WiMAX (Worldwide Interoperability

for Microwave Access)

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 What is WiMax?
• WiMAX is a technology for “wireless” broadband.
• Works as “last mile” technology in the same way that Wi-
Fi “hotspots” work for the last one hundred feet of
networking within a building or a home.
• Also used as cellular backhaul and in highspeed enterprise
connectivity.
• It is used for fixed, portable and mobile data networks.
• uses Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing
(OFDM) for optimization of wireless data services.
• Wireless Wide Area Networks (WWAN) infrastructure
platform today.
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WiMAX Standards

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 WiMAX Standards
• Each of these standards is geared towards a
particular consumer arena for wireless
broadband access.

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 Frequency range
• The base 802.16 standard is for the 10 to 66 GHz range.
802.16a added coverage for the 2 to 11 GHz range.
• Operates on licensed and unlicensed frequencies.
• Enables long-distance wireless connections with speeds up
to 75 megabits per second.
• channel widths ranging from 1.25 to 20 MHz
• Quality of Service (QoS) establishment on a per-
connection basis.
• strong security primitives, multicast support, and low
latency/low packet loss handovers1.
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 Issues
• Development and adoption of an open and
extensible end to- end architecture framework and
specification that is agnostic to incumbent
operator backend networks; and
• A means for ensuring spec-compliant and vendor
interoperable equipment to support cost-effective
deployments and give users the capability to roam
across networks established by different network
operators.
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 Who Can benefit?
• Wireless Internet Service Providers
(WISPs)
• Cellular operators (CDMA and WCDMA),
• Wireline broadband providers.

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 Challenge
• Need to adapt to different network architectures while still supporting
standardized components and interfaces for multi-vendor
interoperability.
– e.g Support for different Radio Access Network (RAN) topologies.
– Well-defined interfaces to enable 802.16 RAN architecture independence
while enabling seamlessintegration and interworking with Wi-Fi, 3GPP3
and 3GPP2 networks.
– Leverage open, IP technologies to build scalable all- IP 802.16 access
networks using Common Off The Shelf (COTS) equipment.
– Support for IPv4 and IPv6 clients and application servers; recommending
use of IPv6 in the infrastructure.
– Functional extensibility to support future migration to full mobility and
delivery of rich broadband multimedia.

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Deployment Scenarios

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 Global requirements
• To be applicable to licensed and license-exempt 802.16
deployments.
• Suitable for adoption by all incumbent operator types.
• Integration with an existing IP operator core network (e.g.,
DSL, cable, or 3G) via interfaces that are IP-based and not
operator-domain specific. This permits reuse of mobile
client software across operator domains.
• To accommodate a variety of online and offline client
provisioning, enrollment, and management schemes based
on open, broadly deployable Industry standards.

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 Global requirements
• To support a mix of IPv4 and IPv6 network interconnects and
communication endpoints and a variety of standard IP context
management schemes.
• To support a broad range of TCP and UDP real-time and non-real-time
applications.
• To support Subscriber Station (SS) authorization, strong bilateral user
authentication based on a variety of authentication mechanisms.
• To scale from fixed access to fully mobile operation scenarios with
scalable infrastructure evolution, eventually supporting low latency (<
100 msec) and virtually zero packet loss handovers at mobility speeds
of 120 km/hr or higher.
Το support a mix of IPv4 and IPv6 network interconnects
andcommunication endpoints and a variety of standard IP context
management schemes.
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 Regulatory Issues
• While entry into an unlicensed spectrum is free of
cost, co-channel or adjacent channel interferences
among distinct systems is a major concern for
wireless systems operating in license-free bands.
• Licensed wireless frequencies are more reliable,
since the entire length of that particular data path
is clear of spectral interference from other wireless
technology devices

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 Regulatory Issues
• WiMAX raises issues as to
– What is Fixed?
– What is Portable?
– What is Nomadic?
– What is Mobile?
• Regulatory bodies have traditionally treated
Mobile and Fixed as separate topics.
• Regulators have traditionally limited mobile
technologies to specific bands.

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 Regulatory Issues
• There is need to mitigate the potential
for interference, and stipulate power
requirements for high power and low-
power operations.
• Each geographical region defines and
regulates its own set of licensed and
license-exempt bands.

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 Regulatory issues

Worldwide allocation of licensed and license-

exempt bands.
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 Regulatory issues

• Interference resulting from the

availability of too many license-exempt
bands could affect critical public and
government communication networks,
such as radar systems.

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 Operator consideration
• Service providers wanting to add mobility to
their wireless broadband network should
consider first a licensed WiMAX solution for
improved QoS
• A licensed WiMAX solution offers
bettercontrol across large areas, enhanced
scalability, QoS,
• License-exempt WiMAX solutions are
focused on rural areas, emerging markets,
and point-to-point
• applications and can provide, for example, an17
extremely costeffective backhaul solution.
 Operator consideration
• More importantly, the fluctuations in the
number and location of users and the limited
control of the spectrum offered by a license-
exempt solution may result in more
interference.
• Mobility-related issues such as transmitting
RF signals to and from a moving target are
more easily addressed using a licensed
solution.
• Therefore, mobile applications are best 18
suited for a licensed WiMAX solution.
 Operator consideration
• Large underdeveloped areas or
underserved areas, such as an isolated
college campus or farm, are better
suited for license-exempt WiMAX
solutions, where the cost benefits and
coverage area can be better utilized

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 Operator consideration
• WiMAX license-exempt solutions are suitable for the
following applications:
– Point-to-point, long distance solutions in scarcely populated
environments
– Point-to-multipoint solutions in rural communities (including
some developing countries)
– Areas with small RF in-band noise or where interference in
the unlicensed band can be controlled within the geography,
such as large enterprise campuses, militarybarracks, and
shipyards
– Where cost is the major factor governing a decision
between competing wireless technologies
– When ownership of equipment is an option to the end user

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 Operator consideration
• WiMAX licensed solutions are suitable for the
following applications:
– Large-coverage, point-to-multipoint applications
– Ubiquitous broadband mobile services
– When licensing enables control over the usage of spectrum
and interference
– When cost is not the primary issue for choosing the
technology, because the technology has been optimized for
this application (other technologies such as 3G data overlays
will cost more and have worse performance)
– When services and base station equipment can only be
leased from a carrier or service provider.

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 Impact of Duplexing techniques
• Licensed solutions use frequency
division duplexing (FDD) while license
exempt solutions use time division
duplexing (TDD).

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