Motorola Inc. says it is playing its trump card-wireless mobility-in the WiMAX space, skipping over 802.16 Revision D in favor of getting Revision E (the mobile standard) products to market by the second quarter of 2006.
The Moto Wi4 portfolio of mobile WiMAX solutions represents a companywide development initiative based on the IEEE 802.16e standard, which the WiMAX Forum has not yet completed, but is expected to finish soon, said Paul Sergeant, senior manager of MOTOwi4 marketing.
Sergeant explained that Motorola’s Carrier Access Point architecture is an all IP-based peer-to-peer carrier-class network with no switches, based on the company’s Canopy Broadband Wireless Access solution. Canopy technology uses shoebox-sized intelligent base stations that can be mounted on billboards, buildings or almost anywhere, and targets the rural, entrepreneurial and residential communities.
For its carrier-class solution, Motorola touts that much of the traditional hardware elements are not needed, making the solution attractive to carriers since it can help them cut capital and operational costs. Just as important to carriers, Sergeant said Moto Wi4 products will have the capability of receiving software upgrades over-the-airwaves, sparing carriers from operational headaches and sparing their customers from the costs of constantly upgrading their handsets. Thus, even though the specifications for Rev E have not yet been set, carriers who deploy pre-standard products will be able to become standards-compliant using their existing infrastructure and just receiving the upgrade over the air.
While wireless carriers with adequate spectrum that already have invested heavily in traditional wireless technologies likely won’t be initial targets for WiMAX solutions, other carriers, including wireline operators, rural local exchange carriers and spectrum-deprived wireless carriers, may deploy WiMAX solutions.
In rural areas, often left out of the latest and greatest in technology, Motorola said its Moto Wi4 architecture offers a low-cost-of-deployment and ownership or can be considered a `light infrastructure’ solution.
“This really opens the door for RBOCs, and possibly others, to offer triple-play bundled packages in rural areas, offering cable, Internet and wireless service,” Sergeant noted.
“Moto Wi4 products make it possible for carriers to spend less and deliver more, at higher speeds,” Sergeant said.
Motorola has an agreement with Sprint Nextel Corp. to test Moto Wi4 products at 2.5 GHz.
Motorola envisions its WiMAX product line starting out with the antennas, evolving to desktop modems for nomadic PC applications, then to PCMCIA cards and battery-operated devices, then to rugged modems for public safety and finally to handsets-type devices.
