Standards Department at Huawei.

Huawei said on June, 01 it expected a huge sales boost over the next 19 months from Wimax equipment sales overseas and the rollout of third generation (3G) networks domestically. “This year it will be around $500 million … and next year it should be around $1 billion,” said Zhao, who reckons sales will continue to grow rapidly in emerging markets where fixed line networks are poorly developed. The company only had about $150 million in Wimax equipment sales in 2007, but falling prices have put the maturing technology within the grasp of millions of users, said Zhao. “You can now find terminal prices of under $100,” he said. The price for such hardware — which allows broadband connections … Read the rest

Alvarion

admin on September 23, 2009 | 8 comments

Alvarion is a worldwide provider of WiMAX and wireless broadband network solutions with about 3 million units deployed in 150 countries, headquartered in Tel Aviv, Israel. The company has strategic relationships with Siemens, Alcatel- Lucent, Nera, and IBM. Alvarion was founded in 1992. It was formerly known as BreezeCOM, Ltd. and changed its name to Alvarion, Ltd. in 2001.

Alvarion’s products are designed to enable the delivery of personal mobile broadband, business and residential primary broadband access, corporate VPNs, toll quality telephony, mobile base station feeding, hotspot coverage extension, community interconnection and public safety communications. Leveraging its key roles in the IEEE and HiperMAN standards committees and with experience in deploying OFDM-based systems, Alvarion’s work in the WiMAX Forum™ is focused on increasing the widespread adoption of standard-based products in the wireless broadband market and leading the entire industry to Open WiMAX solutions.

In February 2009, Alvarion joined the Open Patent Alliance (OPA) along with other members of the WiMAX ecosystem to encourage healthy growth in the WiMAX market.

In May 2009, Alvarion began applying WiMAX technology to the development of smart grids through several pilot projects.

In June 2009, Alvarion announced that it was chosen by Mobitel to set up 802.16e WiMAX solutions to areas in Nigeria that lack sufficient Internet service. Alvarion planned to deploy WiMAX networks in two stages: first in the key Nigerian cities of Lagos, Port-Harcourt, Warri, and Abuja, and then in eighteen other states in the country. Mobitel used Alvarion’s BreezeMAX solution to bring voice and high-data services to the area by Q3 2009. Also in June 2009, Alvarion was selected by Hafslund to deploy Mobile WiMAX in Norway, and by Telikom PNG to deploy the first nation-wide Mobile WiMAX network in Papua New Guinea. Alvarion is expected to provide coverage for 1,500 Papua New Guinea users.

On June 15, 2009, Alvarion was chosen by GO Mobile to deploy a WiMAX network throughout Malta. GO Mobile used Alvarion’s 4Motion solution to roll out the network.

Significant Developments

Executives

Chairman – Anthony T. Maher

President and CEO – Tzvika (Tzvi) Friedman

President and CEO – Eran Gorev

CFO – Efrat Makov

VP Research and Development – Eli Bortman

Quick Facts

Formerly did business as: Breezecom Ltd.; Lannair Ltd

Company Type: Public – NASDAQ (GM): ALVR

Headquarters: Tel Aviv, Israel

Employees: 976 (in 2008)

Year Of Founding or Change In Control: 1992… Read the rest

Sprint Smartphone to Utilize Google Android OS

admin on September 22, 2009 | 2 comments

google-sprint

According to PC World, Sprint will launch a smartphone in late 2010 that will run on Google’s Android operation system.

Sprint‘s VP of device and technology department, Mathew Oommen, believes Google’s operating system is the best for this device. Downlink speeds for this device would average 2-4 Mbps, with the highest speed reaching 12 Mbps.

It is believed that Samsung who has released the WiMax-enabled Mondi earlier this year, may produce the new device.… Read the rest

What is Wimax?

admin on September 22, 2009 | 121 comments

.WiMax, also known as IEEE 802.16, is a wireless digital communications system that is intended for wireless "metropolitan area networks". WiMax is designed to extend local WiFi networks across greater distances, such as on a university campus.

The WiFi/802.11 wireless local area, which is the network standard, is limited in most cases to only about 100 to 300 feet; however, Wimax can provide broadband wireless access for up to 30 miles for fixed stations and 3 to 10 miles for mobile stations. WiMax allows for more efficient bandwidth use, interference avoidance, and is intended to allow higher data rates over longer distances.

The IEEE 802.16 standard defines the technical features of the communications protocol. The WiMAX Forum offers a means of testing manufacturer's equipment for compatibility, as well as an industry group dedicated to fostering the development and commercialization of the technology.

In the next five years, Wimax will have an enormous impact on the cellular markets, particularly that of third-world countries, as well as that of the United States. The cost-effectiveness of WiMax to that of preexisting systems is much higher. One application that can be used by cellular companies is WiMax's ability to serve as a high bandwidth "backhaul" for internet or cellular phone traffic from remote areas back to an Internet backbone; WiMax may be an answer to reducing the cost of T1/E1 backhaul as well.

What will wimax services offer to the average consumer ?

WiMAX networks will provide broadband connectivity and mobile Internet anytime, anywhere, for any device and on any network with substantial increasing data speeds for applications to include online gaming, streaming video, video conferencing, VoIP and location based services.

In the U.S., Mobile WiMax services from Sprint and Clearwire will reach more than 150 million consumers by year end 2010. In rural areas, WiMAX technology will establish an affordable and efficient broadband network. The purchase and installation process of WiMAX technology is faster, simpler and cheaper than other offered solutions. Additionally, wimax can provide coverage despite the challenges of geography and the limited footprint of wireline-based solutions. In developing countries, WiMAX technology provides the opportunity to connect people with Internet and VOIP services faster and more affordably than wireline technology.

What is the speed of wimax for end users ?

Users can expect to have broadband access speeds ranging from 1-5 Mbps depending on the service … Read the rest

WiMAX Deployment in Africa

admin on September 22, 2009

WiMAX Deployment in Africa

In the recent years, Africa has truly proved itself as one of the leading suppliers of the WiMAX industry. AccessKenya is one of the largest WiMAX networks in East Africa. They provide wireless broadband for residential use in the cities of Nairobi and Mombasa in Kenya. MTN Uganda has made it their goal to provide countrywide WiMAX access in Uganda, and has already installed several operating networks.

The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA), which regulates telecommunications in South Africa, issued four licenses for commercial WiMAX services to the Internet Service Providers iBurst, Sentech, Neotel, and Telkom. South Africa currently hosts a few scattered operational WiMAX networks, but with the issuance of these licenses, the country is expected see many more networks appear in the upcoming months. Delays in the award of licenses for providing WiMAX services and the limited roll-out of services that have been licensed has resulted in dampening of its potential impact. Only those companies that have already deployed WiMAX have appreciated its impact. These companies are all using Telkom’s scaled down version of wimax. According to studies conducted in 2008, 8% of corporations in South Africa have adopted WiMAX options as part of their connectivity mix in 2007 but they did not use wimax as a preferred form of connectivity and deployed it where no other options were available, such as in rural areas or areas with rough terrain.

In Angola, MSTelcom has deployed a WiMAX network to blanket over half of Luanda with broadband Internet service. In Nigeria, Galaxy Wireless Communications Limited has launched the country’s first Mobile broadband service based on the IEEE 802.16e standard. XS Broadband is also a major contributor to the installment of WiMAX in Nigeria and currently holds licenses for 24 of the 36 Nigerian states. The Middle East and Africa were the fastest growing regions for WiMAX in 2008.… Read the rest

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