from Telecommunications Mag (no link because registration does NOT work):
The 700 Club: Mobile WiMAX lowers its frequency sights
Based as it is on licensed spectrum, Mobile WiMAX is bittersweet.
Vendors know operators have spectrum to use equipment they’re
developing, but licensed spectrum closes the door on those who don’t
have it. The U.S. Federal Communications Commission could change that
when it auctions some of the last available 700-MHz spectrum
broadcasters will abandon next January. Besides adding billions of
dollars to government coffers, the auction could provide new spectrum
for mobile WiMAX.
“I’m told by my technical teams how sweet that spectrum is in terms of
the propagation characteristics and the opportunity to do WiMAX there,”
says Regina Moldovan, senior manager of WiMAX marketing at Nortel.
“There’s definitely an opportunity.”
Although WiMAX Forum mobility specifications take 700 MHz into
consideration, certifications in that strata are not a top priority,
says Julie Coppernoll, director of WiMAX marketing at Intel. “I think
most people would say, ‘Let’s get WiMAX rolled out on 2.5 [GHz] first
and then look at other spectrums and frequencies later,’” she says.
“There’s 2.5 and 2.3 in Korea, and in Europe and other parts of the
world they are already rolling 3.5. I’d say they have their plates full
in the short term.”
Coppernoll speculates there may be a chance operators will be interested
in the 700-MHz band for mobile WiMAX next year and that Intel, as well
other silicon players, would be able to respond “fairly quickly” if that
happened. Another uncertainty surrounding the 700-MHz frequency band is
that no one is sure who will own the spectrum. It could be the cable
industry, which has formed a group called SpectrumCo that has already
purchased wireless spectrum at 1.7 GHz and 2.1 GHz. But nobody—probably
not even the cable companies themselves—knows how that’s going to be used.
Non-carrier types, including public safety agencies in the U.S., also
want a chunk of that 700-MHz spectrum as a good foundation on which to
build national first responder network. However, 700 MHz comes with
technological baggage: “We’ve done a lot of work on the 700-MHz band…and
there are guardband issues, so how much of that spectrum is usable is
something that you need to understand,” says Mark Slater, vice president
of Nokia Siemens Networks. “In reality it’s a longer term play.”
The lower frequency range, however, does have its attractions. “It has
much better performance characteristics [than 2.5 GHz],” says Arthur
Giftakis, CTO of TowerStream, a nationwide fixed/portable WiMAX provider
in the U.S. “At 700 you’re doing more than one wall penetration; in
fact, you’re doing two wall penetrations in the urban areas. It also
goes farther. We’re a big fan, and we think it’s going to help the
mobility play.”
Copyright © 2005 Telecommunications Magazine Online
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