How Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) Works

📅Oct 10, 2012

Brief：Full name is Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access, i.e., global microwave access interconnection. WiMAX is also known as 802.16. WiMAX is an emerging broadband wireless access technology that provides high-speed Internet connectivity, with a data transmission distance of up to 50 km. WiMAX also offers QoS guarantees, high transmission rates, and rich service diversity.

Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX)Working Principle

The full name is Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access, i.e., global microwave access interconnection. WiMAX is also known as 802.16. WiMAX is an emerging broadband wireless access technology that provides high-speed Internet connectivity, with a data transmission distance of up to 50 km. WiMAX also offers QoS guarantees, high transmission rates, and rich service diversity. WiMAX starts from a high technical baseline, adopting advanced technologies that represent the future direction of communication technology development, such as OFDM/OFDMA, AAS, and MIMO. As technical standards evolve, WiMAX gradually achieves the mobilization of broadband services, while 3G achieves the broadbandization of mobile services, and the convergence of the two networks will become increasingly deep.

WiMAX is considered to take the best part of a cellular network, allowing convenient connection anywhere within the service provider's wide coverage area, and taking the best of Wi-Fi—the fast speed and familiar broadband Internet experience. These are then combined into a new wireless standard. Being able to obtain WiMAX as a subscription or pay-per-use as-you-go service makes broadband similar to receiving mobile phone service.

WiMAX is a Metropolitan Area Network (MAN) technology. Service providers deploy a network of towers, which enables access over many miles. Internet connectivity is then immediately available anywhere within the coverage area. And like Wi-Fi, WiMAX is a standards-based technology, which will unlock the advantages of open markets and global economies of scale, providing devices and services that consumers desire.

Cells

Therefore, WiMAX transmits the Internet with a forward-looking approach, and WiMAX networks use a practice similar to mobile phones. A certain geographic area is divided into a series of overlapping regions called cells. Each cell provides coverage for users in that neighborhood. When traveling from one cell to another, the wireless connection is handed off from one cell to another.

Equipment

A WiMAX network consists of two main components: a base station and subscriber equipment. A WiMAX base station is installed on a tower or tall building to broadcast the wireless signal. Subscribers receive the signal on WiMAX-enabled laptops, Mobile Internet Devices (MIDs), or even WiMAX modems.

WiMAX Standard at a Glance

The WiMAX standard supports mobile, portable, and fixed service options. This enables wireless providers to offer broadband Internet access in areas relatively underserved by telephone and cable companies. For fixed WiMAX deployments, service providers offer Customer Premises Equipment (CPE) that acts as a point-to-point wireless "modem" to provide an interface to the WiMAX network for a specific location, such as a home, Internet café, or office. WiMAX is also well suited as an economical method for emerging markets to provide high-speed Internet.

Radio Signals

These bars on cellular phones or wireless laptops tell people the strength of wireless signals. Behind these graphic indicators is the world of wireless communication. Wireless networks travel through the air using radio signals operating at given frequencies, called spectrum. Over distance, radio signals weaken due to weather, buildings, and even foliage. This is why wireless networks rely on broadcasting from multiple towers with overlapping areas to blanket a large region.

Frequency is either licensed or unlicensed. Unlicensed frequency is open to any user, which raises the possibility of interference from other devices. Wi-Fi networks use unlicensed spectrum. WiMAX service providers use licensed spectrum, which allows exclusive rights to its use for greater predictability and stability.

WiMAX Technology

WiMAX is an emerging technology that provides "last mile" broadband connectivity over a wider geographic area than Wi-Fi, thereby supporting enterprise customers with T1-class services and residential users with access equivalent to cable/DSL. With its coverage range of 1 to 6 miles at any location (depending on various factors), WiMAX can provide better mobility for high-speed data applications. Additionally, with this coverage range and high throughput, WiMAX can provide backhaul for telecommunications infrastructure, enterprise campuses, and Wi-Fi hotspots.

WiMAX is built on advanced wireless technologies that counteract the effects of interference to deliver more data over a larger range. Two key advanced wireless breakthroughs incorporated into the mobile WiMAX standard are Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA) and Multiple Input/Multiple Output (MIMO) smart antenna technology. These two technologies effectively place more data onto available airwaves to improve throughput and/or coverage. MIMO is particularly advantageous in high-interference environments, such as central urban areas.

OFDMA breaks a signal into many independent sub-signals before transmitting them across the airwaves to increase spectral efficiency. By diversifying the signal in this way, even if some blocks do not get through, the signal can still be reconstructed at the receiving end. MIMO uses multiple antennas at both ends of the wireless connection (base station and user equipment) to enable data to travel along multiple independent paths. For example, a 1x2 configuration refers to a device with 1 Tx (transmit) and 2 Rx (receive) antennas; similarly, 3x3 refers to 3 Tx and 3 Rx antennas.

A WiMAX connection requires a WiMAX-enabled device and a subscription to WiMAX broadband service. WiMAX connectivity may require the purchase of additional software or hardware at extra cost. WiMAX availability may be limited, and users should consult their carrier for support details and network restrictions. Broadband performance and results may vary due to environmental factors and other variables.

Operating Systems

Windows XP Professional x64 Edition*
Windows Vista Starter, 32-bit Edition*
Windows Vista Home Basic, 32-bit Edition*
Windows Vista Home Premium, 32-bit Edition*
Windows Vista Business, 32-bit Edition*
Windows Vista Enterprise, 32-bit Edition*
Windows Vista Ultimate, 32-bit Edition*
Windows Vista Home Basic, 64-bit Edition*
Windows Vista Home Premium, 64-bit Edition*
Windows Vista Business, 64-bit Edition*
Windows Vista Enterprise, 64-bit Edition*
Windows Vista Ultimate, 64-bit Edition*
Windows XP Starter Edition*
Windows XP 64-bit Edition*
Windows XP Professional*
Windows XP Home Edition*
Windows XP Tablet PC Edition*
Windows XP Media Center Edition*

Applies to: Intel WiMAX/WiFi Link 5350 and Intel WiMAX/WiFi Link 5150 products

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