More perspective on mobile WiMAX certification

Last week the WiMAX Forum announced the first mobile WiMAX products to receive a certified seal of approval [1]. Four base stations and four subscriber units for the 2.3 GHz band were approved from Posdata, Runcom Technologies, Samsung Electronics and Sequans Communications.

But these products only received Wave 1 certification, which doesn't include the features such as MIMO that operators are asking for. WiMAX chip maker Beceem has said the move has little practical benefit since operators want Wave-2 certification, and it saw no point in building Wave 1 products.

"... Due to the misleading statements about the impact of this Wave 1 certification it is important to point out that [this] certification means 'conformance testing', which can not be confused with product performance and interoperability testing, which operators really and only care about," the company said in a statement emailed to FierceBroadbandWireless.

Current Analysis' Peter Jarich, however, had a different perspective on the WiMAX Forum's move. "We are taking a positive stance on the WiMAX Forum's certification of initial mobile WiMAX products," Jarich wrote in a note. "Where operators have been launching 802.16e-based products for a while, certification (and the interoperability it promises) is expected to drive additional interest in the technology along with new network launches and network expansions. And, while the certifications are based on a 2.3 GHz profile (Wave-1) that may have limited global value, they do pave the way for the Wave-2 certifications most WiMAX operators have been eagerly awaiting."

Related articles:
Xanadoo upgrading to mobile WiMAX Report on Xanadoo's WiMAX upgrade [2] 
On the Hot Seat with Ron Resnick Report on WiMAX Forum's Ron Resnick [3]