The time for WiMAX is now. That is the word from Gerard Rebelo, acting chief executive of the Carrier Division of Saab Grintek, who was speaking on a live Summit TV broadcast from SATNAC, the South African Telecommunication and Network Applications Conference hosted annually by Telkom.
Rebelo said that WiMAX is an exciting broadband delivery system, which has seen a very large amount of money invested in its development. He said that from the start of the development process, industry had formed the WiMAX forum, a non-profit organisation promoting and certifying compatibility and interoperability of broadband wireless products. This ensures that equipment from various manufacturers can work together in one network providing operators with the flexibility to interoperate with equipment from various suppliers.
Users of broadband have experienced the speed of ADSL and are now ready to enjoy the benefits of the real broadband that WiMAX can offer, he said, citing Triple play and IPV as examples.
'Triple play' is a marketing term for the provisioning of three services: high speed Internet, television and telephone services over a single broadband connection. It facilitates Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) which clears the way to video on demand and other education and business activities using streaming video over Internet connections.
"I believe that the consumer market is ready for video on demand and the ability to order a feature film over the Internet and stream high quality images on a home theatre screen," Rebelo said. "IPTV will offer so much."
In questioning if 3G and HSPDA have not already superseded WiMAX, he said that one should clearly separate WiMAX from the other systems which operate from a mobile platform and cannot deliver the bandwidth of WiMAX.
WiMAX is about broadband data which, with VoIP, can deliver voice efficiently. He also said that it is a myth that VoIP delivers an inferior voice service; VoIP can deliver HiFi quality. It all depends on the codec used to create the digital steam. WiMAX offers the bandwidth to do that efficiently. WiMAX will enable Telcos to offer high-speed services in areas where no cable infrastructure is available or where the cost of laying cables would be prohibitively high, he explained.
Currently, WiMAX is available for fixed line applications. It is expected that portability will be available from 2007 and soon after that mobility.
"Video streaming will become a reality," Rebelo said. "I am confident that it will be available soon with the quality and size of picture comparable with home theatre video systems. All that the world is waiting for, is the bandwidth needed to achieve this, and WiMAX will enable telcos to deliver this."
For more information contact Linda Weaver, Saab Grintek, +27 (0)12 672 8216, [email protected]
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