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Wireless goalposts move, with 802.16m steps and LTE core trials

By CAROLINE GABRIEL

Published: 24 July, 2009

READ MORE: WiMAX | LTE

The next generation wireless game is one of constantly moving goalposts and even as one platform is trialled, the next is already in the works. This week sees a milestone for the next iteration of the standard underpinning WiMAX, 802.16m, and the first operator trial plans for interoperability in the LTE core network.

Although Vodafone does not intend to roll out LTE until 2012 at the earliest, it is working intensively on tests and trials, mainly with its partners China Mobile and Verizon Wireless, both of which plan commercial networks from 2010. The Chinese giant has been working on trials of the TDD-LTE variant in Spain (with Motorola), and larger scale tests in China, with multiple suppliers, are just starting. Now, with Vodafone, it is the first to sign up for LTE roaming and interoperability initiatives, under the auspices of the MultiService Forum's LTE and System Architecture Evolution (SAE) interoperability test, which will kick off in March 2010. According to Unstrung.com, this will focus heavily on the Evolved Packet Core (EPC), working on scenarios such as LTE access to the core, roaming, backward compatibility with 2G and 3G into the core, handover and relocation, and access into IMS.

Over on the WiMAX side, draft one of the 802.16m standard has moved closer to standardization. The 16m Working Group met on July 13-16 in San Francisco, and agreed to open a ballot on the first draft of the standard, which could be finalized in 2011. The group will issue a request for input on technical topics such as location-based services, relay and self-organizing networks.

Peter Jarich, research director of Current Analysis, wrote in TelephonyOnline recently: "By promising an evolution, 802.16m could help convince operators that Mobile WiMAX truly delivers investment protection - potentially driving WiMAX uptake (particularly if LTE stalls). Beyond that, however, the industry has been remarkably silent on the standard. 802.16m progress, sooner rather than later, is still critical."

The WiMAX Forum has also announced that validation testing for the 2.3GHz Mobile WiMAX profile in the 5/10MHz and 8.75MHz channels has begun and expects the first group of 2.3GHz products to be certified in the fourth quarter. "The certification of 2.3GHz products is critical to the deployment of WiMAX networks in regions such as India, Asia and Africa," said Ed Agis, co-chair of the WiMAX Forum Certification Working Group. "Certification profiles for 2.3GHz also pave the way for WiMAX Forum Certified triband devices in 2010 which will increase the opportunities for true global roaming."

In the shorter term, the WiMAX vendors are realigning. As expected, Nokia Siemens will no longer sell its own product - despite an agreement to supply Sprint Xohm (prior to the Clearwire merger) with a WiMAX version of its Flexi base station, the firm had shown limited interest or real world products. It will now participate in WiMAX contracts via partner systems, and has taken on Alvarion's Mobile WiMAX range under an OEM agreement. NSN, via its Siemens half, has sold fixed WiMAX and proprietary BWA kit from the Israeli vendor for years. This shows the WiMAX market consolidating around key infrastructure players, notably Alvarion, Samsung, Motorola, Huawei and ZTE.

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