WiMax and LTE: War or Air?

The technology world is indispensable for wars. But not every war is "a loss" as the battle between Blu-ray and HD DVD, sometimes it is not necessary to win .

The faster the data transfer rate and the wider coverage, the researchers always try to offer new wireless technologies to meet the increasing needs of mobile users. But the information technology and telecommunications industries have different solutions to this problem, which creates a divide between WiMax and LTE.

Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access) is an effort of the information technology industry to take advantage of telecommunications and LTE (Long Term Evolution) is a telecom counterattack, which are the two main candidates for wireless networks. The new system promises to create a high-speed broadband wireless world everywhere.

WiMax

Four years ago, the first WiMax standard - 802.16-2004 was adopted by IEEE. Unlike other wireless standards, WiMax allows data transfer across multiple bands, which can avoid 'clashes' with other wireless applications.

WiMax for high speed is due in part to the technology of OFDM (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing) which allows to increase bandwidth by splitting broadband channels into multiple narrow band channels, each channel using different frequencies to simultaneously transmit data packets. material.

In December 2005, IEEE approved 802.16e - Mobile WiMax, complementing 802.16-2004. Mobile WiMax allows transmitting and receiving through multiple antennas to improve signal speed and quality. The standard is expected to compete with mobile technologies, Wi-Fi and Internet access technologies such as DSL.

WiMax and LTE: War or Air? Picture 1

Use WiMax on cyclo in Hue during the trial of this wireless Internet technology in June 2008.

Many analysts say Mobile WiMax will quickly become popular because it does not need expensive infrastructure such as wiring systems and provides enough bandwidth for voice, data and multi-service services. media like high definition television (HDTV).

According to a study in April 2008, the WiMAX Forum predicted that in the next five years, the number of Mobile WiMax users worldwide could reach nearly 100 million. Recently, many companies have begun offering mobile products certified by WiMax Forum to comply with IEEE standards and can work together.

Network operators in many countries, especially the Asia-Pacific region, are or are planning to deploy WiMax (there are also four licensed telecommunications operators in Vietnam).

However, the technology world changed quickly. Just emerging as a serious candidate to challenge 3G mobile technology but has not yet established a foothold in the market, WiMax has faced a formidable challenge: LTE.

LTE

LTE is the fourth-generation future of the UMTS standard developed by 3GPP. UMTS third generation based on WCDMA has been deployed worldwide. To ensure competitiveness for this system in the future, in November 2004 3GPP started a project to determine the long-term development of UMTS mobile technology called Long Term Evolution (LTE).

3GPP poses a high requirement for LTE, including reducing the cost per bit of information, providing better service, flexible use of existing bands and new bands, simplifying network architecture with deliveries. Next open and significantly reduce energy consumption at the terminal. The specification for LTE is being finalized and it is expected that LTE products will be available in the next 2 years.

In terms of technology, LTE and WiMax have some differences but there are many similarities. Both technologies are IP-based. Both use MIMO technology to improve signal transmission / reception, the downlink from the base station to the terminal are all accelerated by OFDM technology that supports multimedia data transmission and video.

Although users in many countries have yet to experience 3G networks, many device manufacturers have now worked with 4G technology. And LTE is said to be an opportunity for mobile network providers in newly developed countries to shift directly from 2G to 4G.

Currently WiMax has the advantage of being ahead of LTE: WiMax networks have been deployed and WiMax devices are already on the market, and LTE is, at the earliest, until 2010 when new users are experienced.

However, LTE still has an important advantage over WiMax, which is accepted by the GSM Association of GSM as the future mobile broadband technology that is currently dominating the mobile market. demand with about 2.5 billion subscribers (according to Informa Telecoms & Media) and in the next 3 years can take a market share of 89% (according to Gartner) - 'dreaming' numbers for WiMax.

In addition, LTE allows to take advantage of available GSM infrastructure (although more equipment is needed) while WiMax must be built from scratch.

Times of change, recognizing the advantage of LTE, some network operators have reconsidered the deployment of WiMax and had operators decide to abandon the WiMax route to switch to LTE, significantly among them. The two biggest names in the US are AT&T and Verizon Wireless.

According to a recent survey conducted by RCR Wireless News and Yankee Group, up to 56% of mobile operators choose LTE, only 30% follow 802.16e. The survey showed that mobile operators in North America and Western Europe studied LTE, while newly developed countries (especially in the Asia-Pacific region) supported WiMax.

Many equipment manufacturers go abroad, on the one hand claiming to still support WiMax, and on the other hand to invest in LTE. As soon as Intel, the leading WiMax backer, also changed its voice. Both Siavash M. Alamouti, technical director of Wireless Mobile Group and Sean Maloney, Intel's marketing manager, said in recent speeches that WiMax can be 'integrated' with LTE.

In the 4G, WiMax and LTE races are currently the two brightest technologies. Can these two technologies co-exist independently or merged into one common standard? The performance of WiMax and LTE are similar, so the current decision depends on availability and market penetration.