dailywireless.org » Intel’s Mobile WiMAX Chip Due

Intel’s Mobile WiMAX Chip Due

Intel next week is introducing a client chipset that supports both the fixed and mobile versions of WiMax, reports Light Reading.

Intel already sells a fixed WiMax chipset called Rosedale (Intel PRO/Wireless 5116), used in a variety of 802.16 clients.

At the Wireless Communications Association International (WCA) 2006 conference in Washington next week, the company will unveil Rosedale 2, says Light Reading. It has the capability of working both in the 802.16d and 802.16e modes. In a keynote speech to be made Wednesday at the Wireless Communications Expo, Scott Richardson, general manager of Intel’s Service Provider Business Group, will discuss Rosedale 2’s support for fixed and mobile WiMAX.

The chip is meant for use in residential gateways and modems, but the company also is exploring its use in picocell base stations. Rosedale 2 was reportedly “painfully designed in house,” says Yung Hahn, general manager of the WiMax product division at Intel.
By the end of the year, Intel plans to introduce a single-chip radio called Ofer-R, which supports both WiFi and WiMax. A PowerPoint presentation touting Intel’s WiFi/WiMax integration plans shows a parade of devices — including a camera and an iPod. Clearly Intel’s vision for WiMax is data and not VOIP.
“We have a target. We would ultimately like to see WiMax modems get below $50. You hit that mark and magic things happen.”
Unlike WiFi, Mobile WiMax is designed to run in licensed bands of spectrum.
“We’re not waiting for the carriers,” Hahn says. “Each of the regional teams is engaged with a series of operators. We’ve engaged with all the major ones and are in various stages of technology, but also having a lot of deep discussion about structuring a new business model where we both win out of this process.”

One potential candidate is Sprint Nextel, which has a swath of spectrum in the 2.5GHz range that it must use by 2009, per FCC regulations. WiMax is among the radio technologies that can operate in that range. Sprint is supposed to announce its plans for the spectrum by the end of the summer. (See Sprint Nextel Hunts for 2.5GHz Service.)
“The clear bellwether is going to be what does Sprint do?” says Chris Rauh, vice president of marketing for Nitronex Corp. , which makes WiMax power transistors. ”

That said, WiMax equipment makers such as Nortel Networks and Motorola say they have been garnering interest from cable providers. WiMax is also a possibility for backhaul technology in municipal WiFi networks.
“For sure, Sprint could be a nice jumpstart given all the frequency they have, but not a prerequisite to a big market by any means,” says Carlton O’Neal, vice president of marketing for Alvarion. “Mobile WiMax…is a much bigger phenomenon than just Sprint. That would be like saying the Internet or mobile cellular or satellite TV were determined by one company,” said O’Neal.

Related WiMAX announcements include:

Beceem Communications claims to be the only company that has developed a single chip with integrated PHY and MAC functionality as well as a custom WiMAX radio chip. Beceem’s WiMAX Reference Design Kit typically includes PCMCIA card prototypes (below).
Alvarion announced the commercial availability of its BreezeMAX Si, a self-installable, all indoor WiMAX CPE that uses Intel’s Rosedale chipset for plug and play installation.
Alvarion’s mobile WiMAX solution, called 4Motion has completed initial interoperability tests between its base stations and end user devices from third party manufacturers. Their MobileWiMAX gear is expected to be available in the first half of 2007 and includes mobile WiMAX radio base stations; end-user devices, PCMCIA cards and network elements. Alvarion uses TI’s analog and DSP-based technology, compliant with the IEEE 802.16e standard, in the basestation.
Airspan recently announced the first WiMAX USB adapter. The device, called the 16eUSB, is said to be fully compatible with the IEEE 802.16e-2005 standard. Airspan’s EasyST and ProST subscriber terminals are designed to be self installed. They work with Airspan’s MicroMAX and MacroMAX base stations (which are WiMAX Forum certified).
The system is available in the licensed 4.9GHz band for Public Safety applications and in the unlicensed 5.8GHz band. By combining 802.11 Wi-Fi for access and 802.16 WiMAX for back-haul in a single integrated package, Airspan says it can provide a more cost/effective municipal wireless solution.
Navini Networks announced the availability this month of its mobile WiMAX 16e software with smart beamforming. Customer shipments will start in December 2006, following Wave-1 certification.
Motorola’s 802.16e-based MOTOwi4 WiMAX uses dedicated licensed spectrum at 2.3 GHz, 2.5GHz and 3.5 GHz. Motorola is building on its previously announced relationship with Intel to promote 802.16e WiMAX by working with other technology leaders to ensure there will be a complete ecosystem for WiMAX. Their 802.16e-based wi4 WiMAX network and subscriber units will deliver broadband wireless to thousands in Pakistan. Motorola’s solution works with third-party PCMCIA cards from Beceem Communications that incorporate an 802.16e chip.
Samsung and Arialink of Michigan will deploy the first commercial Mobile WiMAX network in North America in early 2007.

In February 2002, the Korean government allocated 100 MHZ of frequency spectrum at 2.3GHz for Mobile WiBro service. Commercial mobile WiMAX service begins next week in Korea with four areas of Seoul getting coverage first. WiBro service is available through Korea Telecom and SK Telecom.
LG Electronics will use a Sequans SQN110 chip in its subscriber units. Samsung’s dual-mode handset, due the first half of ‘07, will combine WiMax and GSM while Samsung also has a dual mode WiBro/CDMA phone. Samsung’s M8000 and H1000 (clamshell, below) use a PDA form factor.
Pakistan plans the world largest mobile WiMAX rollout (so far). One million subscribers are expected initially, with a nationwide rollout to follow. Motorola’s 802.16e-based MOTOwi4 WiMAX will enable Wateen Telecom to offer broadband data services covering residential and business services. Motorola will plan, design and deploy the nationwide WiMAX network.
Redline is incorporating Sequans’ WiMAX chip into its WiMAX CPE for low-cost fixed, portable and mobile WiMAX devices.
Axxcelera’s AB-Max combines unlicensed 5.8 GHz WiMAX with higher level network features. Axxcelera is also teaming with Sequans for CPE. Sequans’ wireless ecosystem partner is Altera.
PicoChip showcased its WiMAX 16e reference design earlier this year. In addition to providing 16e functionality, the development platform offers scalable support for multi-sector systems, Advanced Antenna Systems (AAS) and Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO), with an optional software upgrade from ArrayComm.
ZyXEL announced a WiMAX CPE and WiMAX PCMCIA Notebook card that’s ready to go with the new IEEE802.16e-2005 standard. It’s designed from the ground up for city-wide deployments and has a 23dBm RF design for long range in the 2.3 GHz, 2.5 GHz and 3.5 GHz bands. ZyXEL says it makes mobile Internet access a reality with the added benefit of guaranteed Quality of Service. Alcatel is launching their 802.16e-compatible CPE products in cooperation with Taiwan-based Zyxel.

Intel already announced the majority of its long-term CPU architecture this April. The Core microarchitecture will survive into 2008 with the 45nm Penryn core.

Notebook processors, earlier dubbed Merom, will ship this August and carry the Core 2 Duo moniker. Intel will be taking Santa Rosa mobile with a small form factor and supporting 802.11n. In a couple of years, the processor core that you use in your server will essentially be the same chip you use in your notebook.

How will 2.4 GHz WiFi “city clouds” merge with WiMAX technology? And what about commercial competition from licensed mobile WiMAX operators like Sprint and Clearwire? Will cable and telco operators stick with copper and fiber, or will they go with broadband wireless, too? And what about Rupert? Opinions vary.

Licensed frequencies available in the United States include:

The licensed 2.5 GHz (BRS/EBS) band. This is expected to be the main band used by Mobile WiMAX in the United States. Frequencies on the band are largely dominated by Sprint and Clearwire. Clearwire offers commercial broadband wireless service in a dozen cities. Sprint will announce their plans for 2.5 GHz broadband wireless service this summer (perhaps Tuesday at the WCS show).
The licensed 2.3 GHz (WCS) band. This frequency ajoins powerful 2.3 GHz terrestrial satellite radio repeaters leading some observers to believe range and speed will be marginalized. BellSouth’s Broadband Wireless Service uses 2.3 GHz in Athens, Georgia, New Orleans and two smaller cities in Florida.
The licensed 1.7/2.1 GHz (AWS) band. Most of the AWS spectrum will likely go to cellular companies (especially Cingular and T-Mobile) for 3G phone service using duplex 1.7/2.1 Ghz frequencies. An additional 20 MHz is available from 2155Mhz to 2175 Mhz), but the FCC is not making that available. M2Z, funded by venture capitalists, hopes to launch a “free” nationwide broadband wireless network using the simplex part of the 2155Mhz to 2175 Mhz spectrum.
The licensed 700 MHz band. Benefits of this band include better range and penetrating power which can also lead to lower infrastructure costs. The disadvantage; limited spectrum and channel capacity (it uses 6 Mhz wide channels). By comparison, the less ideal 5.725-5.825 (unlicensed) band is 100 Mhz wide and is available everywhere in the United States. The co-founder of Nextel petitioned the FCC to re-allocate the 700 Mhz public safety band through his Cyren Call to administer the band.

WiFi at 2.4 GHz is a global phenomena. Client cards used to cost $600 — now they’re $20. One year from now dual mode WiFi/Mobile WiMAX cards will be available on mini-PCI cards for laptops. Two years from now it’s expected to be integrated onto SD cards, PDAs and cell phones. WiMAX at 5.8 GHz will first be used for backhaul. In 3-4 years, Mobile WiMAX, at 5.8 GHz, could evolve into a last mile solution.

Perhaps in 3 years the 2.4 GHz radios currently being mounted on lightpoles will be replaced with dual-band 2.4/5.8GHz WiFi/WiMAX radios. By then, license-free 5.8 GHz WiMAX might supply similar range with faster speeds. Dual (or triple) band phones may provide low-cost roaming. Unless cable companies get there first.