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Re: Another Minority tech Actually WiMAX is planned for unlicensed spectrum too but it will show up in licensed first. In the US, Sprint and Clearwire own the bulk of 2.5Ghz spectrum but there are other smaller players already deploying in that range in Madison, MO, TX and other smaller areas. But WiMAX is also targeted at other spectrums. WiMAX also has profiles for 2.3 and 3.5Ghz. 700mhz may be added. And then unlicensed may eventually come.
Sprint/Clearwire don't control WiMAX in the US, they just control 2.5Ghz spectrum in some markets. WiMAX isn't just about 2.5Ghz so isn't just about Sprint/Clearwire.
There will likely be other WiMAX providers in the US down the road even if the major carriers don't go for it.
The challenge will be to get WiMAX chipsets that support all possible spectrums. | |
patcat88
join:2002-04-05
Jamaica, NY
kudos:1 | said by xenophon:The challenge will be to get WiMAX chipsets that support all possible spectrums. If Intel's first Wimax laptops don't have support for unlicensed spectrum, you can kiss this being a free standard good bye. There will be no installed base of unlicensed spectrum client adapters. Something tells me Intel won't add unlicensed support until a couple revisions, and by then, the existing base of adapters out there will kill any chance unlicensed has. I am very very very worried about what frequencies Intel's chips will support. Since the determines what happens with Wimax market wise. If it only does 2.5ghz, you can be sure Wimax will become a synonym for Sprint like EVDO is for Sprint and Verizon (I don't trust Clearwire in going semi-national). Strategic business decisions already have laptops coming with EVDO and HSDPA cards locked to carriers inside them. Each card that goes out with a laptop, will be highly likely to be activated by Joe Six Pack out of convenience if he decides to get a mobile broadband service.
Sure one day Wimax maybe used by small indie WISPs on unlicensed spectrum, but that will be non-Intel chipsets, and might as well be declared proprietary equipment (and it basically is), since a consumer will have to purchase it, and it might be difficult/impossible to find another provider for 10s/100s of miles that uses the same frequency band. And due to low volumes of unlicensed spectrum Wimax equipment, vendors are going to come out with proprietary "high speed modes" like wifi does today. Indie WISPs will require you buy a card that supports the mode so they can get more data over the same channels/their tower, and nobody will complain either, since its a special purchase anyways like any non-wifi fixed wireless product today.
Obviously Best Buy won't carry these special frequency/non-Intel wimax cards, and thats the market deathknell. Remember, businessmen control all technology rollouts, not geeks. So regardless of what the geeks that made the standard, say, want, try to force, it will be the CEOs who sign off on exactly what to do. Lots of/many features in standards that would be really nice, never get implemented, like SIM cards (called R-UIM) for CDMA (Verizon/Sprint/Alltel) phones. Its no technical reason, all CDMA providers outside North America use those cards, its a business reason why no North America provider uses them.
Time will tell what happens, I've tried to Google up what frequencies Intel will support, but since "use anywhere" Wimax is still vapor ware, I wasn't able to find anything. Pretty pathetic for a standard is supposed to come out 2 years ago, last, this, next year? Googling just now says »download.intel.com/network/conne···2250.pdf
quote:
When combined with the Intel® WiMAX Multi-Band Radio or thirdparty
RFICs, the Intel WiMAX Connection 2250 enables manufacturers
to create a broad range of WiMAX modems and residential
gateways.
Yep, we are going to run into a frequency war, and laptops are going to come with the frequency of the carrier who subsidized/co-branded the Wimax chip. Google doesn't say anything about this radio.
quote:
21. What frequencies will WiMAX technology operate on?
The WiMAX Forum operates in 2.3 – 2.7, 3.4- 6 and 5.8 GHz bands. The WiMAX Forum is working with operators and equipment manufacturers to expand the frequency allocation to cover all the key spectrum bands that our member companies identify as interesting to potential WiMAX service providers such as 700 MHz. For mobile applications, initial profiles have been developed for 2.3, 2.5, and 3.5 GHz. These are to address the current market demands. The WiMAX Forum has the ability to respond rapidly to development of additional profiles as additional spectrum is auctioned or markets change.
»www.wimaxforum.org/technology/faq/
Ok, thats it. My guesses are fact. 5.8 ghz is crap. Try wifi on it. Barly goes through anything, and I don't see why Wimax would be allowed higher transmit power than wifi. And since Intel isn't saying was frequencies, I can guess the Wimax Forum will be the defining body, since IEEE doesn't comment on frequency I belive. Unlicensed Wimax won't exist except as a intra-home WLAN standard competitor to wifi. | |
1 edit | Those are good points and it's possible that Intel could pull a power play and only support 2.5Ghz, which would favor Sprint/Clearwire and cut out many other players in same markets. But if someone wants to do WiMAX in 700mhz or other spectrum, Intel would be foolish to limit themselves to just 2.5Ghz. I don't see them limiting themselves.
Intel also needs global support and 2.5Ghz isn't the only spectrum in play globally.
So there's a chance some power playing will go on. That's common in all areas of the telcom industry. But there will still be opportunities for more WiMAX players in same markets and competition beyond Sprint/Clearwire in the US. Those two are just simply first in US.
Unlicensed spectrum could turn out to be niche like you said. It has interference issues with other devices, which they are still working on, so may have to be limited to smaller range.
So while you could say that licensed spectrum isn't as open as unlicensed, the WiMAX ecosystem targeting consumer products is clearly more open than the traditional telcom product controls. | |
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