Lifting the 3G glass ceiling

By Candice Jones, ITWeb online telecoms editor

Johannesburg, 25 Oct 2007

Local industry players are divided on the implications of the International Telecommunication Union`s (ITU`s) decision to include WiMax in the IMT-2000 body of international standards.

Last week, the ITU approved the technology as a global third-generation communications standard. This allows international companies holding 3G licences to provide WiMax services over and above UMTS or EDGE.

Andy McKinnon, EMEA WiMax principal for Motorola, says the ITU`s move will have significant impact on the local market. "The recognition of the technology by an international regulatory body shows the importance of WiMax as a technology."

He says the ITU`s support gives those South African companies, which have been working with WiMax, increased credibility. "The independent international attention translates into an endorsement of the decision, by South African companies, to pursue the technology."

Eugene van der Westhuizen, GM for new business projects at MWeb, says: "WiMax is the first new technology to be added to the IMT-2000 suite in more than a decade. This places WiMax on an equal footing with the legacy-based technologies already endorsed by the ITU."

Bigger, better, faster

McKinnon says many technology manufacturers are building WiMax into mobile devices, and international visitors in 2010 will expect the technology to be available to them.

He says: "The recognition of the technology by the ITU will allow SA to develop, implement and roll-out WiMax under an international banner. This means SA will have to think on international terms when considering technologies for roaming for international users."

SA is one of the most advanced countries when it comes to mobile broadband, he says. "The country`s adoption of HSDPA has been one of the most successful in the world. While this is a good sign for SA mobile broadband, speed will be an issue."

WiMax is reportedly capable of delivering wireless broadband connections at speeds of 70Mbps or more across an area of up to 64km. HSDPA offers speeds of between 1.4Mbps to 3.6Mbps.

BMI-TechKnowledge senior analyst Richard Hurst says: "Before this decision, mobile providers were looking at a technology glass ceiling which was rapidly approaching with 3G and HSDPA. WiMax promises to lift it, especially in terms of speed."

Is the waiting over?

According to Hurst, the decision may impact regulatory decisions. "We have all been waiting for a decision by the Independent Communications Authority of SA (ICASA) on WiMax. Perhaps the ITU`s inclusion of the technology into a body of standards will speed up that process."

Van der Westhuizen says, while many countries have decided this spectrum should be opened on a "technology neutral" basis, many will still only allocate spectrum based on ITU recommendations. "The South African regulator, ICASA, tends to follow the ITU recommendations and European trends regarding spectrum allocation."

He adds that the inclusion in the IMT-2000 family of standards will enable WiMax to be eligible for spectrum reserved for use by those technologies in many countries, in particular the primary spectrum for mobile WiMax, 2.5GHz to 2.7GHz.

ICASA spokesman Sekgoela Sekgoela says: "ICASA welcomes the decision by the ITU to include WiMax in the IMT-2000 set of standards and hopes this will greatly improve the way people communicate."

He says the regulator would have to evaluate the ITU decision before making any further statements.

No big deal

Jeff Fletcher, product development manager at Internet Solutions (IS), says the move has no particular implication for SA.

"It [the standardisation of WiMax] would only have significant impact if the bigger mobile providers were not thinking about using WiMax. It would have certainly changed their minds."

However, Hurst says he is not surprised by the mixed industry reaction. "For Motorola, this is definitely a positive sign, which they can certainly turn into opportunity."

He notes that it is the opposite for IS, because it does not deal with the mobile standard at all. "It not surprising that IS believes it is not all that significant."