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ARTICLE
By Jeff Orr, Senior Analyst - Consumer Electronics
The ITU Radiocommunication Assembly granted final approval of an update to Recommendation ITU-R M.1457. The IMT-2000 specification is to include a sixth radio interface, “IMT-2000 OFDMA TDD WMAN,” which is based on the IEEE Standard 802.16. This makes IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX) part of the IMT-2000 family. The announcement was issued on 18 October to IEEE members by Roger B. Marks, Chair of the IEEE 802.16 Working Group on Broadband Wireless Access. The decision enables license holders to consider WiMAX in addition to future 3G evolutionary technologies such as Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB) and Long-Term Evolution (LTE). The process to have WiMAX considered as an IMT-2000 interface began over a year ago. At that time, the ITU uncharacteristically endorsed language in the IMT-2000 specification that stated which technologies were acceptable for use in certain radio frequency bands. During 2007, the United Nations body moved to a technology-neutral position and eventually welcomed proposals from standards bodies, such as the IEEE, to submit proposals for additional radio interfaces to be considered. Not all countries favored the approval of the additional interface. According to media reports from Korea, both Germany and China asked for their opposing comments to be incorporated into the vote’s proceedings before moving ahead. The German delegate reportedly expressed concerns over technical glitches in the 802.16 protocol. As a result, the delegate’s concerns were noted in the voting record as needing to be addressed in the future. China’s delegate to the ITU opposed the approval because it would diminish the potential adoption of China’s homegrown TD-SCDMA protocol. It will be interesting to monitor the relative adoption rates of TD-SCDMA and Mobile WiMAX during the 2008 Olympics, to be hosted by China. Regional mobile operators are expected to have wide coverage and promotions during the event. Without the ITU’s approval, gaining regulatory approval in much of the European market for use of the 2.5-2.6 GHz spectrum for WiMAX operator licenses faced an uncertain future. Some regulatory regions had already implemented spectrum policy that did not lock in specific technologies to the 2.5 GHz spectrum, including the Republic of Korea, Taiwan, United Kingdom, and United States. Operators considering deployment of 3G cellular services or launching multiple technologies in existing spectrum holdings that follow the IMT-2000 recommendations are now able to consider WiMAX in their air interface decisions. The IEEE isn’t standing still with this news of the ITU’s approval. A recently formed project group, called P802.16m, is already working to expand the current specification. The new project intends to offer support for legacy WiMAX equipment while meeting the emerging requirements anticipated in the ITU’s IMT-Advanced network specifications. Maravedis estimates that 4G mobile systems able to support the IMT-Advanced requirements will reach market commercialization in the 2010-2012 timeframe. A couple key ingredients understood to be part of future 4G systems are an IP-centric architecture and OFDMA modulation—two characteristics of the existing Mobile WiMAX specifications. Having WiMAX acknowledged as a 3G technology puts it on more even ground with the traditional cellular protocols as the IMT-Advanced group looks to further its plans during the World Radiocommunication Congress 2007 (WRC-07) in Switzerland starting this month. The timing couldn’t be better for the 500+ member companies of the WiMAX Forum, which is holding its member conference in Taipei this week. Expect many congratulatory handshakes during its mid-week reception. For more information you can contact the author: jeff@maravedis-bwa.com
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