4GWE Panel Addresses Power Consumption, Wi-Max, Wi-Fi and Convergence Challenges

By Chris DiMarco, TMCnet Web Editor

The first day of ITEXPO (News - Alert) east 2011’s 4GWE panels addressed the overall implementation and development challenges of next gen networks. “We’re moving towards 4G, but at this point its really a misnomer” said session moderator Carl Ford.

Mobile companies have already started to label their networks next generation and have put considerable effort to improve the technology behind it. However, there are still a number of benchmarks that need to be met before any of the networks in place can really be considered 4G.The basic structure of next generation network has made itself evident, but implementation and further development have a long way to go.

 Dr. Mohammad Shakouri discussed the advantages of service diversification on behalf of his company Alvarion (News - Alert). Shakouri reiterated Ford’s feeling saying, “There’s a lot of noise about 4G but there’s always a need to determine what commercialism is and what is real development.”

Shakouri is corporate vice president of strategy for Alvarion and has 22 years of experience in wireless systems, microwave and fiber optic networks. His lecture 4GWE focused on the widespread implementation of Wi-Max and Wi-Fi arrays in public spaces, with additional focus on public security systems and diversification within

The integration of public devices has had many hurdles and power supplies for access points and public arrays were also addressed by Shakouri . “Its not as easy as taking a wire and diverting it from a lamppost because the current coming out of them is not managed and may not be optimized,” he said. He also mused about the growing types of 4G network options available.

Shakouri added, “The most important thing I see is the trend in the devices and how they’re installing more and more radios, we need to make usage of multiple networks more useful and more practical rather than forcing people in a particular direction.” Finding a middle ground that would benefit all wireless networks should be the end goal.

Towerstream’s CEO Jeff Thompson (News - Alert) was also present at the session and addressed the need for faster and more reliable next generation development. Thompson pointed out, “tablets are here and data usage is going to explode, there’s really no question about that. With huge investments in the 4G, they’re should be a capacity of 4 times of what we have, however speculation is showing that data consumption will increase by 39 times as much in the same time frame leaving us with quite a gap.”

In Thompson’s estimation Wi-Fi data has an opportunity to grow even more than cellular broadband, and will likely become the preferred network for videos. As all you can eat data plans are capped by carriers, data consumption of any more than causal basis becomes very difficult. Wifi will like remain an integral part of this data delivery. The future will be marked by handsets and devices that seamless switch between available networks and the most important part of that is making it easy for the customer to use.

Convergence will incorporate a number of networks working in concert to provide the best user experience. Fleshing out the skeleton of next generation coverage will also be a collaborative effort between enterprising corporations like TowerStream (News - Alert) and Alvairion. Though we may not be there yet, the 4G wireless revolution is right around the corner.

Chris DiMarco is a Web Editor for TMCnet. He holds a master's degree in journalism from Quinnipiac University. Prior to joining TMC (News - Alert) Chris worked with e-commerce provider Suresource as a contact center representative and development analyst. To read more of his articles, please visit his columnist page.

Edited by Chris DiMarco

(source: http://4g-wirelessevolution.tmcnet.com/topics/4g-wirelessevolution/articles/141310-4gwe-panel-addresses-power-consumption-wi-max-wi.htm)