WiMAX, the Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access, is a telecommunications technology aimed at providing wireless data over long distances in a variety of ways, from point-to-point links to full mobile cellular type access. It is based on the IEEE 802.16 standard, which is also called WirelessMAN. The name WiMAX was created by the WiMAX Forum, which was formed in June 2001 to promote conformance and interoperability of the standard. The forum describes WiMAX as “a standards-based technology enabling the delivery of last mile wireless broadband access as an alternative to cable and DSL.”
802.16d
The standard is correctly called 802.16-2004 and was developed by the IEEE 802.16 Task Group d. Therefore the project was called 802.16d, but the standard never was. However, since this standard is frequently called 802.16d.
802.16e
802.16e is an amendment to 802.16-2004, and the amendment is properly referred to as 802.16e-2005. 802.16e-2005 is not a standard in its own right — since it is only an amendment, the original document (802.16-2004) has to be read and then the amendments added to it.
Fixed WiMAX
This is a phrase frequently used to refer to systems built using 802.16-2004 (’802.16d’) and the OFDM PHY as the air interface technology.
Fixed WiMAX deployments do not cater for handoff between Base Stations, therefore the service provider cannot offer mobility.
Mobile WiMAX
A phrase frequently used to refer to systems built using 802.16e-2005 and the OFDMA PHY as the air interface technology. “Mobile WiMAX” implementations can be used to deliver both fixed and mobile services.
Uses
The bandwidth and reach of WiMAX make it suitable for the following potential applications:
- Connecting Wi-Fi hotspots with each other and to other parts of the Internet.
- Providing a wireless alternative to cable and DSL for last mile broadband access.
- Providing high-speed data and telecommunications services.
- Providing a diverse source of Internet connectivity as part of a business continuity plan. A wireless network can be “always connected”.
- Providing highly mobile connectivity.
With WiMax in a dual-mode cell phone, the WiMax connection acts as an additional voice connection using VoIP.
Hello soft
Using Voice Call Continuity (VCC), calls can be seamlessly transferred between the VoIP network and the cellular network. This allows true mobility of voice communication! Hello soft
Fixed-MobileConvergence.Net Editor | 09-Jan-08 at 11:19 am | Permalink
The most important addition to WiMax + VoIP as a feature set is the addition of Voice Call Continuity (VCC) for dual-mode phones (see http://fixed-mobileconvergence.net ). By providing both WiMax and cellular on a single mobile handset, this allows for both cellular calls and VoIP calls to be seamlessly transferred, which means even more advanced technologies can be created, including voice instant messaging, web browsing click-to-dial, multiple accounts on a single phone, unified communications, etc! It is finally an exciting time for VoIP, especially due to hardware costs for integrating VoIP decreasing, such as softDSP solutions (as noted in this design paper http://www.dspdesignline.com/howto/204803680 ). This is truly what allows hardware cost to decrease for the end user.