The IEEE approved WiMAX 2 as a true 4G network standard. It will be the first commercially available true 4G service, expected by the end of 2011.
IEEE
Maravedis released the latest 4G statistics and according to 4G Counts their subsription service, it shows that BWA/WiMax subscriptions have increased by 560,000, making it about 4 million worldwide. Maravedis is an analyst firm focusing on disruptive technologies including smart networks using WiMax, IEEE, and 3GPP/LTE. Maravedis works with system and service providers, vendors, regulators, and institutional investors.
Some of 4G Counts’ quarter findings included:
- Clearwire USA continues to be the top BWA/WiMax operator in terms of the
number of subscribers. - Out of all BWA/WiMax CPEs deployed as of Q2 2009, 25% were 802.16-2004, 23% were 802.16e-2005, and 52% were vendor proprietary.
- 45 new devices obtained WiMax Forum certification from June to September 2009,
including 18 notebooks, 4 cards, 12 USB dongles, and 3 chipsets, among other
devices. - Of the top 35 mobile operators committed to LTE 37% are planning a commercial rollout in 2010, 29% in 2011, 25% in 2012, and 9% have yet to be confirmed.
Maravedis CEO and Founder, Adlane Fellah noted that “global service revenue growth is going up as WiMax operators experience increase in subscriber growth, and the gradual appreciation of most currencies against the US$”.… Read the rest
Government agencies and other organizations planning to use WiMAX networks can get technical advice on improving the security of their systems from a draft computer security guide prepared by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).
WiMAX is a wireless protocol that can cover an area that incorporates a few miles such as a campus or small town. It has a larger reach than the more familiar “WiFi” networks used in offices or homes, but smaller than wireless areas covered by cell phones. The technology, guided by standards issued by IEEE, originally was designed to provide last-mile broadband wireless access as an alternative to cable, digital subscriber line (DSL) or T1 service. In recent years its focus has shifted to provide a more cellular-like, mobile architecture to serve a broader audience.
WiMAX was used after the December 2004 tsunami in Aceh, Indonesia after the communication infrastructure was destroyed and also after Hurricane Katrina along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico.
Special Publication 800-127 “Guide to Security for WiMAX Technologies” discusses WiMAX technology’s topologies, components, certifications, security features and related security concerns. It covers the IEEE 802.16 standard for WiMAX and its evolution up to the 2009 version.
The main threat to WiMAX networks occurs when the radio links between WiMAX nodes are compromised. The systems are then susceptible to denial of service attacks, eavesdropping, message modification and resource misappropriation.
SP 800-127 recommends taking advantage of built-in security features to protect the data confidentiality on the network. It also suggests that organizations using WiMAX technology should:
- Develop a robust WiMAX security policy and enforce it.
- Pay particular attention to WiMAX technical countermeasure capabilities before implementing WiMAX technology.
- Use WiMAX technology that supports Extensible Authentication Protocol methods as recommended in NIST SP 800-120 (available here)
- Implement Federal Information Processing Standards-validated encryption to protect their data communications.
The draft version of NIST SP 800-127 is open for public comment through October 30, 2009. The document is available online at csrc.nist.gov. Comments should be addressed to 800-127comments@nist.gov with “Comments on Public Draft SP 800-127″ in the subject line.… Read the rest
The Open Patent Alliance has issued a call for patents in an effort to set up a WiMax patent pool. Via Licensing Corp. will act as administrator of the pool.
Via tried and failed to set up a WiMax patent pool about 18 months ago. The new effort is expected to fare better given OPA’s core members–Acer, Alcatel-Lucent, Alvarion, Cisco Systems, Clearwire, Huawei, Intel and Samsung–likely hold many WiMax patents. “We’ve done some analysis in that area,” said Yung Hahn, president of OPA. “We can accomplish our goals without getting everyone in the pool,” he said.
OPA hopes the pool makes it easier for WiMax companies to license the technology. They also hope the pool acts as a reference for WiMax licensing terms in any intellectual property disputes. Patent pools have established in technologies such as MPEG a track record of success. That has encouraged others such as the IEEE to explore setting up pools around its communications technologies.
“A pool makes sense where a technology is trying to gain market acceptance,” said Mike Mclean, a vice president at Semiconductor Insights. “It allows new entrants an easier path to license patents necessary to practice the technology, but obviously they will still need to deal with organizations outside of the pool enforcing patents in this space,” he added.
The OPA will publish on www.openpatentalliance.com details for submitting patents to be considered for the pool.… Read the rest
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 addition of these industry leaders to the board demonstrates their strong commitment to drive momentum for the adoption of WiMAX as a leading broadband wireless Internet technology of choice available today.” said Ron Resnick, president and chairman of the WiMAX Forum.
- Ali Tabassi is the senior vice president of global ecosystem and standards for Clearwire Corporation and has more than 20 years of experience in development, integration, and operation of wireless solutions in the telecommunications, networking, and IP industries. Mr. Tabassi is responsible for leading Clearwire’s industry standards, global advocacy, and intellectual property invention programs, and is also responsible for the company’s international network engineering and operations.
- Dave Williams is the senior vice president of wireless technology at Comcast Cable and is responsible for the evaluation and strategy of wireless technology solutions. Additionally, his expertise serves the boards of the GSM Association, Vantage Point, and Bubble Motion, Femto Forum and now the WiMAX Forum.
- As the Vice Director of the Industry Standards Department at Huawei, Thomas Lee is responsible for policies on 3GPP, IEEE, WiMAX, ITU-R WP5D (past as WP8F), NGMN and 3GPP2. He has worked at Huawei for 12 years, with experiences on Wireless product Development, R&D information system and document center management, business re-engineering of R&D processes, standardization and corporate strategy. He is a member of IEEE-SA Corporate Advisory Group (CaG) in 2007-2009, as well as a member of IEEE-SA BoG International Ad Hoc in 2009.
- Dr. Bao-Shuh Paul Lin is the vice president and general director of the Information and Communications Research Laboratories (ICL), at Taiwan’s Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI). He also directs the Committee of Communication Industry Development in Taiwan’s Ministry of Economic Affairs. An IEEE Fellow and influential participant in the industrial technical policy arena, Dr. Lin has been actively involved in launching the National Technology Development Programs in Taiwan.
The WiMAX Forum’s membership base represents a WiMAX ecosystem which supports the more than 455 WiMAX network deployments in 135 countries. Other members of the WiMAX Forum Board include: Airspan Networks, Alcatel-Lucent, Alvarion, Aperto Networks, British Telecom, Fujitsu, … Read the rest
Proxim is First to Break the 300 Mbps Speed Barrier for 802.11n Solutions, Enabling WLAN Networks at Half the Cost.
With the introduction of its ORiNOCO 802.11n product line, Proxim Wireless is announcing the availability of the industry’s first 802.11n solution to achieve 320 Mbps of throughput with a dualradio solution. In addition, Proxim’s new 802.11n products have been designed to be customerfriendly and overcome the barriers of cost and complexity faced by competing products to deliver 802.11n networks at half the price of existing WLANs. With Proxim’s ORiNOCO® AP-8000 and AP- 800 802.11n access points, organizations of all sizes can achieve higher performance than their existing wired and wireless LANs while avoiding the costly controller upgrades, deployment challenges, and additional network planning that have deterred enterprises from upgrading to 802.11n. IEEE 802.11n is the next generation of the Wi-Fi standard. The primary advantages of 802.11n compliant products are significantly higher throughput and longer range. With the advent of 802.11n technology, the truly unwired enterprise is possible.
Here are the main applications of the Proxim Wireless ORiNOCO 802.11n product line :
- Security and Surveillance : High definition IP-surveillance cameras for monitoring city streets, airports, bridges, seaports, transportation hubs, offices and warehouses
- Enterprise : Enable office workers to be mobile while delivering greater throughput performance than at their desks
- Healthcare : High resolution image files can be transferred with safety and higher speeds than wired networks
- Hotspots : Video and high-speed broadband access solutions for municipalities, public access and local businesses
