Broadband wireless technologies have continued to evolve to keep pace with the ever-growing demand for high-bandwidth data requirements and applications. Recognizing the importance of mobility, the WiMAX ForumTM released the mobile WiMAX profile in 2005 based on the IEEE 802.16e standard - providing full mobility in addition to fixed and nomadic broadband services.
While mobile WiMAX provided performance capabilities that far exceeded other standard technologies currently available to date, it still fell short of the International Telecom Union's (ITU) key requirements for consideration as an IMT advanced (4G) technology - specifically, providing downlink speeds of 100 Mbps in a wide area with high-mobility. Last October at the ITU Telecom World 2009 conference in Geneva, Switzerland, the WiMAX ForumTM and member companies announced their support of the IEEE's submission to the ITU of the 802.16m standard as a candidate for consideration as an IMT advanced technology. The WiMAX Forum also announced that WiMAX Release 2, which is based on the standard, would be finalized in parallel with 802.16m, to ensure that the next generation of WiMAX networks and devices will remain backward compatible with WiMAX networks based on 802.16e. (It's worth noting that the first release of LTE also does not meet ITU's definition as a 4G technology).
What is the Significance of 802.16m to Operators?
While 802.16m will provide increased performance for users, the main, driving factor for operators adopting the technology will be capacity. With more users with smartphones, tablets and other devices, wireless bandwidth will continue to grow.
In addition to capacity and performance advantages, 802.16m will be backward compatible with existing WiMAX networks, providing ease-of-mind for operators deploying networks today. Most mobile WiMAX operators can easily convert from 802.16e to 802.16m by updating some circuit plate units and software in their bases stations. All of the 802.16e units in the field will continue to work and customers will see no disruption in service.
"One of the most important aspects of the 802.16m networks will be the backwards compatibility with legacy systems," says Dave Marez with Cisco. "Because of this, operators don't have to wait for time to market to deploy their networks and they will never have to worry about "orphaning" their existing devices."
Read the full article on WiMAX Act 2: 802.16m Provides Evolution Path to 4G:
/Carl Townsend
Editor & President, WiMax.com
