PORTLAND, Ore. - December 15, 2008 - The WiMAX Forum congratulates the Telecommunications Council of Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC) of Japan on the completion and publication of an important report relating to the 3.9G technologies to be operated in FDD frequency bands for IMT in Japan.
“The number of the worldwide mobile subscribers has exceeded four billion users in 2008, up from three billion from last year,” said Tadao Saito, Regional Director of the WiMAX Forum Japan Office. “In order to address the anticipated explosive increase of Internet access among mobile users, innovative and spectrum-efficient mobile communication technology is needed now.”
Mobile WiMAX™ FDD, based on the WiMAX Forum Mobile System Profile Release 1.5*, has been considered by the Telecommunications Council of MIC as one of the 3.9G technologies. MIC's Report titled “Technical Measures for Advancement of IMT-2000” enables innovative IMT-2000 technologies to operate in FDD frequency bands for IMT in Japan, and is critical to timely introduction of innovative mobile broadband technologies that progress towards IMT-Advanced. The WiMAX Forum is considering the details of the radio parameters of Mobile WiMAX FDD for the future inclusion of the 3.9G technical specification in Japan.
The nationwide Mobile WiMAX service in the 2.5 GHz band will be launched next year by UQ Communications in Japan, and its technology is based on the Mobile System Profile Release 1.0*.
The Mobile System Profile Release 1.5 is evolutionary to the Mobile System Profile Release 1.0 and continues to progress to the Mobile System Profile Release 2.0* to be based on the IEEE 802.16m specification, which is a strong candidate of IMT-Advanced to be developed in ITU-R.
The WiMAX Forum is an industry-led organization which makes committed efforts for the global adoption of WiMAX™ technologies and services. In addition to its Portland, Oregon headquarters, the WiMAX Forum has six regional offices globally including Brazil, China, India, Japan, Russia and Taiwan. The WiMAX Forum Japan Office works closely with local operators, vendors, and government officials to bring WiMAX technology to consumers in this region. As the liaison between the international WiMAX ecosystem, the WiMAX Forum Japan Office has provided key parties with the knowledge necessary to make informed decisions about the country’s path to WIMAX.
The Robust WiMAX Ecosystem
The WiMAX Forum represents more than 500 member companies, committed to the success of the WiMAX standard. WiMAX Forum membership consists of more than 140 ecosystem content developers, 165 service providers, 85 silicon component manufacturers and 120 system vendors.
Currently, more than 35 WiMAX Forum member companies are producing WiMAX base stations, 30 companies are providing PC Cards, USB modems, MIDs, and other personal devices, 25 companies provide chipsets and reference designs, and seven of the top eight global device manufacturers are developing WiMAX products.
Further signifying the rapid growth of the WiMAX ecosystem, the first Mobile WiMAX™ products have been WiMAX Forum Certified™ in the 2.3 and 2.5 GHz bands. 3.5 GHz products currently under certification testing are expected to be announced in early 2009. The WiMAX Forum estimates that by 2011 there will be more than 1,000 Mobile WiMAX Certified products found throughout the world.
There are currently more than 400 deployments of WiMAX networks in more than 133 counties. The WiMAX Forum also expects to have a comprehensive global roaming plan available to operators by the end of 2008.
For more information on the WiMAX ecosystem, please visit the WiMAX Forum website at www.wimaxforum.org.
About the WiMAX Forum®
The WiMAX Forum® is an industry-led, not-for-profit organization formed to certify and promote the compatibility and interoperability of broadband wireless products based upon the harmonized IEEE 802.16e/ETSI HiperMAN standard. A WiMAX Forum goal is to accelerate the introduction of these systems into the marketplace. WiMAX Forum Certified products are interoperable and support broadband fixed, nomadic, portable and mobile services. Along these lines, the WiMAX Forum works closely with service providers and regulators to ensure that WiMAX Forum Certified systems meet customer and government requirements.
Through the WiMAX Forum Congress Events Series of global trade shows and events, the WiMAX Forum is committed to furthering education, training and collaboration to expand the reach of the WiMAX ecosystem. For more information, visit the trade show link at www.wimaxforum.org.
"WiMAX Forum," the WiMAX Forum logo and the WiMAX Forum Certified logo are registered trademarks of the WiMAX Forum. "WiMAX," "Mobile WiMAX," "Fixed WiMAX," "WiMAX Certified," and "WiMAX Forum Certified" are trademarks of the WiMAX Forum. Third-party trademarks contained in this document are the property of their respective owners.