Advantages of WiMAX include the use of a standardized technology, rapid deployment, spectral efficiency, penetrating radio coverage, scalability, security, high data throughout, quality of service, and cost effectiveness. WiMAX is an industry-standardized technology. This allows multiple manufacturers to produce compatible equipment, which usually results in lower cost equipment.
WiMAX systems can be rapidly deployed. Because each WiMAX transmitter site can serve hundreds of square kilometers of area, it is possible to deploy high-speed WiMAX communication services in a city or relatively large geographic region with weeks or months.
The technologies used in WiMAX enable it to be very spectrally efficient. Spectral efficiency is a measurement characterizing a particular modulation and coding method that describes how much information can be transferred in a given bandwidth. This is often given as bits per second per Hertz. The WiMAX system uses very efficient modulation and coding methods to achieve spectral efficiency that is higher than mobile telephone or other types of wireless systems.
WiMAX can use a mix of robust types of access technologies. This enables WiMAX systems to provide radio coverage into a wide range of geographic areas. This allows WiMAX signals to penetrate through and around trees and into buildings when necessary.
WiMAX systems are scalable. It has the ability to increase the number of users or amount of services it can provide without significant changes to the hardware or technology used. The WiMAX system can be expanded through the addition of radio channels, transmitter sites and smart antenna systems giving it virtually unlimited scalability.
There are various security processes that are available in WiMAX systems. Security is the ability of a system or service to maintain its desired well being or operation without damage, theft or compromise of its resources from unwanted people or events. The WiMAX system has a security later integrated into its overall operation permitting reliable authentication and encryption of user and system data. High security also permits revenue assurance and strong privacy which can increase consumer confidence. High security also offers the ability of WiMAX system operators to entice high-value content owners to allow distribution of their content (e.g. movie programs).
WiMAX systems have the potential to provide very high data transmission rates. Data throughput is the amount of data information that can be transferred through a communication channel or transfer through a point on a communication system. The WiMAX system has the capability of using wide channel bandwidths and segmenting of data rates providing a very high potential data throughput rate. WiMAX systems offer a much higher potential data transmission rate than almost all other wireless systems giving system operators a competitive advantage.
WiMAX systems can be configured to offer services that have different types of quality of service (QoS) levels. QoS is one or more measurement of desired performance and priorities of a communications system. QoS measures may include service availability, maximum bit error rate (BER), minimum committed bit rate (CBR) and other measurements that are used to ensure quality communications service. The QoS capabilities of WiMAX systems permit system operators to provide priority services to high-value customers and best effort services to less demanding consumers.
The costs of providing WiMAX data communication services (cost effectiveness) can be lower than other types of wireless systems. The highly efficiently modulation and coding characteristics of WiMAX systems enables the providing services to more customers per radio channel than alternative types of systems. This means that WiMAX can have lower capital cost and operational cost per customer.
Figure 1 shows some of the key features and benefits offered by WiMAX systems. WiMAX features include cost effective service, ability to offer different levels of QoS, high data transmission rate capability, various types of security, system scalability, efficient radio utilization and the ability to rapidly setup and deploy standard WiMAX equipment.
