Last week in Moscow, the company Comstar and Intel held a press conference on the agreement on strategic cooperation in large-scale development of Mobile WiMAX technology in Russia. This event, in my opinion, with full responsibility may be called a watershed event. No exaggeration. Moreover, the potential magnitude of this project can only be compared with the beginning of the deployment in the 90 years of the first cellular networks. However, it may be that in reality it would be much more serious.
Talking about the details of and prospects for the joint announcement of Comstar and Intel, I can not do without the accompanying details and explanations about the new generation of technology and the future emergence of these technologies supporting devices. That's right – the material is intended to clarify segodyashny our readers, first, what is the standard for Mobile WiMAX (IEEE 802.16e), and how it differs from the existing fixed networks, WiMAX; secondly, how we will use the services of these networks, with What devices, finally, how it will work in practice, what this will cost wireless users and what are the prospects for further development of Russian Mobile WiMAX networks in terms of the representatives of Comstar. I'll start with the most important – the practical aspects of implementation of Mobile WiMAX in Russia, and the remaining points will clarify the course of the story.
Presentation of a new generation of wireless Mobile WiMAX networks conducted by representatives of both companies. Intel's presentations were made by Dmitry Konash, regional director of Intel in the CIS, and Igor Taber, director of Intel's WiMAX Development in Eastern Europe, the company "Comstar" represented by Aleksey Goncharuk, First Vice-President of "Comstar UTS" and Alexander Gorbunov , vice president for strategy and development of "Comstar UTS".
The essence of the companies announced the collaboration is that of "Comstar UTS" to the end of 2008 plans to build and run a commercial operation in Russia's first WiMAX network standard, IEEE 802.16e, encompassing the whole of Moscow. Intel company will cooperate in the promotion of new technology, and also contribute to expanding the supply of client devices with integrated support for WiMAX.
A key prerequisite for the deployment of such networks is the existence of a special radio frequency. Company "Comstar UTS" already has a license for a range of 2.5-2.7 GHz in the Moscow region and at this stage proceed to the top of the construction of the network. Initially, by analogy with the deployment of cellular networks and wireless networks Wi-Fi, IEEE 802.16e network will cover the most "vibrant" neighborhoods of the capital, with the largest number of potential customers and then, towards the end of next year, the network will cover the entire metropolis.
Here we must digress from the reportage of exposition, is to explain to our readers, what is a network of so-called Mobile WiMAX, how it differs from a number of existing "stationary" solutions.
The classical definition of the standard is as follows:
WiMAX (Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access) – a standardized by the IEEE broadband wireless technology that complements the DSL and cable technologies as an alternative solution to the problem of "last mile" at large distances. WiMAX technology can be used to implement the broadband "last mile", the deployment of wireless access points, the organization of high-speed communication between the branches of companies and solving other similar problems.
From the beginning the process of promoting WiMAX technology has been divided into three main phases. First – this is the introduction of "fixed" standard IEEE 802.16-2004, which replaced an earlier version of the IEEE 802.16a and 802.16d, with the use of external antennas such as "cellular plates" is actually aimed at consumers in fixed directions. The second phase – is the use of internal antennas, more flexible use of WiMAX, but also to access stationary users.
Finally, the third phase, during which begins right now – is the implementation of the specification IEEE 802.16e, which allows working WiMAX-certified devices in portable devices moving at a certain "coverage" of the network, the image of modern cellular and Wi-Fi networks.
All versions of WiMAX broadband wireless technology used to connect to the Internet with high bandwidth – the order of several megabits per second, providing access to large volumes of digital data, such as movies and other multimedia content, as well as low-cost c. Comparing WiMAX technology with our usual Wi-Fi, to some extent, it can be called the standard trunk, because the distance and with very different means, and scalability of the network is much more flexible than in the case of Wi-Fi, though, in any case, both standards are "the last mile solutions."
At the same time a WiMAX network in any case should not oppose the generation of cellular networks 3G, which primarily focused on voice traffic, while WiMAX networks are deployed for improved data exchange. Moreover, one of the key challenges the industry in the near future just call the implementation of global roaming WiMAX networks in conjunction with 2G, 2.5G, 3G and Wi-Fi (including roaming between WiMAX and Wi-Fi) at any point on the globe, with support for all popular modern services – voice, data, Internet access, e-mail, multimedia, games and so on. However, sooner or later all these technologies can merge into something united – it is quite possible, in what we now mean by the technology of 4G. At the very least, worldwide WiMAX development is seen in the complex spectral measures of general compatibility between the TV, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Wireless USB, GPS, networks, GSM / CDMA and generation 3G/4G, and in the key of the safe exchange of data and features protocols for voice and video.
At present, the frequency bands for WiMAX include the 2.3-2.7 GHz, 3.4-3.6 GHz and 5,7-5,8 GHz. In the long term development of the expected range of 700 MHz (at least in the U.S.). In various countries, state regulators identified different ranges of frequencies for licensing. Frequency regulation in Russia and Ukraine shows a slide presented below.
Currently, WiMAX Forum includes more than 600 companies around the world, they include developers and hardware vendors, system integrators and operators. Finally, one of the most important milestones was the inclusion of standard moving in mid-October of this year, the International Commission on Telecommunications (International Telecommunication Union, ITU) technology IEEE 802.16 (radio interface OFDMA TDD WMAN) as one of the standards of IMT-2000 (International Mobile Telecommunications-2000) satisfying the requirements of IEEE 802.16/ETSI HiperMAN.
That is, in fact, Mobile WiMAX is now officially recognized as one of "the members of the family of cellular mobile technologies." And the next development – 802.16m, even proposed as the basis of the following cellular standard 4G.
Let's digress from time tsifir, specifications, and project prospects for Mobile WiMAX in the world around us. Needless to say, the technology of Wi-Fi, introduced today are everywhere – from laptops and home PCs to smartphones, smartphones, PDAs and even all kinds of portable multimedia is much easier for us to communicate and access information from anywhere in the world where there is a zone of wireless access to relevant network. Another thing is that, in practice, with few exceptions there is not complete coverage of all "living space" of the user, rather small range of existing networks, and most importantly, there are still a number of difficulties during the transition from one network to another.
These questions and many more ready to withdraw a new standard for Mobile WiMAX. Imagine a mobile Internet access and speed of data transmission over 1 Mbit / s through any mobile device, while a low monthly cost – the order of several tens of dollars or even less, and most importantly, "seamless" access to the network from any places. Wherever you are – at home, at work, at rest, in transit, or even traveling abroad, the availability of mobile devices with WiMAX-access will provide access to the Web, to e-mail, MMS, ICQ, VoIP, video telephony in real mode, online games, music, GPS-services, online shopping, IP TV (DVB-H), ambulance services and so on, so forth. It is tempting, especially considering the fact that the operators intend to make this the most "seamless access" to the Internet all the means at their disposal – from cellular networks to Wi-Fi/WiMAX, with imperceptible to the user point of switching. It is very tempting. As aptly put it, analysts from the company Juniper Research, "Mobile WiMAX technology is aimed at the generation of YouTube". That is: megabytes favorite traffic, which we yet have access, in most cases only in stationary conditions, will be available everywhere. And if the traditional way of work and play – through a laptop, is unlikely to undergo significant changes, except that in their composition will be appropriate Wi-Fi/WiMAX-modul, what happens to the appearance, design, and "filling" portable "pocket" of electronics, difficult even to imagine. The developers of Intel is that the conditional class of devices called Mobile Internet Device, or, in abbreviated form, MID, but the variety of form factors and functionality of these decisions right now – even before the bulk of sales, is shocking.