SPRINT AND MOTOROLA AND WIMAX ROAMING

Sprint today rolled out WiMAX services in Chicago, Dallas-Ft. Worth, Charlotte, Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill and Cary, N.C., and Greensboro, Winston-Salem and High Point, N.C.. The buildout is being handled by Clearwire, based in Kirkland, Wash., of which Sprint is 51 percent owner.

Sprint customers can use the external 3G/4G USB Modem U300 which offers access to both 3G and WiMAX networks. Customers can benefit from a 4G promotion allowing them to get the dual-mode device for free after a $50 mail-in rebate with a two-year agreement. Sprint is currently offering new 4G/3G data plans for $69.99 monthly with unlimited 4G and unlimited 3G on the Sprint network.

Sprint today also unveiled the Dell Inspiron Mini 10, the first netbook available from Sprint. The Atom-powered Netbook is now available at select Sprint Stores throughout the Twin Cities for just $199.99 with activation on a Sprint Mobile Broadband plan and a two-year service agreement, after a $100 mail-in rebate. It features an embedded EV-DO data card — but no WiMAX.

It follows moves by AT&T in April and Verizon in May to offer netbooks for as low as $49.99.

Samsung’s Moment is also coming to Sprint. It features a slide-out QWERTY keyboard, AMOLED screen and Android inside. It costs $179.99 after rebates (with a two-year commitment).

Motorola says it has shipped 10,000 Mobile WiMAX standard base stations, a 40 percent compound annual growth rate since Motorola’s first WiMAX access points were shipped in 2007. In September, 2009, Motorola announced it has shipped over one million WiMAX CPE device.

There are now 4 million worldwide BWA/WiMAX subscribers, says Maravedis, with 45 new devices obtained WiMAX Forum certification from June to September 2009, including 18 notebooks, 4 cards, 12 USB dongles, and 3 chipsets, among other devices.

Motorola’s WiMAX portfolio includes a variety of solutions with different coverage and capacity. In the licensed 2.3GHz, 2.5GHz, and 3.5GHz bands, Motorola is currently shipping include the WAP 400 with 2×2 antenna technology and the WAP 450 – a higher power 2×2 unit. In addition, the WAP 800 in the 3.5GHz has the versatility to support both coverage and capacity models with 4×8 beam-forming antenna technology.

The WAP 800 uses antenna arrays to control the direction and shape of the radiation pattern — steering and forming the beam to provide an optimal radiation pattern focused in the direction

The recently announced 4×4 WAP 650, which the company says is an easy field upgrade from the WAP 450, and offers operators 30 percent reduction in total cost of ownership compared to average 2×2 base stations, by using more MIMO antennas for better coverage.

Each new generation of the WAP product line is designed with improved energy efficiency. Motorola says there is a more than 100 percent relative energy efficiency improvement from the first to second generation radio frequency (RF) unit, enabling cost-effective solar and wind-powered installations.

Motorola claims more than 35 WiMAX contracts in every region of the world, in 2.3 GHz, 2.5 GHz, and 3.5 GHz, including a recently announced deal with Imagine in Ireland.

Clearwire International, and Taiwan’s Tatung InfoComm and VMAX have for the first time demonstrated mobile WiMax global roaming, the WiMax Forum said on Monday.

The demonstration was done at the WiMax Forum Member Conference in Taipei. It used a USB (Universal Serial Bus) modem, a username and password from Clearwire to gain access to both Tatung InfoComm’s and VMAX’s respective WiMax networks in Taiwan. The operators talked to each other via Aicent, a third-party roaming exchange provider. Other companies participating in the demos include Samsung, Futureinfonet, Alcatel-Lucent and Bridgewater Systems.

Unlike its cellular rivals, WiMax does not have roaming specified in the IEEE standards, explains Clearwire’s International’s president Barry West in this Light Reading video. West wants WiMax to get to the “same position” as GSM roaming, whereby any GSM device can be used on any GSM network in the world.

Clearwire’s international roaming deal means that someone using Sprint’s USB WiMAX modem, for example, could seamlessly roam to other WiMAX networks, explains Unstrung. Clearwire has also signed agreements with WiMAX operators UQ Communications of Japan and Yota of Russia for WiMAX roaming between the operators.

WiMAX Roaming.org, under the auspices of WiMAX Forum, provides a forum for working out roaming standards. Roaming may also be applied when Comcast or Time Warner WiMAX users in the United States venture into other regions that are served by other providers such as Clear or Sprint.

WIMAX TO AUSTRALIA

Motorola, General Electric and Grid Net are part of a group of companies installing smart meters in almost 700,000 households and businesses in Australia by 2013. Officials with the companies say the initiative will be the first smart grid based on the WiMax wireless platform.

The plan (pdf), developed by SP AusNet, one of Australia’s largest publicly-listed energy delivery businesses, calls for the smart meters to be installed by the end of 2013. A communication network also will be set up enabling the smart meters to communicate with SP AusNet’s smart grid.

In the SP AusNet initiative, GE will provide the WiMax 4G-based meter communications technology across the entire network, as well as half of the smart meters that will be installed. Grid Net will bring its PolicyNet network management software suite to help manage the meters, controllers, switches and other devices on the smart grid network, and Motorola is supplying its mobile broadband technology.

Motorola said it had been awarded a four-year project in which it would supply 60 to 80 base stations operating at 2.3GHz as well as an access service network gateway and new microwave systems to extend the wide area network to new coverage areas. Motorola will deploy their WAP 650 base stations as well as Access Service Network Gateways and new microwave systems to extend the WAN to new coverage areas. The company would start shipping products by the end of this year. SP AusNet has done a deal with Unwired to use its 2.3GHz spectrum for the network.

“This is the first time WiMax technology will be used in smart metering for an electrical utility company,” Eric Starnes, vice president of sales and operations for Motorola’s Home and Networks Mobility business in Asia, said in a statement.

Grid Net announced a PolicyNet Reseller program with with GE Energy, which is bundling PolicyNet with its WiMAX SmartMeter and SmartGrid Router product lines (based on hardware product reference designs licensed from Grid Net).

SP AusNet owns and operates an electricity distribution network in eastern and northeastern Victoria, including outer eastern metro and outer northern metro Melbourne. SP AusNet’s electricity distribution network, which is 47,000 kilometres in length and spans an area of 80,000 square kilometres, delivers energy to more than 600,000 people across eastern and northeastern Victoria.

Cisco Systems and IBM have also pursued smart grid projects across the globe. Cisco officials in May announced a smart grid push as keys to developing highly intelligent and manageable electrical distribution systems from the home to the power source. They say smart grids could grow into a $20 billion business within five years.

MOTOROLA NEW WIMAX CPES

MOTOROLA USBw 100 WiMAX USB ADAPTOR

Indoor wireless propagation can be particularly challenging, but Motorola’s wi4 WiMAX USB adaptor is designed to perform, offering reliable, high-speed data services to WiMAX subscribers.
Radio Performance: Transmit: 200 mW maximum; highly sensitive receiver (>5dB better than WiMAX forum specifications), RX diversity, convolution turbo coding (CTC), omni-directional antennas, hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ)
Frequency Band: USBw23100 (2300 - 2400 MHz), USBw25100 (2496 - 2690 MHz)
USBw35100 (3400 - 3600 MHz)
Certification: WiMAX Forum Wave 2 compliant,
5 MHz and 10 MHz channels for 2.3 GHz,
5 MHz and 10 MHz channels for 2.5 GHz
5 MHz, 7 MHz and 10MHz channels for 3.5 GHz
Quality of Service Classes: BE (Best Effort), UGS (Unsolicited Grant Service), RTPS (Real Time Polling Service), NRTPS (Non Real Time Polling Service), ERTPS (Extended Real Time Polling Service)
Security: Device authentication based on X.509 digital certification,
authentication methods according to IEEE 802.16e, EAP-TLS and EAP-TTLS
AES (128-bit CCM) data encryption and authentication



Motorola wi4 WiMAX CPEi 100

From its exceptional ease of use to its sleek styling,
the Motorola wi4 WiMAX CPEi 100 Desktop CPE
offers a 2.5 GHz band WiMAX solution tailored to
appeal to your subscribers.
Radio Performance: 500 mW output power, Highly sensitive receiver, Integral directional antenna, Convolution Turbo Coding (CTC), Hybrid Automatic Repeat request (HARQ)
Frequency Band (MHz): 2496 - 2690MHZ
Certification: WiMAX Forum Certification Wave 1, 5 MHz and 10 MHz Channel for 2.5 GHz
Quality of Service Classes: BE (Best Effort), UGS (Unsolicited Grant Service), RTPS (Real Time Polling Service), NRTPS (Non Real Time Polling Service), ERTPS (Extended Real Time Polling Service)
Security: Device authentication based on X.509 digital certification Authentication methods according to IEEE 802.16e, EAP-TLS and also EAP-TTLS AES (128-bit CCM) Data Encryption and Authentication
RF Performance: Sensitivity: >5dB better than WiMAX Forum Specifications, Antenna Gain: >13dBi, TX power out: +27dBm (0.5 Watts), Noise Figure: 5 dB



Motorola CPEi 600 Series

Motorola’s CPEi 600 Series Customer Premises Equipment for WiMAX makes VoIP even more attractive, with integrated ATA for plug-and-play access.\
Radio Performance: 500 mW output power, Highly sensitive receiver, Retractable, high gain, omni-directional antennas, Orientation independent desktop unit, Two branch Maximum Ratio Combining Diversity, Convolution Turbo Coding (CTC), Hybrid Automatic Repeat request (HARQ)
Frequency: 7 MHz Channel for 3.5 GHz
Quality of Service Classes: BE (Best Effort), UGS (Unsolicited Grant Service), RTPS (Real Time Polling Service), NRTPS (Non Real Time Polling Service), ERTPS (Extended Real Time Polling Service)
Security: Device authentication based on X.509 digital certification, Authentication methods according to IEEE 802.16e, EAP-TLS and, also EAP-TTLS, AES (128-bit CCM) Data Encryption and Authentication Firewall
RF Performance: Sensitivity: >5dB better than WiMAX Forum Specifications, Antenna Gain: 7dBi, TX power out: +27dBm (0.5 Watts), Noise Figure: 5 dB


Motorola CPEi 750 Series

Motorola’s wi4 WiMAX CPEi 750 offers you another Wave 2 ready device option with voice and data features.
Radio Performance: Scaleable OFDMA employing Time-Division Duplex (TDD) mechanism; Diversity Combining: Maximum-Ratio Combining (MRC); Beamforming support; MIMO Matrix A and B; Convolutional Turbo Coding (CTC); Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ)
Certification & Channel & Modulation Scheme Support: WiMAX Forum Certification Wave 2; 5MHz, 7MHz & 10MHz Channel Bandwidths; QPSK, 16QAM, 64QAM, both up-link and downlink
Indoor Coverage: Up to 2 kilometers range; Exceptional RF performance
Quality of Service Classes: BE (Best Effort); UGS (Unsolicited Grant Service); RTPS (Real Time Polling Service); NRTPS (Non Real Time Polling Service); ERTPS (Extended Real Time Polling Service)
Throughput: >5Mbps Down- Link> 2 Mbps Up-Link
Security: Device authentication based on X.509 digital certification; Authentication methods according to IEEE 802.16e, EAP-TLS and also EAP-TTLS; AES (128-bit CCM) Data Encryption and Authentication Firewall
RF Performance: Sensitivity: > 5dB better than WiMAX Forum Specifications across all modulation schemes; Antenna Gain: 7dBi; TX power out: 26dBm; EIRP: 33dBm;
Noise Figure: 5 dB

WIMAX PRICE IN PAKISTAN

TMCnet says a recent survey found Pakistani broadband users enjoy inexpensive broadband compared to other parts of the world. Pakistans ISPs are offering a 1 MB link for (USD) $15/mo.

In 2004, the Pakistan Telecommunications Authority (PTA) introduced two types of licence for ISPs – regional and nationwide, and also exempted them from Central Excise Duty. Since liberalisation, over the past four years, the Pakistani telecom sector has attracted more than USD 5.6 billion in foreign investments. During 2007/08, the Pakistani telecoms sector alone received USD 1.44 million in Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) – about 30 per cent of the country’s total foreign direct investment.

Wateen has one of Motorola’s largest mobile WiMAX deployments. Wateen Telecom is Abu Dhabi Group’s investment in Pakistan, and the leading “Carrier’s Carrier”.

Wateen’s commercial launch of mobile WiMAX services began with 22 major cities (pdf).

Wateen is likely to see growing WiMax competition from operators including Wi-Tribe, Mobilink and LinkDotNet in Pakistan.

MOTOROLA MOBILE WIMAX DEMOS

In here you can watch the Motorola Wi4 demo videos of Sprint's Mobile WiMax demonstration show in Chicago

NEW PRE-WIMAX PCMCIA CARD FROM CLEARWIRE

Few days ago Sprint is shown their Mobile WiMax XOHM demonstration by driving in downtown Chicago. Now Clearwire is announced their Mobile WiMax from Motorola. The latest saviour of wireless broadband is at hand. Clearwire is finally shedding those clunky external modems, and is launching its very first pre-WiMAX data card to bring what it deems "True Broadband" to laptops. The PC card uses Motorola's pre-WiMAX OFDM tech, and doesn't require any extra power sources beyond your laptop's own precious juice. If you're luckily enough to be living in some random part of Clearwire's primarily-podunk US coverage area, you can be getting some 1.5Mbps wireless internets for $59.99 a month, plus a $6.99 a month fee to lease the PC card. You can buy the card straight up for $230, but that seems a bit excessive given the "pre" nature of the thing at the moment.