WiMax race is on

By Damaria Senne for Telkom
Johannesburg, 03 May 2007

WiMax deployments are speeding ahead in SA, with Internet service provider MWeb the latest to join the fray, as companies scramble to take advantage of the technology's benefits.

MWeb yesterday announced it had begun a WiMax trial that will see 1 000 homes and businesses in Cape Town and Johannesburg connected within the next two months. This initiative follows the Independent Communications Authority of SA (ICASA) granting a six-month WiMax test licence.

Other players in the local communications space, including Altech, Tshwane Metro, BCS NET, Internet Solutions and Telkom, recently entered the WiMax arena. The fixed-line monopoly will be the first to roll-out a commercial WiMax network.

ICASA has awarded a total of 11 test WiMax licences to local players. Other test licensees include Michelangelo Technologies, Multisource Telecomms, Verizon and Origin X.

The MWeb trial aims to test its wireless network, as well as determine how the technology performs in various environments, including underserviced areas where communications infrastructure is limited, says CEO Rudi Jansen.

Jansen says MWeb is testing the 802.16e Mobile WiMax standard, with equipment from Israel-based vendor Alvarion. Telkom and implementation partner Saab Grintek also chose Alvarion to provide technology for their fixed WiMax network, running on the 802.26d standard.

Gondwana, which was closely involved in MWeb's recent deployment of a fixed WiMax network in Namibia, will be installation partner for the local test network, says Jansen.

Uncapped options

Jansen says MWeb plans to test a number of uncapped connectivity options, aimed at the consumer, small business and corporate markets, along with voice and video services. The test products include 384kbps, 512kbps and 1 024kbps options. Trial participants will not pay for the service while it is still in test phase, he says.

MWeb is erecting eight base stations for the trial - three in Cape Town and five in Johannesburg, Jansen adds. The Johannesburg WiMax base stations are located in Boksburg, Randburg, Sandton, Soweto and Victory Park, while the Cape Town base stations are on the Foreshore, at N1 City and Plumstead.

Despite the rush to deploy WiMax networks, industry players are concerned the technology may not deliver as advertised.

Internet Solutions business development manager Jeff Fletcher says WiMax fails to live up to its hype because economically, it is not an ideal replacement for ADSL, as has been touted.

It is simply another broadband access medium in the same way that cable-modem technology is a competitor to ADSL, he says.

Hendrik Bredenkamp, mobile systems manager at Ericsson SA, also argues it is four years too late. Right now, 802.16e is the only WiMax standard that delivers any form of mobility and that standard was only ratified at the end of last year.

Most of the local deployments are based on the 802.16d standard, which will require a "rip-and-replace" approach to upgrade to the mobile version, observers have said.

BMI-TechKnowlege senior analyst Richard Hurst says WiMax presents a good opportunity for communications providers to become competitive and take advantage of new technologies. "Any communication service provider worth his salt would look at the opportunities that emerge and assess what opportunities they provide."

He adds that South African companies are likely to deploy a hybrid of WiMax with other technologies, providing for fixed and wireless services.