West: Welcome to the Revolution
By Monica Alleven
CHICAGO—Noting that is was about 25 years ago that wireless pioneer Marty Cooper made the first cellular voice call in the Chicago area and started a revolution, Xohm head Barry West said this is the start of yet another revolution here in Chicago.
The site of WiMAX World this week, the city is among some of the first that will be launched by Sprint Nextel and its Xohm brand for WiMAX. West gave a progress report on Xohm's efforts, saying it has ordered 1,750 base stations for delivery this year and 20,000 antennas. The company is not building one network, but two: one for the coverage and the other for back haul, he said. The company remains on target for commercial launch in the second quarter of next year.
Meanwhile, West praised the progress that cellular voice has made over the past decades as it has become more affordable. But he also pointed out the millions of Internet users in the United States and the opportunities there for broadband.
As Intel's Sean Maloney said earlier in his presentation, the Wi-Fi experience presents coverage problems, and it's still problematic in terms of having to enter a credit card and figure out the maze of access points. The industry hasn't yet really solved the quality and availability pieces when it comes to Wi-Fi.
Sprint also has deployed its EV-DO network, and West noted that some will say that Sprint hasn't seen a network it doesn't like. The fact is, there isn't a network today that can do what Sprint and its partners intend to do with WiMAX, he added. The debate is now at the point where it is about how to make money. His team is focused on how to make the products simple, reliable and a great user experience. "We're working like dogs to do this, but it's happening," and it's evident in the exhibits at WiMAX World, he said.
West said he remembers when former PCS start-up executive George Schmidt said GSM stood for "God send mobiles" in the early days when handsets were catching up to networks. That's not going to be the case with WiMAX, he said, as the devices are coming at the same time as the network.
Sprint is encouraging device companies to sell into the market under their own brands, as well as striking deals direct with Sprint. "Can you imagine doing that in the 3G world?" he asked. That approach only works because it supports Sprint's business model, which calls for getting people to pay in advance on a 1-day, 1-week or other basis and keep coming back on their terms. Sprint is working with Amdocs and IBM on the back office to hammer out the billing issues.
Anritsu Shows Handheld Mobile WiMAX Test Solution
By Rhonda Wickham
Anritsu has leapt ahead by introducing the first Mobile WiMAX handheld test solution specifically designed for deploying, installing, and maintaining Mobile WiMAX networks. Using its BTS Master and Spectrum Master platforms, the Mobile WiMAX test capability provides field engineers and technicians with an accurate method for conducting RF, demodulation and over-the-air (OTA) measurements on WiMAX signals.
 The Mobile WiMAX measurement capability offers users three options when configuring the instrument: RF measurement, demodulator and OTA.
The Mobile WiMAX RF Measurements option can be used to measure the transmitted signal strength and signal shape of a transmitter. When configured with this option, the handheld analyzers conduct channel spectrum, power versus time (with 5 ms and 10 ms frame lengths) and ACPR measurements. RF summary screens also can be displayed.
The Mobile WiMAX Demodulator analyzes OFDMA signals and displays detailed measurements for evaluating transmitter modulation performance. The measurement screens that can be displayed are constellation (QPSK, 16 QAM, 64 QAM), spectral flatness, EVM versus subcarrier, EVM versus symbol, DL MAP with automatic decoding and modulation summary.
A channel power monitor measurement is part of the Mobile WiMAX OTA option and allows a specific channel's power over time and specified interval to be analyzed. This feature can be combined with a GPS feature so that measurement data can include GPS location and time data for plotting on a map.
All of the options can be used with the MT8222A BTS Master, and the Spectrum Master MS2721B, MS2723B, and MS2724B analyzers. The unit weighs less than 9 pounds.
Pricing of the options is $1,250 for the RF measurements, $1,875 for the OTA measurements, and $6,950 for the demodulator.
picoChip Adds New Partner
By Wireless Week Staff
picoChip has added Larsen & Toubro Infotech as a partner for its picoArray multi-core DSP.
Based in Mumbai, L&T Infotech will act as a development partner and will go into the market to try to get customers for picoChip's chips.
Working with L&T Infotech extends the skills base and the global reach of picoChip's design center program, says Guillaume d'Eyssautier, president and CEO of picoChip.
Saudi Arabian Operator Taps Oracle
By Monica Alleven
Oracle is at WiMAX World with a new customer announcement. The company supplied its billing and revenue management and Siebel CRM solution to Bayanat, a WiMAX network service provider in Saudi Arabia.
"We're seeing interest in WiMAX all over the world," says Brian Pawlus, director of product solutions within the Oracle Communications Global Business Unit based in Redwood Shores, Calif.
Bayanat was interested in being first to market with WiMAX services in its region. Speed of implementation was key, and Oracle is being used to set the foundation to expand the service provider's product portfolio, according to Pawlus. "It demonstrates Oracle's capability to provide a real end-to-end solution," he says.
In a statement, Bayanat Chief Information Officer Basem Asfoor said the service provider looked at other vendors, but Oracle's product superiority through scalable billing and real-time architecture is what it needed to face today's business challenges.
WiMAX Ecosystem Fraught with Complexity
By Rhonda Wickham
Whether you are an emerging country, an established wireless carrier or a targeted enterprise provider, developing the WiMAX ecosystem follows similar paths and has similar requirements. That was the conclusion of speakers on the WiMAX Ecosystem panel Tuesday afternoon.
"When we talk about the ecosystem, we need to focus on what kind of problem we are trying to solve here," said Bin Shin, vice president of broadband for Sprint Nextel.
He said the global WiMAX ecosystem is very complex including infrastructure, devices, power, government, devices and chips. He highlighted the need for applications. "The Internet is a great place to test and offer applications for consumers." When asked by audience members for specific examples of WiMAX applications using consumer electronics, Shen hedged.
"My key message is we need a true mobile broadband network to handle all of people's broadband needs," he said. We need an entire platform for emerging as well as developed countries, for fixed as well as mobile WiMAX," he said.
Neotec, a 6-year-old association established to research new technologies in the 2.5 GHz range, described similar needs for the delivery of WiMAX in Brazil. According to Jose Luiz Frauendorf, Neotec's president, countries without traditional infrastructure desperately need WiMAX. The country doesn't have an established landline service, it has limited cable service and no real Internet service. Operators there are looking to make a triple play of Internet, cable and pay TV.
Frauendorf said there is still plenty to address as it relates to delivery schedules. "We still need to do the interoperability tests even though equipment is due at the end of this year. We also need better economic, interference and throughput improvements, coverage improvements," he said. He also said there was a need to focus on CPE and devices as well as a need to focus on local production to support economic development.
Towerstream, a 7-year-old company, is aiming to offer wireless broadband to the enterprise, initially targeting the top 30 markets. Jeff Thompson, Towerstream's founder, president and CEO, said things are aligning nicely for his company's service because the U.S. "legacy system is falling apart and can't handle video." Because his company is faster to market than other traditional broadband suppliers, we can give enterprises what they need to support their businesses. Thompson said field trials have yielded 5.2 Mbps on the downlink and 3.8 Mbps on the uplink, which should prove the case for going wireless.
Internal Calibration Marks Atmel Transceiver
By Rhonda Wickham
Atmel has launched the third of its MAX-Link series of transceivers designed specifically for WiMAX applications. AT86RF525B and its predecessor, the AT86RF535B, use a proprietary internal calibration algorithm, which company representatives say eliminates the need for anexternal calibration circuit or calibration software.
The need for recalibration is critical, according to Jeff Leasure, Atmel's product line manager for the wireless connectivity unit. He said transistors and electronic components heat up when in use. As they heat up, the physical properties change. When it is hotter, circuits can pass more current and ultimately change the properties of the circuit. These changes in temperature, supply voltage or frequency during normal operation can cause RF performance degradation, requiring recalibration. Initial startup calibration captures mismatch effects resulting in lower local oscillator leakage and improved image rejection. The calibration routine is continuously performed between transmit and receive data frames, independent from the baseband and media access control (MAC) processor.
Atmel claims low component cost, low current consumption and a minimum of external components for the RF design. The frequency-agile, single-chip transceiver operates at 2.5GHz with multiple bandwidth options addressing the requirements of WiMAX base stations and subscriber equipment. Internal configuration and control registers can be programmed to integrate with new and existing baseband devices from different vendors.
The AT86RF525B is priced starting at $14.50 in quantities of 10,000.
MobileAccess Brings WiMAX Indoors
By Monica Alleven
In-building solutions provider MobileAccess is joining the WiMAX train, saying its multi-service in-building solution is now WiMAX-ready with a MIMO product introduction.
For enterprise users, WiMAX brings a lot of the benefits they see from Wi-Fi, but with a lot of the carrier-grade ingredients found in cellular, "so it's kind of the best of both worlds," says MobileAccess CEO Cathy Zatloukal.
Inherent in the WiMAX structure is a quality of service metric, which has been one of the challenges for Wi-Fi. MobileAccess sees that most prevalently in healthcare, where mission-critical applications may be competing for bandwidth with less critical applications.
MobileAccess' solution aims to change the economics of WiMAX and spur early adoption by providing high-quality indoor WiMAX performance and reducing deployment costs by up to 50%.
As for femtocells, MobileAccess doesn't view them as a competitive threat, according to Zatloukal. In terms of solutions for the enterprise, it allows for more targeting of the small and medium enterprises and remote office sites.
MobileAccess helps boost wireless coverage inside large public venues, such as airports, casinos, hospitals, office buildings, shopping malls and sports stadiums.
Tranzeo Targets Price, Performance
By Rhonda Wickham
Tranzeo Wireless Technologies' story at the show is about low cost and high performance. It is talking up its new family of 3.5 GHz and 5.8 GHz outdoor WiMAX subscriber units based on 802.16d.
The product family includes indoor and outdoor versions with a variety of antenna options for either residential or enterprise use. Its outdoor subscriber units for the 3.5GHz band come with 14dBi, 17dBi, and 20dBi antenna options and its indoor version incorporates an integrated 10dBi antenna. Its outdoor subscriber units for the 5.8GHz band come with 16dBi, 20dBi, or 24dBi antenna options, while its indoor version comes with an integrated 12dBi antenna.
Jim Tocher, CEO and president of Tranzeo, explains that the company aggressively priced its products for its customers and their business models. He indicated that the lower but competitive price points will enable an accelerated rollout of WiMAX networks.
The Canadian company believes that as wireless operators see improved return on investment, the WiMAX deployments will speed up. To aid in this endeavor, the company controls its costs and quality by manufacturing all of its own products in its state-of-the-art automated manufacturing facility.
The subscriber units can be upgraded and managed remotely and feature LEDs to visually indicate signal strength so that finding the optimal signal is as easy for users as it is with their home Wi-Fi routers. Both line-of-sight and non-line-of-sight point-to-multipoint operations are also possible.
The company claims the units can be installed by personnel with little or no training.
WiMAX World 2007 News Briefs
ArrayComm, Reef Point Systems, WiMAX Forum
• ArrayComm has signed agreements for funding with Merrill Lynch PCG and Ygomi. Each company purchased approximately $15 million in equity with an option for an additional $10 million. ArrayComm provides multi-antenna signal processing software for wireless systems.
• Earlier this month, Reef Point Systems joined the WiMAX Forum. Reef Point provides a wireless gateway that is access-technology independent. The WiMAX Forum has nearly 500 members to date, according to Ron Resnick, president of the WiMAX Forum.
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With the current economic climate, wireless operators face shrinking marketing budgets and reduced consumer spending.
Globally, the credit crunch is very much alive, and operators will be tightening their belts into the foreseeable future by putting off capital purchases.
