Talk of separating the chaff from the wheat: At a time when the usual critics of WiMax predictably find grist for their mill in the WiMax Forum's decision to postpone the beginning of interoperability testing, it is good to see that real work on real technological issues in the real world continues apace. Talkers talk, doers do.
Specifically, Samsung Electronics successfully demonstrated WiBro hand-over technology which allows devices seamless connection to Internet servers and other networked devices while moving at speeds of up to 80mph. WiBro is a variant of 802.16e developed by South Korea 's Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI) and several communication companies. In February 2002 the South Korean government allocated 100 MHz of frequency spectrum in the 2.3 GHz bandwidth for WiBro, and in June 2004 Phase 1 of the WiBro became standardized.
WiBro offers more modest capabilities than the full-fledged WiMax would allow, allowing for an aggregate data throughput of 20 to 30 Mbps and a base station's coverage radius of between 1 km and 5 km. The company will show the new technology at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in November. The message here: Watch out, Intel. Samsung's "why wait?" approach may help it steal a march on Intel and grab a sizable share of the 802.16e market.
For more on Samsung's WiBro trials:
- see Dan Jones' Unstrung report
PLUS: China and Japan will collaborate on developing the next generation of mobile telephony -- 4G. Story