NTT DoCoMo, Japan’s largest cellular operator, is planning a year of tests of IEEE802.16e WiMax in Tokyo.
According to the statement, DoCoMo, working in collaboration with other NTT group companies, will conduct the test in the Yoyogi area of Tokyo for about one year using the 2.5GHz frequency band.
The company applied for a license on Tuesday to carry out the tests, which it hopes will help it verify several things about the technology. The test will cover the following subjects:
- Assess throughput and wireless transmission characteristics according to the distances between a handset and base station, and handset moving speed.
- Verify the optimal wireless parameters and base station allocations to obtain maximum results.
- Assess the possibility of interference from existing satellite communication systems, such as WideStar™.
- Confirm continuous connections during handover within the WiMAX system or between WiMAX and other systems, such as HSDPA.
NTT DoCoMo is not the first company to provide WiMAX in Toyko.
Airspan and YOZAN, a leading telecommunications operator in the Tokyo Metropolitan area, plan to deploy a Tokyo-wide WiMAX network. The Yozan MetroZone will deliver high speed IP connectivity, and support Voice, Video and broadband data services.
They use Airspan’s AS.MAX products in their commercial rollout. The original contract was for $12 million. Airspan expects to complete deliveries of the base stations in March, 2006.
Henrik Smith-Petersen, President of Asia Pacific for Airspan Networks, said: “This network, in one of the world’s top five cities, will be the first major deployment of a WiMAX Metropolitan Area Network. We are extremely pleased to be able to partner with Yozan, whose vision of pervasive broadband we share.”
Yozan launched Japan’s first WiMAX-based service in Tokyo on December 25, 2005. In February 2006, Yozan announced that it would extend WiMAX coverage to the whole Tokyo area, and that it intended to cover all of Nagoya and Osaka with a WiMAX network by the end of June 2006.
The companies announced a further $26 million expansion to their contract this month, bringing its value to more than $42 million. Airspan expects to deliver between $5 million and $8 million of the total in the first quarter of 2006, with the balance by July.
Airspan also said it has received a license to conduct WiMAX access trials in Okayama, to ascertain the feasibility of offering WiMAX access in remote areas where fibre-based services were not possible. The trials are expected to run until March 2007.
Airspan recently announced the first WiMAX USB adapter for mobile use. The device is called the 16eUSB and is said to be fully compatible with the IEEE 802.16e-2005 standard and the WiMAX Forum Mobile WIMAX System Profile.
Mobile WiMAX clients on an UltraMobilePC…on trains or buses…might also be handy for supplying local WiFi. SMC’s $350 EliteConnect Access Points feature Multiple SSIDs, QoS, WPA2, and other Enterprise-level features.
Perhaps a $2000 mobile installation could pay for itself in months. Fee or free.
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A wireless bike, complete with GPS, VOIP, VOD and dynamic AJAX mapping, might provide a showcase, generating publicity far in excess of its cost. Think concerts in the park.
It’s the kind of thing newspapers should do. But newspapers are stupid; they don’t know anything. Think NY-1 or Tokyo Metropolitan Television Broadcasting.
Police and public service agencies might use Homeland Security funds to build a mobile hotspot that could be packed inside a motorcycle saddlebag or a backpack/helmet combination. The portable unit might also be positioned on rooftops and powered with a 12 volt battery for 24 hours of continuous use. A satellite/WiMAX basestation might provide an emergency backbone if the terrestrial system is down.
Call it “The Big One”.
GPS Coded photostories may be the next big thing. Just add narration.
Om Malik likes the Ajaxian World, Hive7 (above). The 3D virtual environment runs on a web browser… no application needed to download and run.
Looking at what Hive7 has built, I have just realized that the web has now gone 3D. Virtual worlds have a new meaning, and collaboration just got easier. I would let you figure it out for yourself, but I think this is the first step in realizing Ajax’s full potential.
Mobile WiMAX will bring broadband everywhere. Get ready.
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