It appears to be that Sprint will no longer be offering Blackberry maker Research in Motion’s 4G-enabled Playbook, which the duo first announced at the Consumer Electronics Show back in January of this year.
Mobile WiMAX
Let us do a quick review of a typical WiMAX network architecture: Essentially, the MS (member station)/SS (subscriber station) is on one side, and the BS (base station), ASN (Access Service Network) Gateway, CSN (Connectivity Service Network: HA(home agent), AAA, etc.) is on the other side. Please remember the following common interface terminologies: the air-interface between the MS to BS is termed R1, the interface between MS to CSN is R2, BS to ASN is R6, ASN to CSN is R3, ASN to another ASN is R4 and CSN to another operator’s CSN is R5. Next, we provide a simplistic summary of the network entry and initialization process: Phase a) the MS scans the DL channel and synchronizes with the BS, Phase b) transmit parameters are obtained, Phase c)
The Indonesian Telecommunications Regulatory Body is considering changing telecom rules to allow WiMAX license holders to upgrade to mobile WiMAX. The organization postponed its decision to reverse a ban on the technology. Operators and growth were stagnant because of the fixed WiMAX technology.
ITRB granted the licenses in 2009. Since the beginning, lobbyists have argued that the fixed WiMAX option is marred by poor coverage and interference in rural and urban areas.
“We are still [contemplating] how to accelerate 2.3GHz operators so they can be commercial,” ITRB commissioner Heru Sutadi said ,”We have got a lot of input from operators and vendors, so we will study the input to consider any policy we can issue so all BWA 2.3GHz operators can sell their product as soon as possible.”
Telkom, Indosat, Internux, First Media, Jasnita, Berca, Indonesia WiMAX Consortium and WiMAX Indonesia all own spectrum space to launch WiMAX in the country. Operators are also asking the regulator to free up spectrum space in the 2.5GHz to make it available for WiMAX or LTE. The operator is also exploring ways to expand current 3G offerings, along with figuring out which frequencies can deploy various 4G technologies.
Nokia Siemens Network recently demonstrated LTE in Jakarta and three other mobile operators are ready to deploy the technology if the spectrum space is released by 2013.… Read the rest
Once again, history in broadband wireless for PC communications was made in Kiev, Ukraine on the week of May 24th, 2010 with the official launching of Intel’s embedded Mobile WiMAX solution by Freshtel. Intel Corporation in conjunction with Freshtel partnered up to demonstrate several WiMAX-Ready PCs containing Intel’s silicon ingredients (Intel Core Ix Processor for Notebooks, Intel Atom N4xx Processor for Netbooks and Intel(R) Centrino(R) Advanced-N + WiMAX 6250 for Mobile Broadand). One week later, Intel showed off its latest processor technologies embedded inside a variety of standard/ultra-low – voltage notebooks, standard/sleek netbooks and standard/slate tablets (e.g. JooJoo Slate Tablet, Network Navigator NAV9, etc.) at Computex 2010 in Taipei, Taiwan.
Using Intel’s processing power, a variety of dazzling applications were demonstrated: e.g. 3D video, augmented reality, Intel Wireless Display, Intel(R) My WiFi Technology, MeeGo, etc. at several booths which comprised the impressive Intel pavilion. Taking center stage inside the Intel Pavilion was one of the Intel Mobility booths – this particular one was dedicated to demonstrating live WiMAX using a slew of PCs available in the market (Lenovo Thinkpad T410 Notebook (Intel® Core™ i5 CPU M520 @ 2.40GHz w/NVIDIA NVS 3100M), Lenovo Thinkpad T510 Notebook (Intel Core i7 CPU M620 @ 2.67GHz w/ Graphics Media Accelerator HD), Lenovo Thinkpad X201S Notebook (VMAX- Certified), Acer Aspire 5745 Notebook, MSI U135 Netbook (Intel Atom CPU N450 @ 1.66GHz/1.67GHz), ASUS EeePC 1001PG Netbook (VMAX – Certified, Intel Atom CPU N450 @ 1.66GHz/1.67GHz), Dell Inspiron Mini 1012 Netbook (Intel® Atom™ CPU N450 @ 1.66GHz/1.67GHz), 2Go Classmate PC E10 Netbook (technology demo, Intel® Atom™ CPU N450 @ 1.66GHz/1.67GHz), and Samsung NP-N210 Netbook (Intel® Atom™ CPU N450 @ 1.66GHz/1.67GHz)).
The WiMAX-Enabled Dell Inspiron Mini 1012 and Toshiba Satellite U505 can both be purchased @ Best Buy inside the US. All PCs contained the Intel 6250 WiMAX PCI Express Mini card – with one set of PCs (Lenovo, Samsung, MSI) connected to an in-pavilion Alvarion WiMAX Base Station @ 3.5GHz channel frequency, whereas the others (Dell, Acer, 2Go, ASUS) were connected to the extended VMAX network (in-pavilion Samsung WiMAX Base Station) @ 2.5GHz. The emphasis here was to show the global frequency support of Intel’s embedded WiMAX solution. A large high definition display showed off some killer applications requiring WiMAX‘s broadband pipe: e.g. Livecasting from Taipei’s VMAX network, Livecasting from Portland’s CLEAR network (Tri-Met trains) and Microsoft IIS Smooth Streaming of Big Buck … Read the rest
Huawei is using Sequans latest chip set in developing the latest mobile WiMAX devices. Sequans also announced that Accton Wireless Broadband has adopted Sequan’s chips for their latest mobile WiMAX devices. AWB’s latest devices include a USB dongle and two access devices.
Sequans’ SQN 1200 series chips work on 65 nm technology and five years of field testing and research. The Sequans’ patented dual transmit uplink technology improves coverage and throughput. The chip provides throughput of greater than 40 Mbps. The chips cover all three of the global WiMAX bands.
The AWB USB dongle is a top-of-the-line WiMAX device that delivers powerful benefits to mobile operators. The device delivers better link budget, improving the cell coverage and greatly improved network entry performance. For the consumer, it provides a great signal indoors and better throughput for data.
“Sequans’ advanced chip technology, including their powerful dual transmit uplink technology, contributes significantly to the high performance-over-cost value proposition of our WiMAX devices,” Ray Lee, president of AWB, said, “Sequans is one of the key strategic partners of AWB and our collaboration enriches the product line that addresses demand for Sequans support among our operator customers.”
The AWB IADs come with Ethernet and VoIP connects in a one package. The indoor model is simple to install for users. The IADs supports both line-of-sight and non-line-of-sight, 2X2 MIMO. It’s dual-image software upgrade recovery mechanism, network discovery and selection makes the device
All of the devices, from both Huawei and AWB will be on display at Computex Taipei from June 1-5. It’s a great opportunity to see the latest and greatest for mobile WiMAX. WiMAX devices will drive the international market. Huawei leads the way in WiMAX deployments. They’ve help deploy over 60 WiMAX networks worldwide.… Read the rest
Gemtek’s latest mobile WiMAX customer premise equipment for mobile is based on Sequans WiMAX chip. The solution will be deployed on BSNL’s WiMAX network in India.
“Gemtek’s new CPE is a powerful solution that will eventually serve millions in India with Mobile WiMAX service,” Sequans CEO Georges Karam said, . “Our technology contributes to the high performance of the device and the efficiency of the entire BSNL network, and we are pleased to collaborate with Gemtek on this important project.”
The WiMAX network deployed by BSNL will be the biggest network worldwide. It will cover several states and consist of 7000 base stations. The WIXS-181 outdoor device works on the 2.5GHz frequency. The equipment will be displayed during WiMAX Taipei 2010 from June 1-5 at the Taipei World Trade Center.
It’s great to see BSNL sticking with WiMAX. The Indian national telecom wants to deploy WiMAX because they are first to deploy WiMAX. The auction for other operators starts on May 26. Sequans chips are very powerful and do a great job with backhaul and creating WiMAX devices that people want to see. It’s also important to see the development of WiMAX in India. They are an important market for the future of the technology.… Read the rest
Kyocera Corporation has recently completed interoperability testing of its WiMAX pico base station. It has used the Access Services Network Gate on the ASR5000 from Cisco.
Kyocera can now provide end-to-end WiMAX solution for mobile WiMAX operators. Enhanced indoor coverage is an important part in maintaining existing customers.
The company is now producing two types of MIMO-based WiMAX regenerative repeaters. Public Repeaters are used for large and medium-sized office buildings and home/SME repeaters for resident-use and small and medium enterprises. Kyocera is also developing a indoor base station named the “Super Picocell Base Station” for high data traffic consumption.
Since 1995, Kyocera has manufactured and shipped more than 634,000 base stations for CDMA, PHS and other cellular technologies. Kyocera has been working with UQ Communications in developing indoor solutions for mobile WiMAX.
Kyocera’s infrastructure business began in 1995, and the company has since manufactured and shipped more than 634,000 base stations installed globally using PHS, CDMA and iBurst technologies. In the WiMAX field, Kyocera has been closely working with UQ Communications Inc. — the first mobile WiMAX operator in Japan — to develop optimal indoor solutions for mobile WiMAX.
Kyocera is entering the WiMAX base station market a little late. Motorola seems to be ahead of Kyocera in developing base station technology. Kyocera’s base stations will find a niche market, but like the cell phone market, Kyocera seems to be far behind its top competition.… Read the rest
Alem Communications and Samsung Electronics struck a deal to have Samsung supply Alem with a complete mobile WiMAX network. Digital TV, an Alem subsidiary launched its first commercial mobile WiMAX in Almaty, Kazakhstan on May 1.
Samsung provided its field-proven 2.5 GHz mobile WiMAX solution. They’ve installed base stations, service network gateways and other service-related equipment.
“”We’re very pleased to partner with Samsung, an industry-leading mobile WiMAX provider, to bring true mobile broadband services to our customers in Kazakhstan,” Grigory Grigorov, CEO of Alem Communications, said, “We are confident that mobile WiMAX will enrich the Kazakhstani people’s access to information and communications and provide a more efficient environment for Kazakhstan’s business community.”
Alem Communications will deploy mobile WiMAX in several other Kazakhstan cities, including the capital of Astana. Mobile WiMAX provides mobility options that aren’t available in fixed WiMAX applications. USB dongles, along with WiMAX-enabled laptops will be available to the Kazakhstani people. Grigorov is right about the e-learning possibilities, and it will give users the opportunity to grow through wireless internet technology. There are also opportunities for smart grids and other technology that enables municipalities to monitor water meters, the electrical grid and live cameras at busy intersections.… Read the rest
Since the first historical mobile WiMAX network deployment by Clear over a year ago, there have been more than 600 WiMAX networks worldwide which have either commercially launched or have entered into a planning/pre-deployment stage. For new devices (WiMAX Forum Certified or other devices) entering a Greenfield network, or for new devices entering an existing live mobile WiMAX network, the network operator, the device manufacturer or both need to comply with the WiMAX Forum defined Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) requirements. The same mandate applies to existing fixed WiMAX (IEEE802.16-2004 or 802.16d) network deployments worldwide that plan on upgrading to a mobile WiMAX (IEEE802.16e-2005 or 802.16e) network infrastructure. PKI utilizes X.509 digital certificates and their respective keys to correctly identify the devices and servers [AAA (Authentication, Authorization, and Accounting)], as well as to mutually authenticate within the mobile WiMAX network. The proper format and use of the X.509 certificates are described in the IETF RFC3280 document with the cryptographic algorithms located in the PKCS#1-PKCS#13 specifications (http://grouper.ieee.org/groups/1363/) devised and published at RSA Security. Verisign is the leading source for the Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) Certificate Authority (CA) as well as the sole entity for the processing of WiMAX Forum PKI certificate orders made by WiMAX operators.
Essentially, the operator and the device manufacturer are each tasked with configuring their respective AAA servers or devices with the proper WiMAX Forum® server certificates and device certificates, respectively – to ensure a successful EAP-TLS mutual certificate exchange between the server and the device. The certificate requirements summarized below are specific for the case of client devices (netbooks, notebooks, etc.) containing the Intel® Centrino® Advanced-N + WiMAX 6250 PCI Express Mini Card that will be conversing with the server. The AAA server should contain six added files: the AAA Server Certificate bundled together with the WiMAX Forum Server Subordinate CA Certificate, the AAA specific Private Key, and the WiMAX Forum Device Root (CA) Certificates inside the “Trusted Store” (WiMAX Device Root (for Intel IT Flex), the WiMAX Device Root CA1 (for Verisign), and the WiMAX Device Root CA2 (for Motorola). The operator has to generate the AAA Private Key as part of the Certificate Signing Request Form (CSR), and the CSR (containing the AAA Private Key) has to be submitted to VeriSign. Upon processing the submission, VeriSign will provide the Scuba and the AAA Server Certificate to the operator. On the client … Read the rest
Ecoweb will start WiMAX services in Zimbabwe. 100 base stations will be deployed in Zimbabwe that will target the main business centers. The deployment will start in April 2010.
WiMAX would enable Zimbabwe to get on par with first world countries with the high speed wireless connection it would provide. Users would be able to access the internet using laptops, netbooks, gaming devices, cameras, camcorders and other equipment that supports mobile WiMAX. USB dongles can be plugged into a computer or laptop that aren’t WiMAX-enabled.
Providing Internet in places where hard line connections couldn’t reach before means that an entire generation of children and people will learn through high speed Internet. WiMAX will enable a type of learning, previously unavailable, that will change the way the country thinks through increased knowledge and awareness of world affairs and access to resources.
Photo Courtesy of Aluka Digital Library via Flickr… Read the rest
