Boy, talk about downplaying a significant achievement.

 

Over the weekend the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers ratified the Mobile WiMax standard 802.16e, which greatly increases its odds of becoming the viable alternative to 3G cellular technologies for enterprise mobility services.

 

This reporter didn't feel the earth shake, did you? No, that was the fuel depot explosion in Hertfordshire, England.

 

This means that equipment vendors aren't torn between WiMax's fixed wireless predecessor, 802.16d, sometimes called 802.16-2004, or "developing pre-standard variants of the mobile technology," according to industry observer William Eazel.

 

16e, as it's popularly called, "adds functionalities to the WiMax standard that enables mobile devices to use the technology. It allows users to move from one radio to another and arranges for regional roaming between service providers," according to industry commentator Tom Sanders.

 

Australian wireless broadband company Unwired says this means it can offer a "faster and cheaper portable broadband service" than state telecom Telstra, when the new WiMax service becomes available in 2007.

WiMax, which stands for Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access is now the agreed-upon standard of the IEEE, which means that any technology and equipment created for it will work around the world.

"It is anticipated that laptops with embedded Mobile WiMax chips will be available to internet users in 2007," Unwired chief executive David Spence tells the Australian Associated Press. "WiMax technology has been specifically developed to allow a lot of high speed mobile data at a very low cost… it is all very well to have expensive networks delivering high speed data, but if the cost is too high then they don't work."

Unwired plans to use WiMax service, while Telstra will sell mobile broadband products with an updated version of its current 3G network.

Motorola's always been a 16e booster, and now other vendors will now crank out as much equipment compliant with 16e as they can. Rumors have Nokia, Cisco and everyone except the elves at Santa's workshop rushing to standardize on the newly-approved standard.

 

"Mobile wireless broadband brings the promise of a solution able to bridge the digital divide in developing nations, serve the last mile extending broadband to outlaying areas, and ushering in an exciting new era of wireless applications and services," Motorola officials gushed.

 

Why wouldn't someone standardize on it? As Computer Business Review notes, some companies see WiMax "as a potential threat to license revenue from CDMA technology," citing one company where such revenue accounts for "a third of its top line and two thirds of profit," leading the firm to "pooh-pooh the rival technology's potential at every opportunity."

 

Intel, who CBR calls "the largest single proponent of WiMax right now," is promising to have the silicon ready for inclusion into laptops by 2007-2008, "and of course, since the spectrum in which WiMax operates will be licensed, there will also need to be a whole round of auctions or beauty contests for it to be allocated."

 

David Sims is contributing editor for TMCnet. For more articles please visit David Sims' columnist page.