The Status of WiMAX

Wide scale mobile WiMAX deployments will start globally in 2008 with collaboration from service providers, infrastructure equipment vendors, and device and PC OEMs. Soon Wi-Fi and WiMAX will be integrated together on the lapotop to deliver cost effective, high speed broadband on the go. Korea is at the vanguard of this revolution having already deployed their version of WiMAX dubbed "WiBro". Other high profile WiMAX announcements have come from Taiwan, Japan, and Europe.

Several OEMs such as Acer, Asus, Lenovo, Panasonic, and Toshiba have announced embedded WiMAX into their next generation PCs. The integrated Wi-Fi/WiMAX module will have advanced multiple input/multiple output (MIMO) antenna technology and multi-band radio support. It supports the IEEE 802.16e Mobile WiMAX and IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n air interfaces and will be available in a variety of form factors.

Asus announced at CES 2008 that it will adopt WiMAX in its VX2 and U6 notebooks in addition to the enterprise class V1, UMPC R50A and mainstream F88. The next generation Eee PC will also have built-in WiMAX. In total, WiMAX will comprise 15% of its self-branded notebooks. Prices will begin from under $1,000. Asus predicts that 20% of notebook users will start using WiMAX by 2009.

WiMAX will bring about a new business model that enables low-cost embedded devices and provides low-cost and flexible service plans for consumers. It takes advantage of new spectrum and open Internet access while spurring new activation and distribution models. The technical benefits of WiMAX features use of a flat and simple all IP-based infrastructure. Operatiors will therefore have the increased ability to pick and choose interoperable and standards-based equipment which will eliminate proprietary premiums and lower deployment costs. WiMAX IEEE 802.16e is based on OFDMA, which enables advanced antenna solutions, multi-megabit bandwidth, spectral efficiency, and volume economics.

The performance of this new technology will benefit greatly from MIMO antenna technology. The general goal of WiMAX is to provide users with mobile boradband throughput comparable to typical throughput at home with DSL broadband. The key additional benefit here is the mobility while not comprimising throughput. Maximum download speeds of 10Mbps for wide area connectivity and up to 450Mbps for local Wi-Fi connectivity. These throughputs are based on theoretical maximums achievable in a zero path loss or free space environment. In practical use, wireless systems tend to deliver ~30% of this throughput.

How will WiMAX modules affect the form factor of laptops? Since OEMs will use an integrated Wi-Fi and WiMAX module on a single or half MiniCard, there will be no additional laptop real estate required. Hence no compromise of the overall laptop will be necessary thereby preserving the most critically desirable feature of mobile notebooks.