Wimax Watch Us54 30 Sep05

WIMAX WATCH
The authoritative source of WiMAX information: real data, no hype

Volume 2, issue 6: September 30th 2005

AT&T bets on WiMAX in the large enterprise market 2
Broadband wireless rivals vye for mushrooming 3G backhaul market 10
Alcatel first to show WiMAX in an IMS 16
Standards process shows its failings in QoS 19

News Highlights: 22

DirecTV and Comcast pursuing WiMAX interests
Aperto kit deployed in Saudi Arabia
Telabria and BBC make live news broadcast over WiMAX

“
The reality is that WiMAX wireless link encryption
is actually more secure than traditional T1 and
DSL circuits
Sandy Brown, AT&T

”

WiMAX Watch

AT&T bets on WiMAX in the large enterprise market

• Large enterprise market for WiMAX has not attracted high attention
• AT&T largest carrier to center strategy on corporate sector
• Claims WiMAX beats leased lines on cost and availability
• Even sensitive issue of security is addressed
• Challenge to avoid conflicts with future parent SBC’s T1 business

Among the various markets touted for WiMAX, the large enter-
prise is the least talked about. For early stage WiMAX, the most
immediate markets are seen as last mile in underserved regions,
public safety, plus backhaul for cellular operators (see separate
item) and small to medium businesses (SMBs); while in the me-
dium term all the attention is on mobile access applications.
Large corporations are naturally cautious of new technologies
and have complex and high performance requirements that first
generation 802.16 may not meet, argue many. At least one major
operator begs to differ, and is seeking to build a significant busi-
ness around WiMAX for the enterprise – this is AT&T, which in
the run-up to its acquisition by Regional Bell operator SBC re-
mains as enthusiastic as ever about broadband wireless, although
its strategy has shifted somewhat to accommodate the priorities
of its parent-to-be.

Early adopters of pre-certified WiMAX technologies have been
heavily focused on the SMB sector. Until a low cost subscriber
unit emerges, and standards drive overall network costs down, it
is hard to create a business model for WiMAX as a consumer ac-
cess technology outside of areas that lack any cable or DSL
build-out. But large enterprises require capacity, support levels
and guarantees of quality and security that may be beyond the
scope of start-up providers, especially using first generation kit,
or that eat heavily into profit margins. The SMB, which is typi-
cally outgrowing DSL but daunted by the cost of leased lines for
its backhaul and access requirements, is a far more attractive

2 Copyright Rethink Research Associates 2005

WiMAX Watch

market in the short term, especially as premium rates can be
charged for services like VoIP and VPN. Companies like Tow-
erstream, NextWeb and Airband in the US or Libera in the UK
are examples of the importance of focusing early efforts on
SMBs.

AT&T’s plans:

For larger operators, of course, the grander scale of the big en-
terprise requirements is more appealing than selling to and sup-
porting large numbers of SMB clients, and the major providers
already have the skills and support systems in place for big pro-
jects. But their target customers remain cautious about new
technologies, particularly wireless ones, which always carry the
association – real or perceived – with poor security and reliabil-
ity. AT&T, in a recent briefing on its WiMAX strategy, came
out with the most aggressive statements of any operator to date
on the critical topic of security, claiming 802.16 lines are actu-
ally more secure than T1, and seeking to squash other percep-
tions of enterprise WiMAX that it believes are outdated or
wrong.
This is important for the carrier, which generates a large pro-
portion of its business from national and international enterprise
The focus on SMBs:
customers, offering them a wide range of managed services
early WiMAX markets
based on its extensive and modern fiber network, from redun- Source: WiMAX Forum
dant back-up to backhaul to high speed access and VoIP. All of
these, AT&T believes,

Copyright Rethink Research Associates 2005 3

WiMAX Watch

could be enhanced in price/performance, in many scenarios, by in-
cluding WiMAX in the technology mix. In particular – and despite
potential conflicts of interest with SBC – it is interested in WiMAX
as an alternative to T1 in the middle mile between its fiber and the
access. Just like the cellcos (see separate item), large enterprises are
trying to reduce their high outlay on leased telco lines for backhaul,
back-up and dedicated links between sites, at the same time as their
data bandwidth needs are exploding and they are getting serious
about VoIP.

Some will start to consider making a capital investment in wireless
equipment themselves, but most will be more interested in a man-
aged service from an operator that can access licensed spectrum for
improved quality of service (especially when access services are
included in the mix); can promise to upgrade its technology as Wi-
MAX goes through its rapid development curve of the coming three
years; and can integrate broadband wireless with other platforms
such as fiber and even emerging options like free space optics and
wireless fiber, to deliver the best cost/performance combination for
different sites with different priorities.

This is what AT&T aims to offer, ahead of most of its major rivals,
though other companies with significant international enterprise
services business are taking a similar interest – from European fiber
provider Colt to incumbents like British Telecom. AT&T’s advan-
tage while it remains independent from SBC is that it has few local
copper lines and so does not have the conflict of interest that the
Bell operators or a company like BT suffers by introducing wire-
less, which could cannibalize the highly profitable T1 business.

Indeed, AT&T’s original fascination with WiMAX sprang mainly
from its desire to cut the huge sums it spends itself each year on
paying Bell operators for access to their last mile networks. This
motive may be diluted by the SBC acquisition – even though
AT&T’s enterprise services business is likely to be run quite inde-
pendently – but it still holds true in non-SBC territories in the US
and abroad. And SBC, which is heavily focused on increasing its
large enterprise revenues, will appreciate that the sacrifice of some
T1 business may be a necessary corollary of providing a more inte-
grated and all-round service, based on a combination of technolo-
gies, to high value customers – and a means of preventing these
sites dumping T1 anyway and going to another provider altogether.


WiMAX Watch

Sprint Nextel, although its public plans for its 2.5GHz WiMAX
network are mainly focused on consumer access, will also see
opportunities to bolster its already significant enterprise presence
through broadband wireless, combined with its long lines. But for
now, AT&T is blazing the trail in this sector and highlighting
many important issues that need to be addressed before the enter-
prise is fully confident about WiMAX.

Security:

Most important of these is security. After the bad experiences
that companies had with Wi-Fi, which only this year achieved
corporate class security – with the addition of critical authentica-
tion and encryption mechanisms like AES – there is a general
assumption that wireless networks are unsafe. On the contrary,
says Sandy Brown, AT&T’s vice president for product manage-
ment – “the reality is that WiMAX wireless link encryption
(AES-CCM), coupled with end-to-end network security tech-
niques and Layer 2/3 encryption makes this connectivity actually
more secure than traditional T1 and DSL circuits.”
“
The reality is that Wi-
MAX wireless link en-
WiMAX is more inherently secure, in the base standard, than
cryption (AES-CCM),
Wi-Fi was and supports essential standards like AES from day
coupled with end-to-
one. Its main security issues revolve around the fact that AES
end network security
and other key methods are optional, rather than mandatory, in the
techniques and Layer
fixed version of the standard, although this will change with mo-
2/3 encryption makes
bile 802.16e. However, this concern is not one for the large enter-
this connectivity actu-
prise, which will have the knowhow, internally or through its ser-
ally more secure than
vices provider, to ensure that only equipment with the maximum
traditional T1 and
security levels is employed. The main problem for enterprise Wi-
DSL circuits
Fi, now that AES-compliant access points are widely available, is
Sandy Brown, AT&T
ensuring that all the client devices are up to date in security
terms. This is not an issue for WiMAX, since first stage sub-
scriber equipment for business needs to be corporately pur-
chased. By the time end users are bringing in their own WiMAX
kit in laptops or phones, the Forum should have made AES and
”
other key technologies mandatory.

Of course, 802.16 only specifies security for the physical and
media access portions of the network and, as with any network,
threats remain at the higher layers, including denial of service
attacks and viruses. This is one of the key selling points on which


WiMAX Watch

a managed network provider like AT&T seeks to attract cus-
tomers, promising not only an inherently secure network link
based on WiMAX, but the end-to-end security services a corpo-
rate provider can deliver, including IPsec secure tunnels be-
tween the customer premises and AT&T network edge.

Enterprise needs:

With that sensitive issue dealt with, AT&T turned to the rea-
sons why enterprise customers need to be thinking beyond T1.
It said the key demands of its corporate client base are higher
bandwidth for less cost because of exploding data access and
backhaul requirements. The main necessities are, it says:

• Cost effective access diversity for mission critical applica-
tions
• Reduction of costs without giving up bandwidth, or getting
more bandwidth.
• Fast provisioned access for disaster recovery.
• Shorter installation times for new lines.
• Reliable, secure access.
• A wider choice of technologies, both to increase price com-
petition and support a wider diversity of applications and con-
figurations.

WiMAX can support all these requirements in certain scenarios,
although, of course, its performance is limited compared to fi-
ber or wireless fiber alternatives. However, AT&T feels that,
even in a configuration that achieves 10Mbps over a range of
five miles from customer site to AT&T network, WiMAX ful-
fils the needs of a large proportion of customers. Fiber to the
premises may therefore be an expensive but unnecessary luxury
for many sites – a conclusion Colt has also come to, as it seeks
to broaden its access base by using WiMAX for the middle
and/or last mile, in effect stretching its fiber reach to more cus-
tomers without further build-out.

According to AT&T, 50% of enterprise customer access cir-
cuits are less than three miles from the point of presence, and a
huge 98% are 10Mbps or (more usually) far less. Therefore Wi-
MAX would offer better performance than current circuits for
less cost than T1 leasing.


WiMAX Watch

For those requiring backhaul over longer distances or at very
high data rates, AT&T is also looking to integrate various other
options into its mixture with WiMAX and fiber. WiMAX can
be stretched to 25 miles in point-to-point mode for backhaul,
matching Type II DS1/DS3, and other broadband wireless tech-
nologies can go even further. For high data rates, broadband
wireless networks in high frequencies such as 18GHz get up to
around 200Mbps, and the millimeter wave spectrum supports
so-called ‘wireless fiber’ links at near-fiber speeds, with com-
panies like WiFiber promising 1Gbps rates moving up to multi-
gigabit in the coming year.

Another technology attracting renewed interest as a comple-
ment to WiMAX and fiber is free space optics, which achieves
up to 155Mbps though over relatively short distances of a few
miles. AT&T was one of the first companies to carry out exten-
sive R&D in free space optics, which uses light rather than ra-
dio waves, and particularly in combining this with microwave
in a highly reliable dual system. Since both radio and optics suf-
fer from different vulnerabilities a dual network can use the link
that is most robust in a certain situation, and then switch if con- WiMAX positioning in
ditions such as weather change. The initiative in this area has the enterprise
Source: AT&T


WiMAX Watch

been snatched by start-up LightPointe, but we can expect to see
AT&T gradually incorporating a host of different approaches
into its enterprise platform.

Trials:

In terms of its real world progress with WiMAX so far, AT&T
has been running two trials in Middletown, New Jersey and a
larger one in Atlanta, Georgia, with a view to assessing real
world performance and applications and evaluating enterprise
reaction to the services. In New Jersey it is using an experimen-
tal license in 700MHz and 2.5GHz to deliver line of sight ser-
vices to outdoor antennas; in Atlanta it has an experimental li-
cense in 3.5GHz and is testing non-line of sight configurations
with roof-mounted and window mounted subscriber equipment.
Here it has installed four base stations, all linked by wireless
backhaul.

Equipment from several vendors is being used and the services
include voice over IP, private data networking and internet ac-
cess. The company says that corporate customers are also inter-
ested in the potential of WiMAX to provide a back-up network
for the wired system, and for creating temporary and ad hoc
networks to support conferences or meetings, for instance.

"Our WiMAX trial in New Jersey is off to a great start," said
Hossein Eslambolchi, chief technology officer and CIO, in
June. "Feedback is helping us increase the value of the technol-
ogy for our enterprise customers."

The next stage will be to test indoor equipment and then mobil-
ity. AT&T is a key part of the growing Intel R&D ecosystem
forming around WiMAX, and has a joint development with the
chip giant focused on smart antennas to improve rate, range and
mobility. Sprint Nextel is also a partner in this program, along
with various equipment vendors such as Alvarion, NextNet and
Nortel.

AT&T’s strategy looks strong, even with the uncertainties of
how it will be affected by the SBC takeover. The nature of its
business means it does not need to be distracted by issues of
mass consumer devices and roll-out, where the major question


WiMAX Watch

marks still hang over WiMAX and where mobility – a year
away – is critical. Although there will be strong applications for
mobile broadband in the enterprise, this sector has short term
needs that are more urgent and that AT&T is well positioned to
address. Just as the start-up WiMAX operators have found that
focusing on the business customer’s backhaul, VoIP and access
needs is more profitable in the short term than trying to address
the consumer space too early, so AT&T is making the same as-
sumption at the high end of the market. By reducing its own
costs to provide enterprise services, and passing on some of
those savings to the customer along with new performance lev-
els and configuration flexibility, it stands to exploit its advanced
fiber network more effectively and bring a rejuvenated corpo-
rate services business to its new parent.


WiMAX Watch

Broadband wireless rivals vye for mushrooming 3G backhaul market

• WiMAX one technology competing for wireless backhaul sector
• 3G carriers increasingly look to avoid leased line costs
• Their backhaul needs multiplying with denser networks and more traffic
• Shift from opex to capex, so away from leasing
• Resurgence for Harris, Alcatel and other microwave specialists

As the telecoms majors fix their sights on mobile WiMAX, the
biggest revenue stream in the first year will come from the fixed
technology operating as a backhaul option for Wi-Fi hotspots and
hotzones, enterprises and 3G carriers. Although the attention of
the WiMAX Forum has shifted away from early interest in point-
to-point backhaul towards point-to-multipoint and access, many
WiMAX vendors remain heavily focused on distribution uses, in-
cluding Redline and Aperto.

For relatively short distance backhaul requirements, WiMAX is
likely to provide a low cost option that will see strong opportuni-
ties as the cellcos’ needs explode, but it will certainly not have the
field to itself. The microwave backhaul specialists are determined
to dominate a market that is really starting to mushroom with the
advent of 3G, while other parties are also looking to replace the
conventional leased T1 option, including cable, ‘wireless fiber’
and new approaches to tower layout.

Whatever the solution, the demand is rising steadily. Enterprises
are looking to replace expensive T1 lines or to have redundant
back-up networks (see separate item), and this is boosting pre-
WiMAX providers like TowerStream as well as established tele-
coms service providers. Hotspots and the growing breed of mu-
nicipal hotzones are also looking for backhaul options that are
more powerful than DSL but less costly than T1 multiples. But the
biggest opportunity lies with the cellular carriers, which are facing
a huge hike in backhaul capacity because of the smaller cells typi-


WiMAX Watch

cal of 3G networks, and the increased bandwidth required by new
applications.

A typical GSM operator deploys one or two 2Mbps backhaul
connections per cell site, which is clearly insufficient for data
intensive 3G applications. Many carriers believe between four
and eight E1s will be needed for each 3G base station, and up to
16 once the HSDPA upgrade is implemented too. Cingular be-
lieves its backhaul costs will rise by 25% once it deploys HSDPA
on a wide scale.

Of course, few carriers have a clear idea of how rapidly the usage
of their data services will rise and so how much backhaul capac-
ity will really be needed. Apart from lower operating costs, mi-
crowave options such as WiMAX and proprietary platforms have
the added attraction of greater flexibility when bandwidth usage
is unpredictable or fluctuating. The new breed of microwave
backhaul systems – such as the Harris TruePoint 4000 – are soft-
ware configurable in terms of the operating bandwidth, modula-
tion and frequency, so that changes in the network usage do not
require a hardware upgrade to the backhaul, and capacity is more
easily scalable.

All of this means the 3G operators represent a huge market op-
portunity. Xtend Networks, which believes cable operators
should start to poach T1 business (as Cox Communications, in Microwave vs leased
particular, is starting to do), estimates that the sector is worth line costs 4xT1
shorthaul
Source: Harris


WiMAX Watch

$20bn over the next five years in the US alone. Backhaul
spending among US wireless carriers totals about $2.1bn, or
about 11% of opex budgets, a figure that will rise to as much as
25% once data services are fully deployed (US figures are
lower than many other countries because the major cellcos tend
to be owned by wireline carriers with their own backhaul infra-
structure).

As a global average, about 18% of cellco’s opex now goes on
backhaul leasing and maintenance, and the figure increases
threefold once the network is all-3G, according to Nortel. The
situation is improved by moving to packet-based backhaul, no-
tably IP, which can aggregate more traffic per leased line, but
the combination of owned wireless lines and IP switching can
have a dramatic effect on opex, bringing backhaul down to un-
der 10% of the total if spectrum is owned (operators that are not
using all their spectrum can even lease capacity to enterprises or
other players to add a new revenue stream.)

Many large cellcos that have relied mainly on T1 connections
are now looking at wireless alternatives, including Sprint
Nextel, which is expanding its network not just because of its
merger and upgrade to CDMA EV-DO, but also because it will
be building a parallel pre-WiMAX network in 2.5GHz.
Microwave vs leased
line
Source: Alcatel


WiMAX Watch

Vodafone:

Vodafone is to build its own broadband wireless backhaul net-
work to replace leased lines at most of its 8,000 base station
sites in the UK. Like all 3G operators, Vodafone is facing
mushrooming backhaul requirements and is under increasing
pressure, as it sees its more optimistic hopes of 3G return on
investment dissolving, to cut operating costs in order to pre-
serve margins. Vodafone currently leases backhaul lines from
BT and some smaller fixed line providers such as Kingston
Communications.

The operator’s original 1985 license terms barred it from build-
ing its own fixed infrastructure links, whether wired or wireless,
but this ban was lifted in 2002. The UK cellcos have been mov-
ing rapidly towards wireless backhaul, partly because BT’s
leasing charges remain high by European standards. T-Mobile
(then One-2-One) and Orange were encouraged by Ofcom to
build their own microwave backhaul networks when they en-
tered the UK market in the mid-1990s, and were given some
spectrum to support this, as a way to stimulate competition to
BT. Orange relies on wireless for 90% of its backhaul capacity.

The holding of spectrum is a significant advantage, which Vo-
dafone will not have – Alcatel, which claims 35% market share
of cellular wireless backhaul equipment, estimates that micro-
wave options are 40% cheaper than leased lines if the carrier
rents its spectrum, but 80% if the frequencies are owned, on
average.

In the UK, backhaul leasing costs are based on distance, and
range from typically range from £2,000 for less than 10 kilome-
ters, to £6,000 for 30 kilometers. About half the sites will re-
quire the longer lines, making a total cost to a company like
Vodafone about £32m a year for just one country, a sum that
will grow with greater data requirements, multiple backhaul
links per base station and the introduction of HSDPA. If a mi-
crowave network of the scale and robustness required by a
cellco takes five years to break even, and typically has a work-
ing life of 10 years, the lure is, of course, five years of ‘free’
backhaul or about £150m in savings. In the US, a cell site fed
by four T1s can cost an average of $1,600 monthly, while a mi-


WiMAX Watch

crowave link might cost $100,000 upfront for equipment, li-
cense and installation and then a minimal amount to operate.

Carriers including Sprint and Cingular are looking to cut cost
and improve efficiency by redrawing the network architecture –
and a popular strategy these days is to create aggregation points
that draw in traffic from individual cell sites. One way to reduce
backhaul costs is to consolidate cell sites and feed them with a
wireless or wired backhaul pipe that is equivalent to 10 T1s, for
instance, rather than several sites with three T1s. Higher capac-
ity equipment is generally cheaper to maintain.

Some vendors are reporting demands for huge capacity prod-
ucts. NEC, for instance, offers a microwave top end product
that delivers the equivalent of 16 OC-3 fiber connections or
over 1,300 T1s. "We see in certain geographical areas now,
there are places where planners want to see 16 T1s or even a
DS3 [44.756Mbps] worth of capacity at each cell site," says the
company.

Site consolidation:

Aggregation is the basis of the business model for FiberTower,
which uses 155Mbps wireless radio links to combine traffic
from multiple towers to central exchange points, whence it is
forwarded via leased fiber optic links to the local telephony
switch. FiberTower is investigating the potential of point-to-
point WiMAX for some applications.

The company is building a backhaul system from scratch, dedi-
cated to enabling wireless base stations to avoid T1s. Impor-
tantly, new microwave radios can be added in just a few days,
compared to months for copper lines. It says its system, which
it runs on behalf of tower owners and their tenants, reduces ser-
vice outages by 50-60% for lower costs than leased T1 lines.
Each exchange point takes in traffic from 15 to 20 towers,
thereby eliminating the need for multiple T1s at each cell site.
"What's attractive certainly in the conversations that we have
had with [carriers] is that it's really prohibitively expensive to
bring high capacity to every cell site in the US," says the com-
pany.


WiMAX Watch

FiberTower recently has raised a fourth round of funding worth
$150m, one of the largest of the year, and bringing the com-
pany’s total backing to $225m. Its major backers include three
tower majors, with Crown Castle leading the new round along-
side existing investors SpectraSite and American Tower (as
well as various VC firms).


WiMAX Watch

Alcatel first to show WiMAX in an IMS

The IP Multimedia Subsystem may have emerged from the 3GPP
standards world, but its fullest potential lies in its ability to help
providers integrate multiple network types in order to deliver ser-
vices over the most suitable IP medium, transparently to the end
user or device. Most early trials and demonstrations have shown
IMS improving the ability of 3G operators to create, provision
and remove a wide range of applications at low cost and with
maximum flexibility. But the real promise is for the multi-
network operators, and Alcatel demonstrated the way of the fu-
ture last week with the first public showing of an IMS running
over WiMAX, 3G and DSL together.

This is a combination of technologies that a large operator like
Verizon or Deutsche Telekom is likely to support in the medium
term, using the different qualities and coverage areas of each
technology to maximize the number of applications that can be
bundled for one user, and to minimize the cost of supporting such
a broad portfolio, by managing them all in a uniform way
through the IMS.

Although Lucent and Motorola are both in the forefront of incor-
porating WiMAX into their IMS platforms alongside cellular and
wireline networks, Alcatel is the first to go public. Like the other
two, Alcatel provides a wide range of infrastructure solutions in


WiMAX Watch

wired and wireless networks and sees WiMAX as a way to
stimulate the rise of the converged operator, a base where it can
hope to outperform the single-network giants like Ericsson.

The demonstration took place at Alcatel’s premises near Paris
and showed end users with DSL, UMTS and WiMAX access de-
vices communicating as though on the same network. This is vi-
tal for WiMAX, in particular. One of the biggest risks to the mo-
bile version of the technology is that, in the early years, build-
outs will be few and far between and roaming users will be dis-
couraged by the sparse coverage.

This in turn could deter operators from making investments in
WiMAX, unless they can be sure that there will be other net-
works for their subscribers to roam on to, granting near ubiqui-
tous coverage. If WiMAX users are not confined to talking to
other WiMAX users only, this problem becomes far less serious.
Dual-mode Wi-Fi/cellular devices are giving end users some of
this new flexibility to communicate across different networks
from the same handset, but this does not necessarily benefit the
operator, since the Wi-Fi communication may not be under its
control. With IMS, the idea is to offer subscribers multi-network
devices, but with all the available access options owned by the
operator. Alcatel IMS architecture


WiMAX Watch

In the Alcatel example, the end users were able to access their
buddy lists and presence information, while communicating with
each other via text, voice and video communication modes. The
demonstration included typical IMS services such as community
management functions combined with audio-video and data mes-
saging, as well as video telephony, push to speak and push to
show. It used the various elements of the Alcatel IMS platform,
including its 5020 softswitch with CSCF, its 1430 MDS sub-
scription server, the 5350 IAS SIP application server and the
7720 service aware edge access node.

Other equipment makers will be hard on Alcatel’s heels. Marconi
plans to demonstate its multi-network, IMS-enabled functionality
at next week’s Broadband World Forum in Madrid, Spain. Its
latest addition to its core and access ranges is the Access Hub IP
MSAN, an IP-based multiservice access node that enables opera-
tors to support copper, fiber and WiMAX access on a unified IP-
based platform.


WiMAX Watch

Standards process shows its weaknesses in QoS

The 802.11e standard for Wi-Fi quality of service, essential for
VoIP because it prioritizes voice (and video) packets, is almost
complete, but uptake of an interim specification published by the
Wi-Fi Alliance, WMM, has been disappointing. This indicates
that standards processes are lagging behind real market demands,
particularly in critical areas such as QoS. In the data-only world,
prioritization of packets was a side issue for Wi-Fi. In a world
where the remit of that technology has been expanded to support
voice services and citywide meshes, QoS is one of the biggest
areas of risk.

WMM (Wi-Fi Multimedia), is a subset of 802.11e and designed
to be a stopgap since the demand for services such as wireless
VoIP was seen to be moving more quickly than the IEEE proc-
esses. However, Cisco and other key vendors have released prod-
ucts that do not incorporate WMM but stick with the vendors’
proprietary QoS mechanisms. Some suppliers, notably Meru,
which makes voice-optimized Wi-Fi switches, claim their QoS is
superior to 802.11e too, although they will have to support ‘e’ in
order to retain Wi-Fi Alliance certification once this support is
made mandatory, probably in late 2006. Cisco did not include
WMM support in the new firmware for its enterprise 7920 VoW-
LAN handset and, although Spectralink does support WMM, it
will also provide its own SVP (SpectraLink Voice Protocol) in
the enterprise.


WiMAX Watch

The issue highlights, again, the problem of standards bodies
moving too slowly for real market demands, and now it seems
that even the vendor-driven Alliance is failing to keep up with
proprietary developments. Increasingly, we may see a ‘fast track’
approach adopted in preference to the broad ranging but slow
methods of the IEEE and other bodies. This has already hap-
pened by default in the world of UltraWideBand short range net-
works, where the WiMedia Alliance’s platform, having been
stranded in a stalemated IEEE process, has instead been submit-
ted to a fast track standards body, ECMA.

Unlike the IEEE - which allows for proposals, even once they are
adopted as the preferred route for a standard, to be challenged
and debated further – ECMA allows no such complexity once a
proposal is adopted (except on grounds of technical malfunction).
Therefore it provides a process that is a couple of steps from rub-
ber stamping. Though this carries dangers of proposals being
adopted without sufficient discussion, or because a major vendor
backs them, it certainly looks more appropriate to the timescales
of the wireless industry than the fully consultative method, and is
likely to be emulated in many areas of technology.

The Alliance started its WMM work in early 2004, with Meru
chief software architect Joe Epstein in the lead, and with two pro-
jects, one for the home and the other for the enterprise. The home
case is simpler because only one access point is required, and so
little emphasis is placed on roaming. The average number of tra-
ditional handsets in the home case ranges from two to four, so
security provided via manually entered WPA pre-shared keys
should be enough. The MRD (marketing requirements document)
for the home case has been completed, and the technical task
group is now generating the methodology and producing test
cases.

In the enterprise, issues such as roaming and battery life are more
significant and centralized authentication schemes will have to be
devised.

The Wi-Fi Alliance is concurrently working on the Simple Con-
figuration Security specification, based on one-step security set-
up products such as Broadcom's SecureEasySetup and Buffalo’s
AOSS.


WiMAX Watch

Also available are admission control to prevent too many calls on
one AP bringing it down, and APSD (automatic power save de-
livery), which allows devices to sleep when not in use. These two
features will be certified, as WMM-SA, in the first half of 2006.

The Alliance is also working on its WCC (Wi-Fi/Cellular Con-
vergence) project, and cooperating with the cellular body, the
CTIA, to decide how it should approach dual-mode devices with
its certification programs in future. Certification should start
early next year with a simple SOHO case and then move on to
the more complex enterprise case later.


WiMAX Watch

NEWS HIGHLIGHTS:

DirecTV and Comcast pursuing WiMAX interests
Alvarion and satellite operator DirecTV have pulled back from
talk that they were close to a deal for the Israeli vendor to supply
a WiMAX network. However, DirecTV, the largest US satellite
television provider, is very interested in adding a wireless ser-
vice, which would provide an uplink for the one-way satellite
platform, according to recent statements from CEO Chase Carey.

Speaking at an investor conference in New York, Carey said:
"No decision has been made. We are in the middle of it and are
aggressively examining it, talking to a wide range of partners.”

Many satellite companies see a broadband wireless network such
as WiMAX as the most cost effective way to deliver a triple play
bundle of television, internet and VoIP to compete with similar
moves from DSL and cable providers.

DirecTV has so far relied on partnerships with BellSouth and
Verizon but these operators, as they upgrade their own networks
to offer a full triple play themselves, are backing away from such
deals.

Similarly, cableco Comcast said, at the same investor conference,
that it is also looking into adding a wireless service, possibly in
collaboration with other cable providers. CEO Brian Roberts said
he was not interested simply in partnering with a cellular opera-
tor to offer basic voice and data but also in exploring next gen-
eration technologies that could deliver Comcast’s services wire-
lessly and so target new customer bases as well as adding mobil-
ity functions. The cableco’s interest in WiMAX is seen as a key
opportunity for Sprint Nextel, which can offer both a cellular
MVNO and will build a WiMAX system too, or for pre-WiMAX
network owner Clearwire.


WiMAX Watch

Aperto kit deployed in Saudi Arabia
WiMAX may see very gradual expansion in some developed
telecoms markets, but it is experiencing a rush of deployments in
its most natural early stage territory, developing economies with
limited broadband infrastructure. The latest example is Mobily,
Saudi Arabia’s second GSM operator, which is using Aperto pre-
WiMAX equipment in four large cities to deliver fixed broad-
band services to complement its mobile offering.

The Aperto networks are now deployed in the kingdom’s four
largest cities, Riyadh, Jeddah, Dammam and Khubar, and in Dah-
ran, the gateway city to Bahrain, and are accessible by 6m resi-
dents plus key business districts. As well as expanding into the
home market, Mobily also sees its 2.5GHz network, once mobil-
ity is supported, as a way to improve its coverage and the pre-
mium services it can offer in urban areas.

Khaled Al-Kaf, CEO of Mobily, said: “The platform’s ability to
support VPNs and VLAN, integrated routing functionality and
strong scalability fully supports our plans for expansion and busi-
ness applications over IP. We have a large and growing footprint,
and must have efficient, robust links throughout to meet the
needs of our corporate customers.”

Mobily is majority owned by Etisalat of the United Arab Emir-
ates.


WiMAX Watch

Telabria and BBC make live broadcast over WiMAX
One of the possible WiMAX applications that attracts the great-
est operator excitement, but also the greatest uncertainties, is
broadcasting. UK broadband wireless operator Telabria has taken
a step towards boosting WiMAX’ credibility in this area, con-
ducting – with the BBC – the UK’s first live news bulletin over
the network.

Telebria, which is rolling out pre-WiMAX services in the UK’s
suburban and rural south east regions, moved to the west of the
country for its latest activity, working with BBC Bristol to make
a broadcast from a mobile WiMAX vehicle, a specially con-
verted Land Rover Defender with a 10 meter telescopic mast, to
the television studios, using a 20Mbps bidirectional link.

“Essentially we created our own giant WiMAX wireless hotspot
which covered most of the city,” explained Andy Butterworth,
the BBC technical coordinator for the project. “This meant that
we could broadcast live into our evening news programme at the
same quality we’d usually achieve using a standard satellite
truck. Although Telabria’s WiMAX link provided us with
20Mbps of throughput, we only needed 8Mbps for the single
feed. In future scenarios, the remaining bandwidth could be used
by multiple camera feeds at the same location.”


WiMAX Watch

To order further copies of WiMAX Watch, or to enquire about site pricing or
our other services, please contact us at the addresses below:

Published in the US by:
Trendsmedia, Inc.
4 West Main Street
Suite 201
Northborough, MA 01532-1995
Tel: +1 (508)351-6553 x 101
fax: +! (309) 410-1286
Email info@trendsmedia.com

Editorial is provided by:

Rethink Research Associates
Research director and lead wireless analyst: Caroline Gabriel
caroline@rethinkresearch.biz
Tel: +44 (0)207 403 3292

Trendsmedia provides a complete mobile and wireless advisory service con-
sisting of weekly newsletters, monthly in-depth research papers, analyst query
and industry events focused on WiMAX, cellular or fixed wireless issues

WiMAX Watch is part of Rethink Research’s full WiMAX service for operators and
service providers. This provides in-depth market sizing and breakdown and a regularly
updated analysis of business models and projected ROI as markets evolve rapidly. It
also offers the opportunity for customized queries and research on behalf of subscrib-
ers.


Wimax Watch Us54 30 Sep05

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

What's hot

What's hot (20)

Similar to Wimax Watch Us54 30 Sep05

Similar to Wimax Watch Us54 30 Sep05 (20)

More from rlynes

More from rlynes (11)

Wimax Watch Us54 30 Sep05