More WiMAX news: Interoperability testing and circuit-switched service updates

According to a press release on Market Wire that has yet to hit the WiMAX Forum web site, the forum just formerly defined the product certification process and timeline in a meeting held last week in Spain. Testing is to start in July with products scheduled to achieve certification late in the year.

According to the release, “The WiMAX Forum will initially certify equipment based on two profiles: TDD and FDD in the 3.5 GHz frequency band with 3.5 MHz channelization. Based on market demand and vendor product submissions, more profiles will be added in 2006. The WiMAX Forum also has committed that all future enhancements to the baseline profiles will support backward compatibility. To demonstrate their commitment to these timelines, several equipment OEMs demonstrated working equipment at the member meeting.”

The news release also addressed concerns about possible incompatibility in future, yet hotly anticipated, mobile versions of WiMAX that I addressed in “WiMAX wireless broadband: Fixed-flavor questions abound, mobile lurks.” It appears the Korea backers of the WiBRO standard for 4g mobile networks will work with the WiMAX Forum to achieve a single global standard.

Meanwhile more WiMAX product news also hit the streets in anticipation of the Broadband Wireless World show starting tomorrow. WiMAX IC vendor Wavesat and telecom IC vendor Zarlink announced a partnership that will deliver T1/E1 circuit switched traffic over WiMAX links leveraging CESoP (Circuit Emulation Services over Packet) technology. The duo will demonstrate the technology at the Broadband Wireless show.