The conference focused on wireless broadband technology, and on WiMax in particular. WiMax is based on the IEEE 802.16 family of standards. The WiMax Forum, a group of vendors and service providers, initially will certify products based on the 802.16d standard, designed for wireless base stations with a range as long as 50 kilometers (approximately 30 miles). It is a point-to-multipoint technology, so it doesn't require a direct line of sight to the customer.
A later version of the standard, 802.16e, will provide a relatively simple upgrade to access points to support mobile customers, according to Francois Draper, vice president of sales and marketing at Wavesat, in Dorval, Quebec, and chair of memberships at the WiMax Forum. Wavesat is involved in the development of WiMax and in the broadband wireless access industry.
A single base station could transmit hundreds of megabits per second of data, but the standard doesn't define how much of that capacity a service provider should give an individual customer, Draper says. Carriers typically would offer 2 megabits per second or more to a small or medium-size business, and 300 kbps to 400 kbps to consumers, he suggests.
Intel, which plans to make WiMax chips, expects the technology to hit the market next year for stationary broadband connectivity to businesses and homes and backhaul from Wi-Fi hotspots, Maloney says. Testing has shown such a technology can support the kinds of services associated with today's DSL and cable modem services, including video, to homes and businesses in dense urban areas. Chips for WiMax products will start hitting the market this year, according to Guy Cote, director of international sales at Wavesat. The fabless semiconductor company aims to offer sample quantities of a chip in May and to ship in volume by year-end.
