Agilent Measurement Journal - Issue 3 - 2007 - (Page 26)

Service providers and network operators face their own challenges when it comes to deploying and maintaining WiMAX and Mobile WiMAX systems. They must ensure that the network and services offered are free from problems at the base station and on the network, for example. This is especially crucial to capturing market share in this fast-growing segment of the industry, and reducing subscriber churn requires that the network be properly tested to guarantee both optimal quality and performance. Clearly, WiMAX is a challenge to build, deploy and maintain, especially given that there are numerous possible points of failure throughout its lifecycle. Each mobile device has to work properly, and must be able to seamlessly receive and transmit data from the base station and vice versa. The network must be able to handle this activity for multiple subscribers simultaneously without resulting in dropped calls or slow data throughput. Quality therefore cannot be an afterthought. Rather, it must be built into all areas of the lifecycle. Doing so is the only way to ensure that the devices, networks and services all work as expected. It is also the only way to consistently deliver a high-quality experience that instills conﬁdence in subscribers. Agilent is a prime example of a company that offers advanced measurement solutions in support of emerging WiMAX technology. Our ﬁxed and Mobile WiMAX measurement solutions span the entire lifecycle — from R&D, design validation and preconformance to conformance test and manufacturing — to provide engineers the reliable, repeatable and consistent results they need to deploy WiMAX devices, networks and services. Use of such solutions, which have been speciﬁcally optimized for the development, validation and manufacture of applications based on WiMAX, ensure that manufacturers and service providers can take full advantage of emerging market opportunities in the commercial sector.1 Deploying WiMAX in the real world With today’s engineers now working with WiMAX-speciﬁc measurement solutions to address the challenges they face, the next logical questions become, “What’s next? How will the ultimate vision of WiMAX come to fruition?” The answers come from understanding the technologies’ various stages of implementation: ﬁxed, nomadic, portable, simple mobility and full mobility. Fixed deployments are deﬁned as stationary access to a single base station, such as for wireless broadband backhaul that connects multiple Wi-Fi networks in a mesh network. In contrast, nomadic deployments are characterized by stationary, but movable, access to a single base station. This deployment is similar to the cyber café concept in which the user can connect from anywhere within the range of a Wi-Fi access point. Applications that are portable or mobile (e.g., the device is in motion while a signal is being received and transmitted) are based on the IEEE 802.16e-2005 standard. Such Mobile WiMAX systems have the ability to hand off a signal from one base station to the next, thereby creating “metro zones” that seamlessly provide continuous portable outdoor broadband wireless access to customers in large cities and metropolitan areas. To date, products for both ﬁxed and nomadic WiMAX applications have been commercially deployed. Products for portable applications have now begun making their way to market. While not yet available, Mobile WiMAX will eventually provide mobile broadband wireless access (MBWA) without the need for direct line-of-sight to a base station. Easing the burden How well a company deals with these challenges will ultimately determine its level of success in the burgeoning Mobile WiMAX market. It will also inﬂuence the acceptance of WiMAX in the commercial marketplace. This is where measurement comes in. It can play a critical role in easing this burden by providing the assurance, quality and data sources companies require for technology development and commercialization. When utilized appropriately, measurement solutions can offer a number of signiﬁcant beneﬁts. They help proliferate standards such as WiMAX and Mobile WiMAX by ensuring that devices, networks and services comply with any and all standards, certiﬁcation, conformance and regulatory requirements. They also provide the tools R&D engineers and manufacturers, as well as wireless communication service providers, need to successfully test their products, speed time-to-market and maximize return-oninvestment. Measurement solutions also ensure that consumers using WiMAX are protected against substandard quality either in the device, network or service. As a result, measurement is a key enabler for accelerating the delivery of next-generation wireless communication based on WiMAX. 26 Agilent Measurement Journal

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Agilent Measurement Journal - Issue 3 - 2007

Applying Ingenuity to the Measurement of Emerging Technologies Contents Emerging Innovations Department Delivering Bigger Benefits by Optimizing Customer Workflows Measuring Material Properties at the Nanoscale Utilizing In Situ Atomic Force Microscopy in Life Science, Pharmaceutical and other Bio-Related Applications WiMAX™: Plotting a New Path to Global Mobility Addressing the Triple Complexity of Triple-Play Networks What Next for Mobile Telephony? Exploring the Inner Workings of Tire-Pressure Monitoring Systems Developing, Assessing and Applying a High-Resolution Thin-Film Magnetic Probe Making Accurate Settling-Time Measurements Using a Vector Network Analyzer Applying Metabolomics Methods to the Study of Bacterial Leaf Blight in Rice Plants Measuring Stream Dynamics with Fiber Optics survey

Agilent Measurement Journal - Issue 3 - 2007

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