WiMAX Primer

Both 802.11 (WiFi) and UMTS/3G are considered mature and more or less mainstream today. UMTS and 3G offer the end-user high levels of mobility and coverage, but lack the support for high throughput low cost data that caused the rise of WiFi — helped by the popularity of both ADSL and cable based broadband connections in the western world. The next logical step in the ongoing quest for more bandwidth and features is addressed by the WiMAX Forum and the 802.16 standard, trying to come up with a wireless broadband data connection offering the coverage of UMTS/3G with the throughput and cost of WiFi. This article addresses some specific design challenges to be considered when developing WiMAX basestations and provides the reader with an introduction to WiMAX.