The GSMA, comprised of 800+ mobile operators, called for Taiwan to quit developing WiMAX technology and focus on the development of LTE instead.
Intel
At this year’s GSMA MWC (GSM Association Mobile World Congress 2011) held at the Fira de Barcelona (Barcelona, Spain), Intel Corp exhibited a mosaic of momentous live technology demonstrations at their Hall 8 pavilion. Inside the pavilion there were several booths including Intel’s “Better Connected” booth which featured WiMAX and LTE demonstrations.
November 23-24 were
The many whispers concerning Intel’s WiMax intentions had grown to a deafening roar since the company had shuttered its Taiwan WiMax Program Office in June of this year. The Taiwanese government feared the industry bigwig was withdrawing their support for the format altogether, which didn’t sit well with President Ma Ying-jeou, seeing as his nation had just invested $220 million in related technologies and applications for the high-speed standard. With a nice chunk of that money sunk into Intel’s Taiwan efforts, the nation’s plans to stay the WiMax course would surely take a huge loss if that were the case.
Well, it’s time for Taiwan to exhale as all is well in their WiMax world. Intel’s CEO Paul Otellini met with the president recently to ensure him that his chip-making business was staying the course with the development of the wireless broadband technology within the country.
In a separate announcement, Intel’s director of advanced technical sales and services in the Asia-Pacific region endorsed the format saying, “Intel is fully committed to WiMax” and that “user demand” would determine WiMax’s future as opposed to Intel’s technological whims. So despite what their previous actions may have indicated, for the time being Taiwan need not fear–its investment is safe as long as Intel continues to say the right things.
Taiwan hopes their relationship with Intel can continue to grow into something as strong as the nation’s previous partnerships with mobile network equipment makers in Ericsson and fellow chip-makers at Qualcomm.
Just last month, Intel disbanded its offices in Taiwan, scaring investors in Taiwan that the future of WiMAX might not be so stable. Intel told investors that it was just a “normal process that takes place as new technologies mature”, but not everyone was convinced. Taiwanese companies make approximately 80% of WiMAX devices; their investment in the technology is estimated to be upwards of hundreds of millions of dollars. The potential damage to Taiwan’s economy could be devastating.
Today, however, Azimuth Systems, a company that provides testing for wireless solutions such as WiMAX and LTE, announced that Taiwan’s Institute for Information Industry has chosen to use the ACE™ MX MIMO channel emulator for the purposes of WiMAX testing. Azimuth publicized their press release earlier today with numerous statements about the quality of their products and services, but investors should see this for the good news that it is. Taiwan is continuing to work with WiMAX, even without the Intel local office. WiMAX technology is still flourishing in Taiwan.… Read the rest
TD-LTE, the latest standard of LTE, operates on TDD, or time division duplexing, the same way that WiMAX does. This would mean that they would share a bandwidth and spectrum. TDD is superior to LTE’s previous usage of FDD, or frequency division duplexing, because TDD uses unpaired spectrum channels and is able to split up work from uplink to downlink. This is much better for data because uplink/downlink rates [of action] are not fixed. FDD is better for mobile operators because uplink/downlink occurs on a paired spectrum channel and voice is symmetric in both directions.
Many companies, like Alvarion, use both TD-LTE and WiMAX because they run on the same spectrum and are therefore interchangeable in a way that both can be used by the same device. It would mean better 4G access for all companies that are smart enough to be using both technologies. Infrax just announced today th first upgradeable WiMAX/LTE base station. They seem to be getting at what most markets are looking for; people want the best everything and now they can get the best of both worlds.
Verizon, AT&T, and Sprint are the companies leading the way for this new product. They exude confidence during technology fairs concluding that the 4G revolution is upon us. They’ve developed products to help connect to the network such as portable modems, usb drives, and sim cards. They’ve even entitled their networks; Sprint’s being WIMAX (World-wide Interoperability for Microwave Access) while Verizon and AT&T’s shall be called LTE (Long Term Evolution). However, perhaps their confidence is missed guided and their promise of debuting in 2013 is unrealistic.
WIMAX developed by the Sprint and Clear companies respectively, seems to be losing ground in the United States amidst their attempt to bring WIMAX success domestically. Though they’ve raised 3.2 billion dollars in investments to produce the network, Sprint and Clear may have underestimated how expensive it is to blanket the country in connectivity. Sprint, the lesser of the three major telecommunications distributors in the country, may not have enough currency to continue production if the 3.2 billion isn’t enough, and investors Google, Time Warner, and Intel may grow weary of waiting and pull their investments early. Also those dependent on their WIMAX’s success is far less than those who are dependent on LTE”s success due to the fact that Verizon and AT&T are far larger companies. … Read the rest
InfoTel might choose WiMAX over LTE in deploying 4G broadband services across India, according to a recent report. Indian telecom operators are deciding between the two competing technologies after the spectrum auction netted $8.22 billion.
IntoTel was the lone operator that was awarded spectrum space across all of India. They will lead the way in deploying 4G in India. Broadband penetration is less than one percent and the subscriber base is merely nine million people. Large international companies support the different technologies. Qualcomm supports LTE deployment while Intel supports WiMAX deployment in India.
Reliance Industries purchased a 95 percent stake in Infotel for Rs4,800 crore. It was thought that the company would choose LTE. A senior RIL official hinted at choosing devices that supports both WiMAX and LTE. Many companies rushed to establish themselves as device suppliers for the network deployments. Samsung will offer the migration of WiMAX devices seamlessly to LTE once the technology is mature in the market.
“LTE is a technology that is a future technology. It is expected to come in two years. What is available today is WiMax,” Hung Song, vice-president, global sales and marketing, telecom systems, Samsung Electronics, said, “The answer is a natural progression.”
Samsung is the only company offering LTE devices to TeliaSonera’s Scandinavian network. DoCoMo and Verizon Wireless are two carriers set to launch LTE services in Japan and the U.S. respectively. AT&T gave equipment contracts to Alcatel-Lucent and Ericsson for LTE deployment in the U.S. in 2011.
This shows that LTE isn’t far off, but the market hasn’t matured. WiMAX is now and the speeds are faster and more available that the 3G signal provided to Indian broadband users. They’re hoping the equipment providers can provide the dual-mode devices that cover both technologies. It is something that would work in India. The market is so valuable for all involved, from the operators to the equipment suppliers to the end users, the technology choices could make the operators millions of dollars.
Other operators are waiting for RIL to make their decision. They’ll pace the rest of the operator field because they have such an advantage over the rest of the operators that were awarded spectrum space. It’s important to get the deployment right. They’ll probably start out deploying WiMAX first and then migrate to LTE over time. Clearwire is also planning the same transition in the U.S., … Read the rest
