To make WiMAX a success, standards-based device management is key, argues Lori Sylvia, EVP Marketing at Red Bend Software
The increasing demand for mobile-enabled laptops, PC cards, modems and other wireless end user devices is helping to fuel WiMAX growth globally. A study from the WiMAX Forum forecasts that about 70% of the forecasted WiMAX users by 2012 will use mobile and portable WiMAX devices to access broadband Internet services.
Yet the potential for growth hinges on the ability of WiMAX operators and device makers to provide and maintain the quality of service and user experience that Internet consumers expect. WiMAX chipset providers are playing a key role in enabling WiMAX success by their adoption of standards-based device management.
Provisioning millions of new subscribers and managing millions of devices that will operate on the network, often temporarily, poses unique challenges to WiMAX operators. Managing a network that combines mobile and fixed equipment requires a new set of management capabilities for WiMAX devices.
OMA-DM standard
To meet these challenges, WiMAX chipset providers are adopting the Open Mobile Alliance Device Management (OMA-DM) standard, which has already been proven in the cellular industry by managing hundreds of millions of mobile devices worldwide. The standard has been adapted by the WiMAX Forum to meet the unique requirements of WiMAX operators and equipment manufacturers of fixed, nomadic and mobile devices.
In the cellular market, the OMA-DM enabler is used by operators and manufacturers to remotely manage mobile phones and other devices over the air, including performing firmware updates, provisioning, configuration management and diagnostics. The standard makes it easier and less expensive for service providers to deploy and maintain customers on their networks. Because key WiMAX operators are choosing to manage devices using OMA-DM, and have included it as a mandate in building their networks, WiMAX chipset providers are actively embedding standards-based OMA-DM client software into their products.
In doing this, WiMAX chipset providers are able to offer their OEM customers a pre-integrated and pre-optimised solution for managing WiMAX devices. This enables faster time to market for mobile WiMAX devices that need to meet the requirements of WiMAX operators, such as Clearwire in the US, and UQ in Japan. Three of the top mobile WiMAX chip providers worldwide - Intel, Beceem and most recently, Fujitsu Microelectronics - have pre-integrated OMA-DM software into their chipsets already, driving this standard into more than 50% of WiMAX chipsets in the market.
Significant expansion
Although the US WiMAX market remains in its early stages, compared with UQ’s upcoming rollout to 6,500 access points in Japan, it is poised for significant expansion this year with rollouts in Portland, Las Vegas, Chicago, Atlanta, Miami and San Francisco. In order to compete or surpass current networks such as cellular, DSL and cable, WiMAX operators need to capture market share with compelling pricing, prove the technology’s capability, and deliver high bandwidth and other functionality not available in current networks and do so quickly, within the next 1-2 years (before LTE becomes a serious threat). By adopting OMA-DM and leveraging the cost-effectiveness of pre-integrating standards-based device management software, WiMAX operators and device makers will be well positioned to support expansion with competitive pricing, scalability and efficiency within their networks.
As important as OMA-DM is to the current phase of WiMAX deployment, it will be even more important as these networks evolve, by providing the platform to deliver more advanced applications and services to WiMAX consumers in the future. The prospects for WiMAX are merely up to the imagination of the operators and their ability to offer attractive services, regardless of the device. The bandwidth capabilities anticipated in WiMAX will likely bring unprecedented access to video, movies and more, driving additional revenue streams to operators, manufacturers and ISVs (independent software vendors) as new services and applications become available.
By adopting OMA-DM, chipset providers are enabling WiMAX operators and device manufacturers to deliver a high-quality, application-rich mobile Internet experience, with a cost-effective device management strategy.
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