Interpretation of WiMAX's survival status: inseparable from TD

Interpretation of WiMAX's survival status: inseparable from TD

How about the overall performance of WiMAX at all levels of business, technology and ecology, Wang Xuejun, Global Marketing Director of WiMAX Forum, accepted an exclusive interview with reporters.

The development of WiMAX in China is inseparable from TD. First of all, in the frequency band, both mobile WiMAX spectrum and TD-SCDMA spread spectrum belong to the spectrum of TDD. The most used WiMAX spectrum is 2.3GHz, 2.5GHz and 3.5GHz. In China's 3G development, 2.3GHz and 2.4GHz are given to TD, and the expansion of 2.5GHz has not yet been determined. Wang Xuejun, global marketing director of the WiMAX Forum, called for the distribution of spectrum to preserve technology neutrality and allow operators to decide for themselves, and determine what technology is most suitable for operators to do through commercial methods. If the operator has done research and feels that TD-LTE, FDD-LTE, WiMAX or any other technology is the best choice, the operator should be given the best choice.

Wang Xuejun pointed out that the development of WiMAX spectrum in China is a problem on the one hand, and it is also up to the operator to decide what kind of technology to apply, and should not link the use of spectrum with technology. The total annual shipments of Huawei and ZTE account for half of global shipments. So in terms of intellectual property rights and market influence, Chinese companies' influence on WiMAX is no worse than that in TD.

Heaven is rewarding, WiMAX is continuously upgrading through technology, the positioning is gradually clear, the market seeks cooperation and other ways to start a crack.

Although WiMAX has many advantages in technology, it is very difficult to develop users and applications in the traditional 3G market that has gradually matured, and has been plagued by many adverse factors such as frequency and policies. The development of WiMAX does not seem to be as hot as expected. However, Wisdom pays diligently, WiMAX is continuously upgrading through technology, the positioning is gradually clear, and the market seeks cooperation and other means to launch a crack.

Technical advantage to seize emerging markets

So far, there are about 559 WiMAX networks around the world, especially in developing countries, which are developing very rapidly, mainly because WiMAX technology is more competitive in large-scale broadband services. WiMAX technology is mature, network construction and operation costs are relatively low, dozens or hundreds of base stations can quickly provide services, and can be expanded with business growth, this model is very successful in developing countries. At the same time, in developed countries like the United States, Japan, and Russia, WiMAX has also proven its market value.

Before WiMAX, in the field of broadband mobile wireless data, there is no other way to compete with 3G. Although WiMAX is superior to the traditional three major 3G technologies due to its greater bandwidth advantages in the metropolitan area network, the WiMAX standard was proposed to enter the market late, so it has lost the very important first-in-first advantage in the communications market. This is one of the reasons why WiMAX encounters various forms of resistance from 3G operators.

From the beginning of WiMAX, it has been regarded as a spoiler of traditional 3G technology, but after a period of technology and market exploration, WiMAX finally found a suitable cooperation model with 3G. That is to say, although there is some overlap between WiMAX, Wi-Fi, and 3G technologies, the three technologies that focus on the three distinct technical areas of LAN, MAN, and WAN will not replace each other, but will have advantages. Complementarity is both competition and mutual promotion.

Under the mode of cooperation, WiMAX has also found a strategic route to seize technological advantages to seize emerging markets. Wang Xuejun, Global Marketing Director of WiMAX Forum, introduced that 65% -70% of WiMAX operators are emerging operators, including Clearwire, the largest WiMAX operator in the United States, and it is not a very large operator in the country. Market positioning, target user analysis, and the correct market plan based on this are closely linked. But this also means that WiMAX operators themselves have very limited power and limited market influence.

The difficulty in the development of WiMAX technology lies mainly with the operators themselves. Wang Xuejun pointed out: "The biggest difficulty in the development of WiMAX is that the speed of network construction is not fast enough. This is mainly due to the funds for network construction. Due to the impact of the financial crisis, the investment of many suppliers will be tightened."

In view of the limited power of operators developing WiMAX, a new WiMAX operation method has also been successfully tested in Japan. UQ in Japan is mainly responsible for network construction. At the same time, there are many retail partners to do sales services. We call it the MVNO method, which is MobileVirtualNetworkOperator (virtual mobile operator), which means that the person who builds the network is not necessarily the person who ultimately sells. Others can do services on the Internet. UQ currently has more than 20 virtual operator partners.

Hope for spectrum breakthrough

The spectrum problem has always been the biggest constraint that has plagued WiMAX regional commercialization. The problem of WiMAX spectrum allocation is very complex. Due to the different situation in each country, it is very difficult to solve and difficult to unify. The amount of frequency resources and the way of allocation will directly determine the capacity and scale of the wireless system. According to the current frequency allocation method of WiMAX in various countries, the frequency points obtained by each operator are far away from the requirements of large-scale cellular networking. At present, the countries that have allocated WiMAX frequencies are at most about 4 frequency points, which is far from meeting the needs of mobile WiMAX large-scale networking. It should be noted that the frequency requirements of WiMAX in any country are facing great difficulties and challenges. Even in a country with a relatively loose development environment, its frequency configuration is far from being in place.

In the United States, Mexico, Brazil and some Southeast Asian countries, the 2.5 to 2.69 GHz frequency band has been allocated. In the United States, most of the frequency points in this band are used by multipoint distribution services (MulTI-pomtDis-tribuTIonService, MDS) and fixed services for educational television. Most countries allocate the 3.4-3.6GHz band to broadband wireless access systems, but in the United States, the 3.4-3.6GHz band is assigned to the federal government. Wang Xuejun called on Europe and some other countries to reserve most of the frequency bands for WiMAX.

After WiMAX became a 3G standard, it brought new hope to the solution of spectrum problems. After ITU accepted WiMAX as one of the IMT-2000 technologies, it marked that WiMAX entered the 3G system. After WiMAX operates in the globally allocated frequency band, it will bring considerable economic benefits. It can supplement other 3G technologies and enable global roaming. And reduce equipment costs. At the same time, it also brings first-line vitality for WiMAX to solve the spectrum problem at this stage. Since then, operators and WiMAX organizations can apply for WiMAX spectrum to various countries and regions in a more formal identity, and even obtain a unified frequency band worldwide.

WiMAX's evolution to 4G has natural advantages. First, WiMAX used advanced OFDM technology at the beginning of its advent, and MIMO technology has already been included in its evolution category; second, WiMAX has taken the lead in the system standard evolution to 4G. More importantly, no matter what kind of 4G will coexist under the all-IP NGN architecture, so as to eventually converge. Therefore, the evolution from WiMAX based on all-IP to 4G and then to NGN is a better way. Under the unified 4G, the spectrum problems that WiMAX may encounter in the future will naturally no longer exist.

Interpretation of WiMAX's survival status

The WiMAX market is recovering strongly from the economic downturn. The challenge of WiMAX is how to seize opportunities, rather than plague external factors. As far as the current situation is concerned, 802.16m and LTE technologies will become the final 4G standard.

Recently, InfoneTIcs Research released its market share and forecast report for WiMAX equipment, equipment and users in the fourth quarter of 2009. InfoneTIcs Research analyst Richard Webb said that the WiMAX market is recovering strongly from the economic recession, and 802.11e equipment and equipment sales revenue has grown for three consecutive quarters. American Clearwire has released strong quarterly revenue results. Russia ’s Yota has expanded rapidly, and other companies such as UQ in Japan have also grown strongly. The WiMAX business model seems to be working.

Strong recovery in the commercial market

The WiMAX market is recovering strongly from the economic downturn, and 802.11e equipment and equipment sales revenue has increased for three consecutive quarters. What is the overall commercial situation of mobile WiMAX?

Wang Xuejun: Compared with the early fixed WiMAX technology (802.16d), mobile WiMAX is commonly known as 802.16e. I think that the mobile WiMAX, fixed WiMAX, or nomadic WiMAX you usually mention is just a use mode of WiMAX. It does not make much sense to emphasize too much mobile WiMAX or other use modes. Because mobile WiMAX is not necessarily used to provide so-called mobile services (MobileService), the services provided by operators through mobile WiMAX are also multi-directional, such as common home broadband services or broadband services in a mobile environment. Regarding the commercial situation of 802.16e, there were more than 90 new WiMAX networks in the world in 2009, 68% of which were 802.16e, which shows a trend. Now if operators choose WiMAX technology to build a network, whether it is for mobile users , Nomadic users, or fixed users, 802.16e has become its preferred technology. This is mainly due to the relatively mature ecological environment of 16e, which is currently in the mature stage of technology and industrial chain, and 16d can be said to be an early technology, which has passed the mature stage. In addition, currently distributed in 559 WiMAX networks in 147 countries around the world, I estimate that the proportion of 16e occupies at least about 40%.

American Clearwire has released strong quarterly revenue results. Russia ’s Yota has expanded rapidly, and other companies such as UQ in Japan have also grown strongly. What are the reasons for the development of WiMAX in various regions?

Wang Xuejun: The main premise of WiMAX development is frequency spectrum, which includes the distribution of spectrum and the way of spectrum usage. The differences in spectrum policies in various regions also determine the inconsistency of WiMAX development in various regions. For example, in North America, the 2.5GHz, 3.5GHz, and even lower frequency spectrum has been demarcated a long time ago, and the spectrum itself is not related to the technology. It is up to the operator to decide which technology to use in the spectrum. On the contrary, some countries have regulations on the use of spectrum technology. For example, in Japan, the 2.5GHz spectrum used by WiMAX operator UQ is directly linked to WiMAX, and the government requires WiMAX to be used. In addition to the spectrum just mentioned, the country ’s perception of “broadband” is also a major factor in the development of WiMAX in the region. In many countries, especially developing countries, such as India, Malaysia, Brazil, and Mexico, it is believed that the development of broadband will greatly promote the country's GDP. According to research, in developing countries, every 10% increase in broadband penetration rate will contribute about 1% of its GDP, which is quite impressive. Therefore, many developing countries will regard the development of "broadband" as an important link in national economic development. And the current broadband penetration rate in many developing countries is very low, so the government hopes to use WiMAX technology to promote its rapid development. Third, in economically developed areas, the government ’s economic stimulus plan will also have a certain impact. For example, a few days ago, the United States specifically set aside 7.2 billion US dollars to develop the broadband business itself in China to meet the coverage of broadband services in the suburbs. Among them, WiMAX accounts for 25% of budget applications in the US economic stimulus plan funds. In general, spectrum policies, national attitudes to broadband, and economic stimulus policies issued by the government are the main reasons that affect the development of WiMAX in various regions.

WiMAX is developing rapidly. What are some outstanding cases?

Wang Xuejun: There are many commercial cases of rapid development of WiMAX, such as Clearwire in the United States, which currently covers 30 million people in the United States, with 600,000 users, and is currently vigorously developing its 4G network; Malaysia ’s P1 has developed a total of 130,000 users last year. It is also preparing to invest in a new WiMAX network in Singapore; Yota in Russia currently has 350,000 users, and it not only provides broadband access, but also provides many innovative services in content; GlobalTelecom in the Philippines is also one of Huawei ’s customers. There are currently more than 60,000 WiMAX users, and it should be noted that it is a mobile operator with 30 million GSM users. But it should also be noted that in terms of the total number of users, WiMAX is still very small, about 10 million in the world, but the WiMAX network has covered 63 million people.

Double entry of technology and ecological environment

What are the latest developments and significance of WiMAX Release2, 802.16m standard?

Wang Xuejun: There is a difference between 802.16m and WiMAX Release2, but it is not an essential difference, because WiMAX Release2 will be completely based on 802.16m. 802.16m has been submitted to the IMT-Advanced of the ITU by the IEEE 802.16 working group, and the WiMAX Forum fully supports the evolution of this technology. I think the biggest significance is that 802.16m will be backward compatible, which is the main feature, thereby reducing the network construction cost and risk of operators.

What are the achievements and goals in the process of applying for 4G?

Wang Xuejun: In the process of applying for 4G, the WiMAX Forum and more than 50 member companies supported the IEEE802.16m application for the ITU 4G standard. It has entered the final review stage and the work is progressing smoothly. Many proposals are based on ITU Time required to complete. As far as the current situation is concerned, 802.16m and LTE technologies will become the final 4G standard (ITM-Advanced). At present, the goal of the WiMAX Forum is to continuously improve and formulate the final WiMAXRelease2 standard to meet the relevant technical requirements of 802.16m and IMT-Advanced, and to achieve backward compatibility with WiMAXRelease1 based on 802.16e.

Finally, please summarize the overall survival of WiMAX.

Wang Xuejun: Of course, we also see the problems currently faced by WiMAX. On the whole, it is mainly due to insufficient users. The 802.16e ecosystem has been developing rapidly since 2005 until the end of 2008. I think WiMAX will have a place in the telecommunications market. Many people compare WiMAX with CDMA. I personally think that this view has two sides. It is true that WiMAX has not been regarded as a mainstream technology. Many large mobile operators have not adopted WiMAX. Of course, there are many reasons, so I will not repeat them here. However, it should be noted that 115 mobile operators have adopted WiMAX, which means that if you want to find a new revenue growth point, WiMAX can bring certain benefits and can be used as a display of differentiated operating advantages. Whether WiMAX is suitable for every mobile operator, or every telecom operator, this is still a question mark. I think every operator should do a research to determine whether WiMAX is suitable for him. From the perspective of the industry chain, WiMAX technology is becoming more and more mature, especially terminals, we can see WiMAXUSBDongle supporting 2.3GHz, 2.5GHZ and 3.5GHz in the market, commonly known as iMAX; Intel has also made It supports 2.3GHz, 2.5GHZ and 3.5GHz chips for assembly on notebook computers; other manufacturers have also produced various chips that can be used as multi-mode terminals. It is believed that more multi-mode terminals will appear in 2010. As the number of user terminals grows, costs decrease, functions increase, and spectrum expands, the market will develop rapidly. From this perspective, the challenge of WiMAX is how to seize the opportunity, rather than troubled by external factors. Finally, I think the opportunity for the development of WiMAX in China is very big. The key is the spectrum environment, whether WiMAX is allowed to be used by operators. I think it should be left to the operators to let them choose their own technologies.