Mobile WiMAX Technology and Its Impact on Society and Business - Report Example

Mobile WiMAX‏ The emergence of the mobile WiMAX technology is the latest in the rapid evolution of information and communication technology. With its features, it poses new and positive benefits for people and society. This development is anchored on the technology’s capability to transcend the limits of the current wired systems, in effect, enhancing mobility and coverage of the Internet and communications. Introduction The rapid development of technology has drastically affected the way we live. Today, information technology in particular, have rendered distance, geography and time immaterial in regard to communication. The concept of the global village has emerged as people are brought closer together by the telecommunications and the Internet. Because of this technology, there is an increase in interactivity throughout the globe that unarguably change how people live their lives today and in the future. Our generation has been called as the Information Age and that it brings about a full-scale information network and development of technologies that continuously break the constraining bonds in communication and in the access to information. One of the most important of these is the so-called Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access or the WiMAX technology. The mobile WiMAX technology is touted by telecom industry players and silicon technology providers such as AT&T, Intel, Motorola, Nokia and Samsung as the next generation of wireless technology that would emerge in the telecommunications industry. (Bing 2007, p. 815) It is known under several titles including WiMAX, IEEE 802.16e and the South Korean initiative called WiBRO. This paper will explore the mobile WiMAX technology and in the process, discuss the impact of the technology both to society and business. Background IEEE 802.16 is a standard for wide area wireless networks and that it includes important service provider requirements such as QoS, security, flexible and scalable operations in different RF brands. Now, WiMAX is going a step further as it narrows down some implementation choices of 802.16 in order to achieve interoperation between equipment manufacturers. (Ahson and Ilyas 2007, p. 78) As it is, WiMax is able to standardize several air interfaces as well as several profiles in different frequency bands. WiMAX offers broadband communication that can be used in different ways. For example, some service providers could use the technology as an Internet access system that covers the last mile while others see its potential as a provider of a general-purpose interconnection among physical sites, say in a city. There are two different categories of WiMax systems today and that they must be considered separate from each other. The first is the so-called fixed WiMAX, which is a reliable and efficient air interface based on 802.16-2004[1] used for broadband access. The subject of this paper, mobile WiMAX, is the second category and that it is an extension of the fixed WiMAX only that it includes an added standard of mobility. This system requires a more complex air interface and networking architecture than the former. As a result, mobile WiMAX establishes a different standard in consideration with different variables such as location register, paging, handoff, battery-saving modes, and other network functions to manage mobility. (Ahson and Ilyas, p. 79) WiMAX can provide 10 Mbps speed over a long distance, which is as much as 10 kilometers. (Comer 2008, p. 278) The mobile WiMAX technology is still in its experimental stage. But in the event that WiMAX should be successfully scaled down to fit inside mobile devices such as notebook computers and mobile phones, then an economically feasible fee-based WiFi-like coverage over wide areas for mobile users would be established. Here, it is easy to allow WiMAX network operators to provide Internet access and become mobile phone operators as well without setting up an infrastructure of cables and wires for connectivity. Mobile WiMAX has been considered by many as an extension of the WiFi technology. The main reason for such a relationship is the increase in range and bandwidth that mobile WiMAX is capable of. (International Engineering Consortium 2006, p. 2) Impact on Society In assessing the impact of WiMAX to society, one needs to analyze how the Internet and telecommunication changed the way we live: they supplied us with a higher link capacity and helped us reach anyone from almost everywhere in the world. Now, the current technologies are still reliant on the wired network infrastructure. We can, hence, just imagine how interconnection, mobility and communication would be enhanced and expanded when the cables and wires that limit the coverage of the current technologies would be eliminated. In the book, Smart phone and next generation mobile computing, Pei Zheng and Lionel Li predicted that WiMAX is likely to follow the same journey of wired networks and that it is poised to have a greater impact on society than wired networks. (p. 8) It is expected to be a better “last-mile” solution for wireless broadband network especially when compared to cable modem or broadband connection. WiMAX is the leading technology to offer mobility and portability with sufficiently large bandwidth as well as high-quality wireless data transmission. A specific scenario in regard to the WiMAX capability to affect society was outlined by the International Engineering Consortium. To quote: We use WiMAX technology as a possible enabler of PTP [point to point] paradigm shift in the broader society interactions. In addition, to address the current Internet and social developments, we describe an evolutionary model for WiMAX deployment with the premise of PTP networking as the foundation of its mature state. (2) The benefits of using WiMAX that is significant in our society include: low cost and faster time to market; higher flexibility in service delivery; greater coverage capability for urban and rural subscribers; standardization that allows for opportunities both for subscribers and technology vendors; systems and mechanisms in place that foster rapid innovation; and, increase in security, performance and reliability. In a way, the benefit of mobile WiMAX stems from the fact that it will empower people. The ease of access to information and the way we communicate would be elevated to a higher level. Such evolution is definitely a positive development for people, society, and in enterprise. Impact on Business As mobile WiMAX technology is getting more and more realized, it is capturing a significant amount of interest from information technology players. The technology is expected to seize a very large chunk of the market – the main reason why manufacturers such as Intel are feverishly promoting the development of the technology and its introduction to the mobile market. The major variable why WiMAX could significantly affect business is its potential to break the lock-in control of the elite but small number of telecom industry players. As a matter of fact, the technology has significant potential to disrupt traditional business models by enabling new market entrants that are not encumbered by traditional mass-market wireless mobile business models. Mobile WiMAX or the WiMAX technology, in general, could operate both in unlicensed and licensed brands, it allows for the possibility of independent companies to deploy regional and national wireless networks that could compete with the established telecom, cable and wireless providers. This is one of the threats to the development and success of the technology. According to Benny Bing, “coupled with the potential for disintermediation by Internet based service providers, the emergence of independent device and service distribution models within the mobile WiMAX system would disrupt traditional marketing, product positioning and brand strategies.” (p. 817) WiMAX needs the entire technical and commercial environment in order to succeed. Unfortunately, the telecom industry is in the best position to set up such an infrastructure. The accelerated success of mobile WiMAX will depend on how the traditional telecom industry would see it in their organizational objectives or whether it will be seen as compete with their existing products and services. Here, one understands how superior technology alone is not enough. Conclusion Mobile WiMAX is not merely an interesting development to have emerged out of the information technology evolution. It is ideally an inevitable phenomenon that must be expected and welcomed. This paper have outlined that the benefits are tremendous – that the technology is bound to surpass the achievements of the wired network communications currently in place today for people, for society and for business. In particular, mobile WiMAX is expected to bring access to information to rural and far-flung locales and underdeveloped countries that are kept from the wired network system. As a consequence, it will positively affect society as the Internet and communication will be expansive, covering more people from more walks of life. Ideally, it would allow more people to benefit from the opportunities of the wired technology that we have today. The increase in mobility and the added feature of allowing new, small and independent players to the market is of particular interest. They would add business dynamism that could only spell benefits to the people. However, WiMAX is still in its infancy and is yet to be introduced and its infrastructure set up. It still faces serious challenges such as those poised by those capable of hindering or accelerating its development. The traditional telecom industry, for instance, have identified several disadvantages in the mobile WiMAX in their current products and services as well as business models. In this perspective, the prospect of the technology seems bleak. However, once mobile WiMAX could be integrated to the traditional telecommunication services offered by telecom players or that when the market demands it as there are also companies that are actively promoting it, then the technology would finally be successful as needed infrastructure would finally be set up. References Ahson, S. and Ilyas, M. 2007. WiMAX: Standards and Security. CRC Press. Bing, B. 2007. Emerging Technologies in Wireless LANs: Theory, Design, and Deployment. Cambridge University Press. Comer, D. 2006. Computer Networks and Internets. Prentice Hall, 2008. International Engineering Consortium. Evolving Access Network. International Engineering Consortium. Zheng, P. and Ni, L. 2005. Smart phone and next generation mobile computing. Morgan Kaufmann. Read More