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Because of the continued delaying of certification of at least 30 WiMax-enabled products by Spain's Cetecom Labs, many analysts say WiMax is in danger of falling increasingly behind WiFi. In addition, with more citywide wireless initiatives popping up across the country, most if not all are turning to WiFi technology to provide wide range access to users.

Obviously, WiMax supporters want to make sure their products do what they're supposed to do, but they may eventually have to be deployed overseas to prove their worth before finally finding a place in the U.S. Of course, the pending field trials will certainly tell a huge part of the story.

The recently held Wireless Communications Association trade show brought up some interesting discussion from a number of influencers in the industry egarding the creation of a global roaming standard for wireless. (Wonder how much roaming costs will be if this goes through?) In addition, there are greater calls for standards for both mobile and fixed wireless platforms, including WiMax, since society is much more mobile than even a year or two ago and that businesses are increasingly needing their workers to stay connected, no matter where they are.

Of course, standards won't necessarily make everything work the way it should, so some are calling for greater analysis to measure what technologies work and what needs to be clarified or even abandoned if the outcomes don't measure up to the expectations.

A new report from In-Stat indicates the global pre-WiMAX-Certified 802.16-2004 equipment market, which includes subscriber units and base stations, will grow to over $3 billion by 2010. According to In-Stat analysts, it's a rather aggressive outlook on the future of WiMax, given that the upcoming field trials have not taken place yet nor has there been any indication of which type of WiMax (fixed or mobile) will find more acceptance by providers. However, with subscriber units expected to decrease in price from $500 currently to $100 by 2010, it looks like either platform should be fairly affordable.

An agreement between GlobeTel Wireless and Moscow-based LLC Internafta will result in the development and deployment of wireless networks in 30 selected Russian cities over the next two years. According to GlobeTel Wireless, the networks will provide citywide wireless access based on both WiFi and WiMax technologies, along with VoIP telephony and business-based DECT (Digital Enhanced Cordless Technologies) service.

Plans call for Moscow and St. Petersburg to be among the first 10 cities to get the service, with the other selected cities to be phased in during a 27-month period.

As the demand for wireless access continues to grow exponentially, more and more homes and small offices want to get into the networking act. To that end, companies like SercoNet and AuraOne Systems are marketing a networking technology that makes it possible to convert radio frequencies used for WiFi, cellular, or WiMax into intermediate frequencies that can travel over two-wire phone lines, coax cable, or powerlines. In addition, there are some who believe the technology also has potential for in-home cellular coverage and for broadband services, as well as improving WiFi performance within the home.

Both companies expect to launch their products in the U.S. early next year and the technology should get some attention very quickly. The only concern is whether or not this networking platform will be affordable to the average person at home who wants to set up their own wireless network without having to go to extremes.

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However, that does not mean that mobile WiMax is going to sit on the sidelines for the next few years. The big wireless providers will certainly find uses for it, and there has been speculation that mobile WiMax could be embedded into laptops ALONG WITH WiFi, Ethernet, 56k modems, etc., in order to give users the option to use the “best available network” at any particular time.

Not a bad strategy, and it makes good marketing sense. In the short term, WiFi clearly has the edge, but by the end of the decade, it could be a different story. Nevertheless, it doesn’t look that there will be a battle between the two technologies at this time, and they could very well learn to co-exist if everything turns out according to plan.

As we have covered here extensively, the municipal WiFi movement continues to gather momentum with each passing day. Philadelphia is in the process of building their network (with deployment expected by the middle of next year), New Orleans just announced they will be building their own network (good for them!), and San Francisco and Minneapolis are evaluating bids and are expected to get things moving fairly soon. Let's also not forget Tempe, Arizona, which is about to become the country's first all-wireless city this coming February. It wouldn't be a stretch to say that we'll be reading about some sort of citywide wireless initiatives in Los Angeles, Boston, Miami, Dallas and points in between in the near future.

Of course, the big enchilada is (no surprise) New York City. Obviously, with a city this big and so embedded with a governmental bureaucracy, a citywide wireless network proposal that everyone can generally agree upon is going to take a while to sift through and get going. There are, of course, a myriad of logistical issues to work out—where antennas will be placed, who will manage the network, how much will it cost, etc.

According to the story we're linking to, there's a hearing scehduled for the middle of next week to discuss a bill to create a commission to advise Mayor Michael Bloomberg and the city council on how the city can develop a wireless network. You can see already that there will be a number of layers and people that will be involved in the process, so from this viewpoint, it doesn't seem likely that Manhattan will have a wireless network up and running by the end of 2006.

However, city officials have to make sure that they don't fall too far behind in the growth of wireless, either. If Philly, San Francisco, and even New Orleans can get networks going in (relatively) short periods of time, then New York City has to follow suit and move forward. It really is to their advantage if they do.

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It's taken a while (nearly two years), but the IEEE has finally given their blessing to the mobile WiMax standard (802.16e-2005) and trials and certification based on the new spec, which will be overseen by the WiMax Forum, will begin early next year. Obviously, the gloves are now off for manufacturers and vendors, so we should expect to see a number of products and services hitting the marketplace by 3Q 2006 or early 2007, depending of course on how trials and certification testing progresses.

The citywide wireless network phenomenon continues to spread. Akron, Ohio plans to deploy a wireless network by partnering with MobilePro Corp.'s NeoReach Wireless Division. Plans call for portions of the city to be phased in during development. A pilot network will first cover several neighborhoods and include the city's communications and public works facilities near the airport. Subscribers will be offered access on an annual, monthly, daily and hourly basis.

Canadian telecom Nortel announced today that it will be building a WiMax network covering 8,000 square miles in a rural section of the province of Alberta, with plans for it to be up and running to most area residents by the end of next summber. According to a company press release, the network will be managed by the Alberta Special Areas Board, a group responsible for the administration of the area as it relates to providing all municipal services as well as the leasing of public lands within the area. The network will allow both homes and business to access the network at data rates between 1 and 3 Mbps, and will support a variety of applications for users of all types.

A number of analysts are saying that manufacturers of WiMax-enabled products are pushing to have the IEEE 802.16 spec certified sooner rather than later. Demand for WiMax has certainly increased in a number of regions, especially in Europe and Asia-Pacific. As we have discussed here for months, pre-WiMax solutions are available with many vendors undergoing WiMAX Forum certification testing for 802.16d (the fixed wireless broadband standard). Of course, the mobile standard 802.16e is the spec that everyone is fixated on, and that will certainly determine the future mass global deployment of WiMax. In addition, with the upcoming field trials set to take place in a number of locations in this country, the early spring could see the launch of numerous WiMax-enabled networks.

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