Last mile plan
Introduction
WiMAX, acronym for Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access, is a data transmission standard that uses radio waves at frequencies from 2.5 to 5.8 GHz and can have coverage of up to 70 km.
It is a technology within those known as last mile technologies, also known as local loop that allows the reception of data by microwave and retransmission by radio waves. The standard that defines this technology is the IEEE 802.16 MAN. One of its advantages is providing broadband services in areas where the deployment of cable or fiber due to low population density presents very high costs per user (rural areas).
The only body authorized to certify compliance with the standard and interoperability between equipment from different manufacturers is the WiMAX Forum: any equipment that does not have this certification cannot guarantee its interoperability with other products.
There is another type of equipment (non-standard) that uses a license-free frequency of 5.4 GHz, all of them for fixed access. Although in this case it is equipment that in some cases is also interoperable, between different manufacturers (Pre WiMAX, even 802.11a).
There are plans to develop certification and interoperability profiles for equipment that meets the IEEE 802.16e" standard (which will enable mobility), as well as a complete solution for the network structure that integrates both fixed and mobile access. The development of profiles for the mobile environment in the licensed frequencies at 2.3 and 2.5 GHz is planned.
Currently they are included in the 802.16 standard. There are two variants:
• - One of fixed access (802.16d), in which a radio link is established between the base station and a user equipment located at the user's home. For the fixed environment, the maximum theoretical speeds that can be obtained are 70 Mbit/s with a frequency of 20 MHz. However, in real environments speeds of 20 Mbit/s have been achieved with cell radii of up to 6 km, a bandwidth that is shared by all cell users.
• - Another complete mobility (802.16e), which allows the user to move in a way similar to that which can occur in GSM/UMTS, the mobile phone is not yet developed and currently competes with LTE technologies (based on femtocells, connected by cable), as it is the alternative for telecommunications operators that are committed to mobility services. This standard, in its "unlicensed" variant, competes with the IEEE WiFi. 802.11n, since most laptops and mobile devices are beginning to be equipped with this type of connectivity. The IEEE 802.16m or WirelessMAN-Advanced") was a candidate for the 4G network, in competition for the LTE Advanced standard.