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Rapidly increasing consumer demand for mobile broadband connectivity has drawn attention to the need for innovative approaches to governmental regulations as they relate to exciting new approaches like WiMAX technology. The widespread and somewhat surprising rate at which consumers have flocked to Wi-Fi wireless local area networking (WLAN) is indicative of a marketplace ready, willing and able to quickly adopt the benefits of wide-area mobile wireless broadband.

In fact, one could argue that the accelerated growth of laptops, which has exceeded that of desktop computers, is partly attributable to consumer demand for the benefits of wireless Wi-Fi access, which have become standard fare on practically all laptops. Furthermore, 3G cellular data services, although hampered by insufficient network capacity, also have found acceptance in the business community and among consumers for low-volume applications like text messaging. With the greater affordability, advanced functionality, higher bandwidth and low latency of technologies like WiMAX, there is little doubt that users will quickly migrate to mobile broadband technologies in converged mobile devices like cellular handsets.

WiMAX technology is uniquely positioned to offer consumers and the business community a host of benefits. High-capacity WiMAX base stations support the kind of accelerated throughput rates and low response latencies that will be needed for the sorts of applications that consumers have come to expect from any broadband access technology, wireless or otherwise. Common applications like video and audio streaming, large Internet downloads and others require high throughput, while voice-over Internet protocol (VoIP), online gaming and other time-sensitive applications necessitate low latencies from the network. Moreover, the affordability of WiMAX technology widens and expands the available marketplace of consumers, which in turn, hastens infrastructure deployment by operators.

With marketplace momentum gathering behind mobile broadband technologies in general, and more specifically WiMAX technology, the governmental regulatory environment takes on even greater importance (Figure 1). Especially when you consider the overriding effects it can have on the adoption rate of an emerging technology.

Over the past decade, the accelerated pace of innovation in communications and computing technologies has clearly revealed the need for a new and more flexible regulatory approach to further stimulate the development and adoption of mobile broadband services. In the past, zealous governmental regulators have tended to limit the choices of technologies available to users. This would needlessly steer the research and development programs of electronics manufacturers away from some technologies and direct them toward those that benefited from the control of governmental regulations. For some technologies, such as cellular wireless communications 15 to 20 years ago, governmental regulations provided an environment that was conducive to growth. Some would say though that the market would have grown just as quickly without the restrictive regulations.

Over the last decade, the rapid rate of development of new electronic technologies and subsequently, their accelerated adoption rate by the marketplace, have shown that a more flexible regulatory environment is oftentimes more conducive to a healthy overall economic growth rate. Such an environment would capitalize on the dynamic forces of a free market rather than stifling governmental regulations.

Driven in a bottom-up fashion by demand generated mostly from laptop computer users, the accelerated adoption rate of Wi-Fi was something that few experts predicted or expected. Now, Wi-Fi is making its way into all sorts of devices in a wide variety of form factors, such as mobile handsets, digital still cameras, mobile media players, wireless game consoles and many others.

The mobile broadband marketplace is at the point where a new, flexible and forward-looking regulatory approach is needed so that network operators can choose which technology to deploy and which services to offer subscribers. This would give service providers the kind of agility they need. On one hand, they would be able to keep up with the fast pace of technological innovation while, on the other hand, they could respond promptly to growing demand among consumers. The outcome for service providers would be attractive and affordable service plans as well as new applications, which would bring mobile broadband access to the mass market in the developed and emerging regions of the world.

There are hopeful signs in some countries that many regulators have recognized the salutary effects regulatory flexibility has on growth. As a result, some countries (e.g., Taiwan) have embraced a technology-neutral approach to spectrum management. This move will increase overall spectrum availability and usher in new technologies like WiMAX.

Most high-tech prognosticators probably are far less accurate than the local weatherman. The point is that at a time when technical innovation is happening so rapidly and, by necessity, development cycles are being shortened so dramatically, it becomes even more difficult to anticipate which technology will dominate and which services will be in greatest demand by consumers. The most effective way to deliver mobile broadband services to the marketplace in the time frame demanded by consumers is to let the market decide which technologies should be deployed. Simply put, network operators should have the flexibility to choose the technology that best meets their requirements.

It is a commonplace occurrence today for consumer electronic, computing and communications devices to feature several wireless and wired connectivity technologies. Wireless handsets and some personal digital assistants (PDAs) interface to the cellular network as well as Wi-Fi WLANs. Plus, a USB cable can link the device to a PC or any other device with a USB interface. This trend toward multiple wireless and wired connectivity interfaces gives users the option to link to the best network, taking into consideration the capabilities of the networks that are available in a particular location and the performance requirements of the application. For example, the wireless handset user might choose to download a large file from the Internet via WiMAX technology rather than the more expensive and slower 3G cellular network (Figure 2).

To make this scenario possible, network operators must have the flexibility to roll out new or different technologies when and where they deem appropriate. More intensive and efficient spectrum usage would result and service packages tailored to the needs of narrowly defined consumer segments would be made available where and when they were most needed.

Spectrum allocations typically span 10 to 20 years. During such an extended period of time, it is certainly conceivable that an operator might decide that another technology is better suited to the needs of subscribers. A new technology may offer significant benefits to users and operators. Or, user requirements may have shifted, necessitating a response on the part of the operator. A regulatory environment that adopted a technology-neutral approach would allow operators to deploy advanced and cost-effective technologies that best serve their base of users.

When specific technologies are mandated by governmental fat, technological innovation is discouraged rather than encouraged. In many cases, the ability of new entrants — both service providers and technology manufacturers — to compete in the marketplace is limited. When technologies compete, users have more choices available. The configuration of service packages, the costs associated with them and the applications supported become much more diverse.

The availability of wireless spectrum will play a key role in the deployment of mobile broadband connectivity. Today, the spectrum devoted to 3G cellular networks is used mostly for voice services and narrowband data communication. To address the requirements of new mobile wireless broadband technologies and to encourage their deployment unencumbered by legacy technologies, technology-neutral spectrum allocations are needed.

Currently, the 2.496 GHz to 2.69 GHz band, which is also referred to as the 2.5 GHz band in the United States and the 2.6 GHz band in Europe, is the best available band for mobile broadband. It has been widely reserved for mobile services and, in many countries, it is not being used yet. Even though higher-frequency spectrum is available in many countries, such as bands in the 3.4 GHz to 3.6 GHz range or the 5.7 GHz to 5.8 GHz range, these are better suited for fixed or nomadic services. The propagation properties of signals in these higher-frequency bands rule them out for mobile broadband access, except in areas of very high and concentrated demand. The effective range of wireless signals at higher frequencies is reduced, increasing the cost of base station deployment since more base stations are needed in a given area.

Wireless spectrum below 2 GHz offers better signal propagation characteristics, but much of the spectrum in the lower range is already allocated and currently in use. There is no low-frequency band that could become available in a major portion of the world with the possible exception of the 700 MHz band.

Given this situation, a higher degree of flexibility is needed in spectrum allocations to accommodate broad-band mobile technologies like WiMAX. Some actions regulatory bodies could take include:

• Open the spectrum currently devoted to the International Mobile Telecommunications (IMT) 2000 3G technologies to complementary data-optimized technologies like WiMAX. If this were to happen, operators could deploy the most appropriate technology and all countries, including emerging regions, which have no legacy 3G networks, would benefit from new mobile broadband technologies.

• The time is now

  In addition to enabling operations in the IMT-2000 bands, it permits mobile broadband services in other bands that are commonly deployed across the global. For example, the 2.3 GHz to 2.5 GHz and 700 MHz bands could soon be available in several countries, including India where the 700 MHz band may soon become available. Operators should be able to expand the capacity of their mobile broadband services in these alternative bands or use them for services intended for specific market segments. For instance, the 700 MHz band could be reserved for rural implementations.

• Let operators decide which services they can offer within their allotted spectrum. Operators should also have control over the level of mobility they offer. For example, many markets restrict the 3.3 GHz to 3.8 GHz bands to fixed services. This only limits consumer choices and operator opportunities. Besides, the distinction between fixed and mobile access is arbitrary and difficult to enforce.

• Allow spectrum licensees to choose between the two-duplexing schemes, time-division duplexing (TDD) or frequency-division duplexing (FDD). TDD is expected to dominate the global marketplace, as it is better suited to data communications. Its single channel for uplinks and downlinks has greater flexibility, which makes it more appropriate to asymmetric data traffic. In contrast, FDD has a dedicated uplink channel and a dedicated downlink channel, which makes it better suited to symmetric services such as voice communication. Deployed in a data application, FDD does not efficiently use the spectrum. In addition, TDD is friendlier to advanced antenna technologies like multiple input, multiple output (MIMO) and beamforming, which can bring about substantial increases in throughput.

• Introduce the trading of spectrum rights in secondary aftermarkets. This would maintain the health of the wireless ecosystem and ensure efficient use of spectrum. Spectrum trading among competitive service providers would enable shifts in the geographic partitioning of spectrum and band disaggregation. The leasing of spectrum would likely lead to more targeted services and better signal coverage.

The adoption of flexible regulatory attitudes toward mobile broadband technologies like WiMAX is particularly critical at this time. Pent-up demand for mobile broadband is present in developing and emerging countries. Moreover, many new mobile digital devices capable of a wide range of functionality and in novel form factors are poised to enter the marketplace over the next few years. Consumers will soon be clamoring for the ability to use these new devices in tandem with mobile broadband access (Figure 3).

Furthermore, operators will accelerate the deployment of the mobile broadband infrastructure if they have the flexibility needed to implement technologies that support the services that are in demand by their subscribers. A forward-looking regulatory attitude will hasten the day when the widest possible segment of global consumers will benefit from WiMAX technology and true mobile broadband access.

Dr. Mohammad Shakouri is a WiMAX Forum board member and vice president of marketing. He is also the corporate vice president of strategy for Alvarion. Shakouri has 22 years of experience in wireless system, microwave and fiber-optic networks. In addition to his position with the WiMAX Forum, Shakouri is on the board of directors for the Wireless Communications Association and 2005 IEEE MTT-SVC chairman.