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The Benefits of WiMAX Forum Membership

The WiMAX Forum offers a wide range of benefits to member companies - equipment vendors, end customers, service and applications providers and component suppliers.

WiMAX Forum promotes and certifies equipment for compatibility with the IEEE 802.16 standard for Broadband Wireless Access (BWA), and for interoperability between products from different vendors. The IEEE 802.16 Working Group has developed a point-to-multipoint broadband wireless access standard. The standard addresses a wide range of applications, for businesses requiring high-bandwidth, SOHO customers and residential users, all which may be located in geographically diverse markets. As a result, the IEEE had to accommodate a broad range of features and options in the specifications, and the resulting standard is very comprehensive but somewhat complex. To further complicate matters, due to its limited mandate, the IEEE has not provided test specifications or conformance statements for system suppliers to use.

This is where the WiMAX Forum comes in. The WiMAX Forum has defined a suite of system profiles that allow systems from different vendors to be tested for compatibility and interoperability. These profiles specify features that are mandatory, and features that are optional, for those scenarios that are most likely to be deployed. Equipment from different vendors may be interoperable, even if the vendors have not implemented all (or the same) features defined in the standard. In addition to defining system profiles, WiMAX Forum has developed, and submitted to the IEEE 802.16 Working Group, a set of conformance documents, in accordance with ISO/IEC recommendations. The activities of the WiMAX Forum provide significant benefits to end customers, equipment vendors, service providers, and component suppliers, as outlined below:

To equipment vendors, the WiMAX Forum offers the following benefits:

• WiMAX Forum Certified™ products are considered a low-risk investment by customers, due to the availability of compatible products from different vendors.
• Interoperability allows one vendor to sell and install equipment in another vendor’s network, increasing the overall market available to equipment vendors. This results in higher revenues, increased equipment volumes and reduced equipment cost.
• Depending on their technical or marketing strengths, equipment vendors can choose to develop part of the IEEE 802.16 solution (for example, customer premise equipment) or a complete solution, consisting of customer premise equipment, base stations and network management systems. This way, they can target their efforts at opportunities and market segments in which they are strong.
• Conformance testing tools, developed by the WiMAX Forum, are available to member equipment manufacturers for use during product development. Using these tools, equipment vendors can test their products for interoperability with systems and subsystems from other vendors.
• Members can participate in discussions with other equipment vendors, service providers, and component suppliers, to better understand and shape the direction of the BWA market.
• Interaction with service providers and integrators facilitates a more complete understanding of the products and features that are needed by key customers and market segments.
• Provides ongoing opportunities to work with component vendors and manufacturers on joint development projects, reducing cost and improving the performance of WiMAX systems.
• Provides opportunities for participation in WiMAX Forum-sponsored trade show events and speaking opportunities, both geared to increasing market education and awareness.
• Allows vendors to “ride the WiMAX wave” and promote their equipment as a WiMAX Forum-certified™ Product.

For end customers, the WiMAX Forum provides the following benefits:

• Interoperability between equipment from different vendors results in a wider range of choices for the end customer.
• End customers can select equipment that best meets their requirements; for example, they can select a high-end terminal that offers a full set of features for one location, and a low-end terminal with a very basic feature set for another location.
• The availability of standard products makes the selection easier and less risky for the end customer. In developing countries, communications infrastructure is a major investment. Compatibility provides end customers in developing countries with more assurance that they are making the right choice.
• Overall, prices decrease with increased standardization, when compared with proprietary solutions. Lower prices will result in higher volumes which further benefits the end customer.
• Compatibility will facilitate portability, roaming and, eventually, mobility for end customers.

For service providers, the WiMAX Forum offers the following benefits:

• The WiMAX Forum lobbies regulatory agencies around the world. It works with these agencies to establish specifications that are consistent with WiMAX profiles, and to allocate scarce spectrum for the service. Increased spectrum harmonization also results in lower-cost RF components.
• Service provider members will have more visibility into products that equipment vendors are planning or developing. The Service Providers Working Group (SPWG) provides them the opportunity to influence the development of these products through the requirements specification process.
• Service providers routinely work with equipment manufacturers in various Work and Task Groups. This enhances their understanding of the different products and features that are available on the market, making their product specification and selection activities more efficient.
• Instead of waiting for products to become available, service providers can plan their deployments based on advanced information from product road maps provided by equipment manufacturer members.
• Service providers can influence equipment manufacturers and chip suppliers for product features and capabilities that they need or find desirable.
• Service providers can influence the interoperability of equipment from different suppliers.
• Service providers can help lower equipment costs by participating in equipment specification and development.
• Service providers can develop business relationships with a broad base of BWA vendors, which may lead to collaborative efforts in areas such as product specification and field trial.
• The WiMAX Forum works with service providers to create product and service awareness in their regions, which drives the demand for broadband service.
• Task groups, such as the Applications Task Group, provide opportunities for service providers and vendors to work together in defining future applications, and to better understand the market for each of these applications.

For component suppliers, the WiMAX Forum provides the following benefits:

• Allows ongoing interaction with equipment manufacturers, giving component suppliers the opportunity to align their development roadmap with equipment vendors and integrators plans.
• Facilitates interaction between service providers and equipment vendors, providing efficient communication of product and feature requirements.
• Provides an opportunity for component suppliers to influence equipment manufacturers that are considering IEEE 802.16 standards implementation.
• Provides an opportunity for participation in WiMAX Forum-sponsored trade show events and speaking opportunities, both geared towards increasing awareness of WiMAX.