Alvarion Already Pushing For Mobile Not-Really-WiMax
from the trying-to-force-the-issue? dept
This is apparently the time of the year when wireless companies have been trying out there "quick! look over there!" strategies, where they point to what's coming next, rather than discuss the problems they face today. First we had that Super 3G thing, which was an attempt to make people forget about other wireless technologies, and now we have Alvarion claiming that they're going to push forward with mobile WiMax, despite the lack of a standard. This is probably being done for three reasons. First, realizing that all the hype around WiMax is going to quickly turn to disappointment when people realize that it's not a mobile solution at all and it's not going to replace your DSL or your mobile phone any time soon. So, being able to point to mobile WiMax as "coming soon" rather than "coming sometime, maybe," probably looks better. Second, the WiMax folks are facing increasing competition from other wireless offerings -- some of which exist already and offer high speeds and mobility (such as FLASH-OFDM and UMTS TDD). Finally, Alvarion, who has bet big on WiMax, knows that plenty of companies are working hard to make sure mobile WiMax never exists. Alvarion (and Intel, who supports this move) are probably trying to force the issue by showing some working "pre-standard" (read: proprietary technology that we hope might possibly define the standard at some point, maybe) WiMax equipment, in the hopes that it will push past some of the obstacles other companies are laying down in front of any mobile WiMax standard.
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RE:Alvarion Already Pushing For Mobile Not-Really-
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Re: RE:Alvarion Already Pushing For Mobile Not-Rea
Yes, the WiBro deal does help, but it's still not going to happen that quickly, and everyone knows it.
Obviously, FLASH is never going to get standardized, due to a variety of reasons, but some of those factors are at work trying to prevent 802.16e, also. However, it's not entirely clear that the Sprint/Nextel deal really is that bad. Nextel was thinking about going with both EV-DO and FLASH already -- and there's no reason to think that Sprint Nextel might not decide to do the same. They have the spectrum to do so.
Speaking of spectrum... who has the spectrum to do WiMax?
Also, noticing you didn't saying anything about TDD.
Hey, I'd love for WiMax to catch on and be great, but there are a *lot* of questions, and so far there's been a lot more hype than substance.
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