WiMAX Technology

WiMAX, the Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access, is based upon the IEEE 802.16 standard enabling the delivery of wireless broadband services anytime, anywhere.

WiMAX products can accommodate fixed and mobile usage models. The IEEE 802.16 standard was developed to deliver non-line-of-sight (LoS) connectivity between a subscriber station and base station with typical cell radius of 3 to 10 kilometers.

All base stations and subscriber stations claiming to be WiMAX compliant must go through a rigorous WiMAX Forum Certified testing process.

As the exclusive organization dedicated to certifying the interoperability of products based upon IEEE 802.16/ETSI Hyperman, the WiMAX Forum defines and conducts conformance and interoperability testing to ensure that different vendor systems work seamlessly with one another. Those that pass conformance and interoperability testing will receive the WiMAX Forum Certified designation.

Vendors claiming their equipment is “WiMAX-like,” WiMAX-compliant,” etc., are not WiMAX Forum Certified, which means that their equipment is not independently certified to be interoperable with other vendors’ equipment and operators are encouraged to be wary of this type of claim. Only look at the Wi-Fi claims of 802.11n to understand the potential problem should an operator who purchases WiMAX like products from one vendor and decide to switch to another vendor. Only WiMAX Forum Certified equipment is proven interoperable with other vendors’ equipment that is also WiMAX Forum Certified.

WiMAX Forum Certified systems can be expected to deliver capacity of up to 40 Mbps per channel. This is enough bandwidth to simultaneously support hundreds of businesses with T-1 speed connectivity and thousands of residences with DSL speed connectivity.

The WiMAX Forum expects mobile network deployments to provide up to 15 Mbps of capacity within a typical cell radius of up to 3 kilometers. WiMAX technology already has been incorporated in notebook computers and PDAs to deliver high speed mobile Internet services anytime, anywhere.