xenophon
join:2007-09-17
 ·Sprint Mobile Broa..
1 edit | reply to screavic
Re: At this rate...
Obsoleted by what? LTE? They are both essentially the same tech. If WiMAX is obsolete, so is LTE.
Difference is, LTE is controlled by the telcom industry (3GGP) and not as open as WiMAX. WiMAX is controlled by IEEE, which the consumer electronics industry is already tied into with WiFi.
There's a much greater chance we'll see all kinds of consumer electronics devices with WiFi/WiMAX combo chipsets than with LTE.
Clearwire also has about 100mhz spectrum in most markets, enough to supply a lot of bandwidth to many users at once. ATT/Verizon only have about 25mhz spectrum in 700mhz range for LTE if I recall. |
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patcat88
join:2002-04-05
Jamaica, NY
| said by xenophon  :Difference is, LTE is controlled by the telcom industry (3GGP) and not as open as WiMAX. WiMAX is controlled by IEEE, which the consumer electronics industry is already tied into with WiFi. Name me 2 countries with 2 carriers that use the same frequency band and the carriers allow you to activate each other's wimax cards. Wimax cards are locked by frequency to a particular country and a particular carrier. |
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xenophon
join:2007-09-17
·Sprint Mobile Broa..
1 edit | Few WiMAX devices cover 2-3 major frequency bands, but could work on other carriers and in differing countries. But true, if a device only has a certain band, it may only work with one carrier. As WiMAX matures, it does need to have devices that cover all major bands.
I see your point. It depends on how limited the device is but is not an inherent limitation of WiMAX itself.
It took a while for multiband cellphones to appear. No different with WiMAX devices. |
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patcat88
join:2002-04-05
Jamaica, NY
| said by xenophon :I see your point. It depends on how limited the device is but is not an inherent limitation of WiMAX itself. It took a while for multiband cellphones to appear. No different with WiMAX devices. It is an inherent limitation of WiMAX. The standard doesn't define any frequencies unlike GSM/LTE in which all bands that can be used are defined by a central body. Also each WiMAX provider decides to recycle some different band, its not that there are 2 competing WiMAX providers in the same band like with 800 mhz cellular and PCS and its just a software switch for which adjacent channel to log into. |
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