WiMAX isn't a perfect technology. Still, it holds promise in some applications to help narrow the 'digital divide' in rural markets.

What is WiMAX and what will it mean for me? I hear the question frequently from people in information technology and telecommunications, as well as business people.

WiMAX is touted as the tool that will bridge the “digital divide,” that lack of affordable telecommunication infrastructure that's critical to future economic and social development of a community, region or nation. The United Nations is pushing for access to broadband across borders. Its challenge, “Information Society for All,” resulted from the World Summit on the Information Society in 2003.

A driving reason for the development of WiMAX is its potential to reduce the cost and time to deploy and sustain high bandwidth access to phone, video and data networks to areas too remote for traditional wired telecommunication. This is not just a third world issue; we have communities in our own region that are grossly under served. We may have dial-up access or even a form of DSL or cable. But without the ability to achieve speeds higher than 2Mb/s download and 256kb/s upload, we will never be able to use new tools available.

WiMAX pros, cons

The advantages of WiMAX are widely noted:

o A single station can serve hundreds of users.

o Endpoints can be installed far faster than wired connections.

o Data rates as high as 280Mb/s and

distances up to 30 miles are possible.

o Users can operate mobile within three to five miles of a base station at up to 75Mb/s.

o No Federal Communications Commission (FCC) licensing is required for its use.

o It is a Worldwide standard and same frequency equipment should work together.

There also are disadvantages:

o Line of site is required for connections five miles or further.

o Rain and weather can disrupt the service.

o Other wireless equipment in the

vicinity can interfere with WiMAX.

o Multiple frequencies will be used to deploy WiMAX.

o WiMAX is a power intensive

technology and requires strong

electrical support.

o Realities of WiMAX data rates are more like 72Mb/s, less as you add distance.

The applications of WiMAX will be different for every provider and user of the technology. Some will use it as a replacement of copper lines; some for backhaul to a central point; others will simply use the longer distance instead of Wi-Fi. Its deployment should prompt competition and competitive rates among the Incumbent (ILEC) and competitive local exchange carriers (CLEC).

Voice, Video and Data are the telecommunication “holy grail.” To offer all three locks in the customer to the content provider and allows for a simpler system for the user.

But very few of us have access to the needed bandwidth on our connections to support all three modes. And many providers in our region have no plans to expand their networks, nor carry the cost to upgrade small, rural communities without significant subsidy or motivation. Even with these communication and entertainment tools, the main reason high speed wireless has been deployed to date is to provide a network for security cameras and monitoring equipment.

Nevertheless, pre-specification WiMAX supported the telecommunications destroyed in the 2004 tsunami in Indonesia and by hurricanes Katrina and Rita along the Gulf Coast last August. Many wireless solutions providers, manufacturers, telecom, public and private companies fought through the federal roadblocks to establish a makeshift network that supported hospitals, municipal agencies, volunteer organizations and even the much-maligned federal natural disaster response agency, FEMA.

Clearwire, a national wireless access provider with service in Duluth, sent a team to the hurricane-ravaged area and established a network for FEMA, Red Cross and a medical center in Mississippi. It was imperative for these agencies to communicate with the outside.

Clearwire's technology has a natural progression to WiMAX and will move its network to WiMAX over time.

WiMAX has received mixed reviews from those putting the new technology into use in disaster areas and test systems. The main problems in these early deployments resulted from unstable power sources, and an unlicensed spectrum filled with providers installing their own networks. Other complications prompted the volunteers and support companies to switch from WiMAX (802.16) technology to WiFi (802.11) equipment to build and support the network.

In New Orleans, Mayor Ray Nigen wants a free wireless network deployed in the city's rebuilding. Technology specs haven't been determined, but WiMAX is widely expected to be used to connect areas within the city.

WiMAX is not commercially available yet; the delay in its release has been due to standards and the specifications that need to be agreed to by the WiMAX Forum before they are given to the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) for adoption as a standard.

The proposed WiMAX standard isn't as simple as it sounds. There will be separate standards for fixed wireless, mobile wireless, wireless management and access control.

The fixed wireless standard was approved recently, and equipment can move into certification. As a result, fixed wireless WiMAX equipment should be widely available before the end of 2006. Another group is working on the mobile wireless standard and it will complete its specifications soon.

Patrick Malley, general manager at Superior Broadband in Duluth, said 150 markets are being tested worldwide with the pre-certified WiMAX equipment, but his company will wait to evaluate the benefits until certified equipment is available from manufacturers. “WiMAX will benefit both the providers and end users when it comes available, and the customer equipment costs are below $250,” he said.

Meanwhile, a recent report by European communications consultant IDATE titled, “WiMAX: Ready for Deployment?” forecasts the worldwide WiMAX market will hit $3.5 billion by 2010. That's a 4 percent share of all broadband use. This growth will be driven by new equipment from an expanding list of hardware suppliers and an increasing number of WiMAX trials and deployments.

The report provides a comprehensive analysis of the current state and future prospects for the market built around WiMAX technology. Among its key findings:

o WiMAX has attracted many leading equipment manufacturers and component suppliers. Many are forming strategic partnerships.

o WiMAX systems and services are being evaluated and deployed in

suburban business districts that lack high quality DSL access; in urban markets to compete against DSL and broadband cable; and by wire-based carriers and Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to compete with mobile carriers.

o Worldwide, WiMAX systems can be deployed in a large number of licensed and unlicensed frequency bands.

o Delays in allocations and licensing by regulatory agencies, coupled with the lack of a common worldwide frequency band for WiMAX use, may slow market development.

Will WiMAX change the world? Its proponents certainly believe it will. Can we use it in our region right now, even as we contemplate fiber optic networks in some communities? Absolutely!

I've been a past critic of some of our telecom providers as slow moving and obstructive.

Of all the companies, they should realize the benefit of creating a WiMAX network to extend services too expensive to deploy wire line in our under served areas. If WiMAX can bring broadband communications to remote areas of Africa, it should serve us well in Northwest Wisconsin and Northeastern Minnesota.

Brian Fitzgerald is president of CcureIT (see-cure-eye-tea) in Moose Lake. He assesses risk, creates common sense IT policies, helps to integrate policy into business practices and tests technology to ensure security of data and other assets. He is a member of Northland Technology Consortium, Information Systems Security Assn. and InfraGard ®. You can reach him at info@CcureIT.com or 800.996.8251.

Useful Link:

WiMax Forum

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