Intel: Spectrum is the New Frontier

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: Dewayne Hendricks <dewayne () warpspeed com>
Date: July 30, 2004 8:12:44 PM EDT
To: Dewayne-Net Technology List <dewayne-net () warpspeed com>
Subject: [Dewayne-Net] Intel: Spectrum is the New Frontier
Reply-To: dewayne () warpspeed com

Intel: Spectrum is the New Frontier
By Michael Singer
July 30, 2004
<http://www.internetnews.com/wireless/article.php/3388811>

PALO ALTO, Calif. -- Intel's vision of an always- connected planet is 
coming up against finite wireless spectrum, and enterprise had better 
hope it breaks through or risk spending ten times as much for WiMAX.

The Santa Clara, Calif.-based chip-making giant (Quote, Chart) is 
helping the industry find a suitable home for wireless Metro Area 
Networks, which use the IEEE 802.16 or WiMAX standard. The goal is to 
use the technology as a last-mile alternative for broadband connections 
to enterprise and consumer markets.

There is a burning need for a high-speed transmission that covers a 
wider area than 802.11 Wi-Fi. Most of the copper in the world was 
installed in the late 1940s, followed by fiber optic connections in the 
1970s.

The next phase, according to Sean Maloney, executive vice president of 
Intel's Communications group, is the use of WiMAX in both urban and 
rural areas. While the company is trying not to hype it as much as it 
did Wi-Fi, Intel is very committed to seeing the standard play through.

"It's slightly chaotic, because it differs from country to country to 
country," Maloney said during a press and analyst briefing here. "Four 
years ago, there was a similar battle over Wi-Fi and, as you know, 
spectrum can get very political. But if you ask me if WiMAX is going to 
replace Wi-Fi, the reality is that all of these networks [read Wi-Fi, 
WiMAX, WCDMA, and 3G] will overlap."

Maloney said Intel has been lobbying the Federal Communications 
Commission and its Chinese and U.K. counterparts to allow the wireless 
industry access to the 700MHz frequencies. That part of the spectrum is 
currently used for UHF television stations that will eventually vacate 
the space as part of a government-induced transition to digital.

Right now, there are as many as three frequency bands that WiMAX can 
tap into, including 700 MHz, 2.5MHz and 3.5MHz. But the bigger number 
does not mean faster or even better coverage. In fact, Maloney noted 
that the higher the frequency, the harder it is to send over long 
distances.

"If the Internet delivery providers are forced to use the higher 
frequencies, it is ten times more expensive in infrastructure than if 
the standard moves into the lower frequencies," he said.

Maloney said fiber as a high-speed connector has not stopped because of 
the cost. It stopped because of the land use rights: "Having to get 
permission from neighbors, breaking up streets and replacing roses are 
not something that carriers want to deal with," he said.

The key then, according to Intel, is access via transmission towers, 
which currently serve cellular networks but could easily be outfitted 
with WiMAX cards. But only those companies with the leasing rights to 
these towers will be the ones that have control over wireless broadband 
to the home, Maloney pointed out.

As for WiMAX competing with other wireless broadband technologies such 
as WCDMA, the Intel executive said he is skeptical that will be the 
case once the 802.16e (backhaul) comes into play.

"The infrastructure is going modular with more standardized 
components," Maloney said. Intel is one of a handful of companies that 
is working to standardize routers and switches with ATCA or advanced 
telecommunications communications architecture.

Beyond the hype, Intel's WiMAX looks real enough. The company said it 
will ship silicon based on the 802.16 standard this year. Intel is 
looking forward to mainstream deployments for wireless DSL within CPEs 
and base stations in 2005. In the 2006 timeframe, Maloney reaffirmed 
Intel's plans to put WiMAX silicon in laptop processors and is 
expecting the technology to pop up in it handsets running its XScale 
family of chips in 2007.


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