13 companies submit equipment for validation testing process
PORTLAND, Ore. – July 23, 2009 - The WiMAX Forum® today announced that validation testing for the 2.3 GHz Mobile WiMAX™ profile in the 5/10 MHz and 8.75 MHz channels has begun and expects the first group of 2.3 GHz products to be WiMAX Forum Certified™ in 4Q 2009.
“The acceleration of the certification of 2.3GHz WiMAX products demonstrates the WiMAX Forum’s unwavering commitment to effective certification programs for the ecosystem,” said Dr. Mohammad Shakouri, acting president of WiMAX Forum. “The WiMAX Forum’s goal is to create an ecosystem that is supported by interoperable products. Our progress in certification of 2.3GHz also shows the market demand and potential for this spectrum band.”
2.3GHz WiMAX operators are amongst the fastest growing sectors in WiMAX ecosystem. Globally, the WiMAX Forum has tracked 29 commercial deployments in this spectrum band as of June 2009.
“The certification of 2.3 GHz products is critical to the deployment of WiMAX networks in regions such as India, Asia and Africa,” said Ed Agis, co-chair of the WiMAX Forum Certification Working Group. “Certification profiles for 2.3 GHz also pave the way for WiMAX Forum Certified tri-band devices in 2010 which will increase the opportunities for true global roaming across networks in the 2.3, 2.5 and 3.5 GHz spectrum bands which make up a global WiMAX footprint today.”
Currently, 13 WiMAX Forum member companies have submitted subscriber station and/or base station equipment to be part of the validation testing pool. With such a promising turnout from the vendor community, the WiMAX Forum sees the potential of multiple different form factors in this profile using WiMAX devices to enter the marketplace by early 2010. Mobile WiMAX operators like Korea Telecom and Packet One are amongst the most active operators engaging with the WiMAX Forum for the 2.3 GHz validation process, providing oversight to the test cases and adding their networking expertise to optimize the tests for their networks.
“We are encouraged by how rapid this validation process has become thanks to best practices and knowledge gained from previous validation and certification processes,” said Agis. “At the start of the certification program, it took about nine months to get the first batch of test cases complete. Now it only takes two to three months to validate the test cases before we start certifying devices.”
The WiMAX Forum is the worldwide consortium focused on global adoption of WiMAX and chartered to establish certification processes that achieve interoperability, publish technical specifications based on recognized standards, promote the technology and pursue a favorable regulatory environment. The WiMAX Forum’s membership base represents a thriving WiMAX ecosystem that supports more than 484 WiMAX network deployments in 141 countries.
For more information on the WiMAX ecosystem, please visit www.WiMAXTimes.com.
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.
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