WiMAX v LTE-A: battle for the 4G wireless standard ramps up

Stuart Corner
Wednesday, 07 October 2009 07:46

IT Industry - Strategy

IEEE says its proposal is a result of cooperation with multiple ecosystem participants. "To date, the 802.16m working group has held 17 meetings with over 1200 professionals affiliated with 200+ organisations from 23 countries. Over 4000 documents have been contributed toward the development of the project. Participants have also contributed directly toward the IMT-Advanced submission by proposing content for the technology description as well as offering evaluations and detailed simulations of the technology for use in the development of IEEE’s self-evaluation."

The IEEE says its 802.16 Working Group "is interactively engaged with external organisations, including the WiMAX Forum, Japan’s ARIB, and Korea’s TTA, to develop a coordinated view regarding IEEE’s IMT-Advanced proposal. Recently, IEEE signed agreements with the Association of Radio Industries and Businesses (ARIB) and Telecommunications Technology Association (TTA) directed at fostering cooperation regarding IEEE 802.16 and IMT-Advanced."

In preparation for the next phase in the development of the IMT-Advanced recommendations, IEEE has invited independent evaluation groups to "engage in a dialogue aimed at providing them with a better understanding of the technology and the self-evaluation and offering them opportunities to comment on the developing P802.16m draft standard. " It has set up a web page and has scheduled a coordination meeting for January 2010 in San Diego.

The 802.16m amendment to 802.16e provides for backward compatibility with 802.16e infrastructure and terminal equipment. The IEEE 802.16m project started in December 2006 and according to the IEEE has been progressing steadily with the draft standard currently in ballot. Completion is expected in 2010. Australian wireless telco, Unwired, which has just announced its 802.16e rollout plans is keen to upgrade to 802.16m.