The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), a global technical standards group, has approved iBurst's technology as a new standard for IEEE 802.20.
This paves the way for widespread deployment of iBurst technology around the world.
iBurst SA has deployed a countrywide wireless broadband network with more than 230 base stations, based on the iBurst technology.
iBurst technology is a mobile broadband wireless access system, currently driven commercially by the Japanese vendor Kyocera. Ten countries worldwide, including SA, have commercially deployed iBurst to date.
"We are pleased that the IEEE has chosen to ratify iBurst as a global standard because the decision will drive adoption of the technology by vendors and telecom operators around the world," says iBurst SA group CEO Thami Mtshali.
The widespread use of iBurst will help to drive equipment prices down, to the benefit of iBurst SA and its broadband customers, he says.
Vindicated
Mtshali adds that the IEEE's decision to accept iBurst as an 802.20 standard vindicates iBurst SA's decision to build a network on this technology.
iBurst is one of the most spectrally efficient wireless broadband technologies, he says. It also has high capacity, essential for mobile broadband wireless access services, and distributes its high data rates to many mobile PC users, he says.
"ICASA demonstrated tremendous foresight when granting the iBurst spectrum in SA several years ago," says Mtshali. Globally, over 20 countries have licensed operators in the same spectrum, he notes.
The approval of iBurst by the IEEE follows the approval of iBurst as a standard by the American National Standards Institute, and approval by the International Telecommunication Union Radio-communication Sector.
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