WiMAX in the Enterprise: Access, Applications and Affordability

This publication evaluates the deployment of a WiMAX network for an enterprise in terms of the author's unique analysis methodology of the Three A's of WiMAX deployment, which are: Access, Affordability and Applications. Access refers to how an enterprise employee might access the Internet or corporate intranet. Internet skills are critical in the job market of 2007 and will be even more so in 2020. Affordability means bringing wireless broadband internet/intranet access to all employees may be surprisingly affordable. Compared to the telephone company's T1, the cost per megabit per employee for WiMAX services is very competitive. In terms of Applications, wireless broadband access and mobile computing come together via WiMAX to offer the enterprise a range of applications limited only by the imagination of enterprise leadership.This publication explores how WiMAX will change enterprise telecommunications in terms of access, applications and affordability. This matrix ultimately points to WiMAX holding a $36.4 billion market in US enterprises telecommunications services by 2013.

• Introduction: WiMAX, Enterprise Telecommunications and The Next Telecom Boom
• XOHMTMThe Disruptor
  • The 3 A's of the WiMAX-enabled Enterprise
• Access
  • IMS Vision
  • The Impact of WiMAX on Enterprise Connectivity
  • Why WiMAX as access technology?
  • Objections to WiMAX
  • WiMAX is not Wi-Fi
  • WiMAX Components
  • WiMAX Base Stations
  • Outdoor CPE
  • Indoor CPE
  • USB, Laptop card or similar
  • Femtocells
  • Relationship of WiMAX Range and Throughput for Enterprise Applications
  • Link budget
  • Limitations of the laptop
• MIMO
  • MIMO as interference mitigating technology
  • Adaptive Antenna System (AAS) as Interference Mitigation Technology
  • Why 3G cannot compete with WiMAX
  • Fixed vs. Mobile WiMAX
  • Why backhaul is important
  • Wireless Backhaul Considerations
  • Comparisons with Fiber
  • Spectrum Considerations
  • Access Conclusion
  • Applications
  • Relationship of Connectivity and Productivity
  • Applications: Generic
  • T1/DS3 Substitute = converged voice + data
  • Voice (telephony): the killer app for WiMAX
  • Disaster Recovery
  • Combating high telecom costs and/or Building Diversity
• Applications: Specific-Industry Verticals
  • Retail
  • Banking
  • Healthcare
  • Transportation
  • Utilities
  • Case study: City of Corpus Christi
  • Agriculture
  • Construction
  • Petroleum/Energy
  • Applications Conclusion
  • Affordability: WiMAX in the Enterprise
  • Service provider or roll-your-own?
  • Savings on Existing Expenditures
  • Strategies: A) subscribe from WiMAX service provider or
  • B) Deploy own enterprise network
  • Custom Built WiMAX Network for Enterprise Private Use
  • Base Station and Enterprise Density
• Summary Affording WiMAX
• Conclusion and Projection
• Clearwire: a portent of things to come Assumptions
• Tables and Figures
  • Table 1 3G is technologically inferior to WiMAX
  • Table 2 Comparisons of wireless backhaul with other options
  • Table 3 Comparisons of wireless vs. fiber optic cable as backhaul solution
  • Table 4 WiMAX-related spectrum
  • Table 5 What enterprises buy for data solutions
  • Table 6 WiMAX prioritizes VoIP packets over data packets for maximum QoS
  • Table 7 What does it cost your business per hour to be down?
  • Table 8 Availability figures in terms of downtime per year
  • Table 9 Generic applications for enterprise WiMAX
  • Table 10 Cost comparisons of WiMAX and other forms of access for enterprise telecommunications
  • Table 11 Hypothetical comparisons of legacy telco servic prices to that of a XOHM-like WiMAX service provider
  • Table 12 OPEX savings XOHM-type service vs. legacy IT
  • Table 13 Hypothetical CAPEX for a WiMAX network to service 100 gas stations
  • Table 14 Hypothetical OPEX for gas station chain using WiMAX as substitute for telco services
  • Table 15 Telephone companies are losing 7% of their landline subscriber base every year
  • Figure 1 WiMAX offers a broad range of enterprise IT applications at highly competitive pricing and very flexible access
  • Figure 2 The 3 elements that comprise a telecommunications network: Access, switching and transport (backhaul)
  • Figure 3 Legacy stovepipe infrastructure cannot easily offer more than one service
  • Figure 4 IMS allows a subscriber to access any service on any device using any form of access
  • Figure 5 Progression of networking: from mainframe to WiMAX
  • Figure 6 WiMAX performance parameters make it an excellent enterprise technology
  • Figure 7 Wi-Fi serves a coffee shop or home. WiMAX serves a city
  • Figure 8 WiMAX nomenclature: base station and subscriber station
  • Figure 9 WiMAX base station and antenna combinations
  • Figure 10 Outdoor CPE provide a superior link budget and QoS for enterprise subscribers in office buildings
  • Figure 11 Some indoor CPE incorporate Wi-Fi access points and telephone ports
  • Figure 12 USB access devices make WiMAX access more convenient to use
  • Figure 13 Femtocells provide indoor coverage for WiMAX subscribers. This is especially important for use in RF unfriendly buildings
  • Figure 14 Line of sight offers better range and throughput than non line of sight
  • Figure 15 Link budget illustrated
  • Figure 16 On campus WiMAX delivers a throughput of multiple megabits per second
  • Figure 17 WiMAX extends employee access to the enterprise network enabling telecommuting, hoteling, disaster recovery and other enterprise enhancing practices
  • Figure 18 8x8 MIMO provides 8 times the data streams of a single antenna system
  • Figure 19 Another view of MIMO where multiple antennas enable a bypass of interference
  • Figure 20 By utilizing AAS and beam steering technologies, WiMAX mitigates interference
  • Figure 21 Backhaul supports WiMAX base stations, which in turn support home office internet/corporate intranet access
  • Figure 22 Networking and the work place: the geographic expansion of enterprise telecommunications services
  • Figure 23 WiMAX services negate the need for legacy telco T1 services
  • Figure 24 WiMAX supports enterprise voice and data
  • Figure 25 WiMAX as disaster recovery solution or alternative to telephone company T1 or DSL services
  • Figure 26 Destroyed telephone central office, 140 West Street, NYC, across from World Trae Center, September 15, 2001
  • Figure 27 WiMAX can enable shopping for best price on telecom services
  • Figure 28 Retail enterprise-wid adotpions of WiMAX could ad more intelligence in the enterprise making them more profitable
  • Figure 29 WiMAX can replace a number of disassociated telecommunications services providing savings to the retailer both in telecommunications and manpower
  • Figure 30 Use of WiMAX to network ATMs could save banks on networking costs while providing portability for those machines
  • Figure 31 Mobile health car vans or buses could be networked via WiMAX
  • Figure 32 The networked ambulance could boost life saving efficiencies for ambulance services
  • Figure 33 WiMAX in support of the delivery industry
  • Figure 34 WiMAX can be used to read a wide variety of utility meters
  • Figure 35 Farmers need real time information, literally
  • Figure 36 WiMAX may serve as a substitute for satellite based services for farmers
  • Figure 37 Agriculture implement dealer in Pomeroy, Iowa using pre-WiMAX broadband wireless services
  • Figure 38 WiMAX provides almost unlimited telecommunications services for job sites where ever they may be
  • Figure 39 Problem solving and solutions inverted pyramid
  • Figure 40 Potential telecom expenses for which WiMAX is a substitute and potentially reduces or eliminates some expenses
  • Figure 41 An oil company can save on telecommunications by deploying an in-house WiMAX network
  • Figure 42 Technology adoption curve
  • Figure 43 WiMAX as a substitute for telco landline, T1, DS3 services is an S-curve; it consumes telco market share
  • Figure 44 WiMAX will consume 7% of the per year of the US enterprise telecommunications market per year beginning in 2010