Stuart Corner
Monday, 18 June 2007 17:58
Opinion and Analysis
Page 2 of 4
But that aside, Why WiMAX? What due diligence did the Government do on this viz a viz competing technologies? Such as the WCDMA based HSDPA, HSUPA and beyond. Telstra has just invested $1 billion to provide such a network covering 98 percent of the population. Opus has committed at least $500m to reaching 96 percent and proposed extending this to 98 percent at a cost of $370 million to be jointly funded with the Government. This would have created two competing and homogenous networks extending from the densest metro areas to some of the remotest.
There has been much said and written about the relative merits of HSDPA and WiMAX, and it is very questionable given the situation in Australia, the momentum behind HSPA and the evolution of the technology, that WiMAX is the best answer.
A detailed examination of the relative merits of mobile WiMAX and HSDPA undertaken by Arthur D Little earlier this year concluded that HSPA would account for the majority of mobile broadband networks worldwide over the next five years and that there are only a limited number of circumstances where conditions would favour the selection of WiMAX as an alternative.
The independent study was undertaken for the GSM Assocation, but Arthur D Little said it "attempts to take an unbiased view of both technologies, assessing their limitations and achievements on a like-for-like basis, in a framework that is relevant to investors and operators making strategic decisions about technology investments."
It concluded that: "While future mobile WiMax systems are expected to achieve significantly greater data transfer rates than today's HSPA networks (theoretical speeds of eg. 16.8Mbps in urban areas vs 2-3Mbps for HSPA), mobile WiMax cells will tend to be significantly smaller, at only half to a quarter the cell radius of the equivalent HSPA cell [and] initial indications are that capex for current WiMax technology can be up to 5-10 times HSDPA capex in coverage-limited situations on a comparable basis."
Technical merits aside, Arthur D Little pointed out that there is huge momentum behind HSDPA already.
- The large number of GSM and UMTS operators already operating commercial networks in 3G spectrum for whom HSDPA (and upgrades) constitute a natural migration path;
- This large HSPDA base gives rise to significant economies of scale, particularly on handsets and user devices;
- This is supported by a very large ecosystem of global suppliers of components, subsystems, equipment and network design and implementation services;
- Demands for higher speed data services in nomadic and mobile environments which earlier (pre-HSDPA) 3G systems cannot satisfy, and are being generated by competitive pressures and demands from significant customer segments.
