WiMAX – the use of it for the enterprise
Muthu Ramadoss
WiMAX – the use of it for the enterprise
Though WiMAX is kept in high esteem, there are still doubts about it, which are yet to be cleared. The following are some of the questions being asked about it:
What has WiMAX to do with wireless communications? Can it sideline Wi-Fi? Can it take on 3G devices? Who are the service providers capable of providing it? The final question is worthwhile.
But at present let us concentrate on the end user. What are its repercussions on the enterprise user? What is expected of IT managers and engineers to handle and make best use of this new technology?
Internet
PDA devices garner enterprise applications such as e-mail, contact lists, calendars etc and move them further than the enterprise walls.
Thanks to cellular phones operating in the course of a network of telecom service operators, the difference between office communications and personnel communications has almost become negligible.
WiMAX will deal in desktop computing and introduce it into mobile laptop and other devices that will emerge in the near future. In other words, internet will be made available everywhere. The laptop will be made as mobile as the mobile phone.
The demands and behaviour of mobile professionals and consumers will change once they start distinguishing the computer as PC or mobile, just as what happened in the case of the cellular advancement. Laptop will cater to the needs of the personal and official requirements, taking care of public and private data communication services.
IT Managers will have to establish a boundary around their network. That boundary will be found in the personal computers of the employees as well. That will have an impact on security, services, association with network operators, vendors etc.
Function of the WiMAX
WiMAX is capable of distributing multimedia data universally through wireless links at very high speeds, many times that of the normal wireless systems. The coverage area will be much more than that available through the current wireless local network (WLAN) access solutions like 802.11(Wi-Fi) technology.
Wi-Fi is able to provide broadband access limited to short-range hotspots, within a few meters. But WiMAX can ensure the same access across many kilometres at much higher speeds and with greater efficiency, at the same expense.
In a nutshell, while the cellular system covers long distance at low bandwidth and Wi-Fi provides high bandwidth at short distance, WiMAX can take care of high bandwidth and long distance.
Continuous high bandwidth services are available through WiMAX in homes, offices, commercial complexes, multi-storied buildings, airports, hotels and restaurants to a name a few. They are also available in rural and remote areas with the same efficiency and speed as in cities and towns. The users, who are always on the move, will be able to get access without any interruption.
Apart from that, the users will understand that wireless internet access is in no way inferior in quality to today’s fixed DSL and cable access facilities. In fact WiMAX will bring about the long awaited performance similarity between wired and wireless internet access.
These capabilities are possible because WiMAX is based on the standard IEEE 802.16 designed from scratch to be truly broadband in all respects and is packet based. The non-line-of-sight technology IEEE 802.16e, the mobile version of the standard, is as per Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) and OFDM with Multiple Access (OFDMA), which is a new air interface and ensures very high spectral efficiency, data output and capacity far superior to the radio technologies. In combination with multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) antenna process technology, the ensuing OFDM-MIMO amalgamation can enhance capacity and performance even better.
Which is better of the two?
WiMAX and Wi-Fi are independent of each other and have distinctive functions.
Making use of the private and licensed spectrum, WiMAX functions like Wi-Fi, meeting the needs of large public places effectively just like the cellular network.
The usage of Wi-Fi is limited to a private network within a small or medium size building. It uses shared spectrum but can cover only short distances.
Chip manufacturers bring out chips incorporating chips for both, as suited for next generation devices. The user will be able to utilize Wi-Fi within premises like home, office, hotels etc. WiMAX comes into play when the user travels out of the Wi-Fi area. WiMAX can also help in the final connection to home or office, which is beyond the reach of DSL or cable service.
How about the performance of WiMAX
WLAN had plenty of security and latency issues. WiMAX was introduced to offset such issues. WiMAX is not likely to have any such performance problem while being used in licensed spectrum or in unlicensed spectrum of thinly populated rural areas. The reason for this is that a single individual has control over the configuration and usage of the network, unlike in public Wi-Fi networks. However WiMAX will share Wi-Fi’s attributes like high speed connections, easiness in usage, and plenty of cheap devices.
Can WiMAX compete with 3G?
It is not yet established whether the two technologies go against each other or support each other. 3G belongs to the voice world and does as much data functions and internet functions as possible; however there is a limit to the broadband which can be got. The larger the broadband the user takes, larger will have to be the screen, as there exists a relationship between the device size and the requirement of the bandwidth by it.
WiMAX is ideal more for laptops than handsets.
But WiMAX is not designed for mobile voice. It can provide much better version of data than 3G. It is indeed challenging to offer voice with WiMAX while roaming.
Is WiMAX available now?
The available fixed 802.12-2004 is suited for the final connection for the premises, where cable or DSL service is impracticable, as already mentioned earlier.
Fixed WiMAX can meet the needs of a large population of North America staying in rural areas whose basic communication requirements are yet to be served.
The first of the 802.12-2004 networks is to be commissioned in Alberta in Canada in the coming summer. Once ready, it will function on 3.5 GHz spectrum band. It will meet the needs of 80% of the Specialists Accreditation Board (SAB) households and commercial establishments providing them with fixed broadband wireless access at 1Mbps to 3 Mbps. The services like e-mail, access to high speed internet, multimedia applications like music and video streaming, real time business collaboration services like VoIP, remote telemetry, video surveillance etc will be supported by it.
The specifications for mobile version of WiMAX or 802.16-2005 were made known almost seven years ago. The commercial deployment was done after the necessary trials a couple of years after that. Interestingly Korea had by then introduced its own mobile version of mobile WiMAX, called WiBro.
What are the preparations needed for WiMAX?
Most of the new laptops are provided with WiMAX connectivity incorporated in its chips in addition to Wi-Fi. But even before that WiMAX could be enabled through dedicated devices or laptop cards. The IT professionals are making their networks operative. They have to think of the infrastructures concerning security and mobility to support various communications and computing devices that will certainly access the systems and applications through various public and private networks. It is the ideal time to know about the capabilities of WiMAX and accordingly invest in mobile infra structure that will incorporate WiMAX devices in the home network and enable the service provider with partnerships necessary for roaming by clients employees etc.
WiMAX ensures a real mobile, internet lifestyle throughout
Some users are of the opinion that WiMAX is still in the preliminary stage and that it has to go a long way before it can be adopted. They are not right. It is true that WiMAX cannot change things all of a sudden. It will take some time for internet to be available everywhere throughout. There was a related development when mobile technology was introduced. The only difference is that the expectation about the WiMAX is much higher. The consumers are accustomed to using the mobile phone whenever and wherever they want. Things will be even faster with WiMAX, which will be there everywhere. There is no surprise even if it leaks through walls.
take care,
Muthu Ramadoss.
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