At WiMAX Forum Asia Congress 2008 (April 9-10), the WiMAX Forum announced that the first eight Mobile WiMAX products received the WiMAX Forum Certified Seal of Approval following rigorous testing to ensure that each product meets strict interoperability and conformance to standards.

The 2.3-GHz frequency band products, including four base station and four subscriber unit modules, that achieved WiMAX certification are from WiMAX Forum member companies POSDATA, Runcom Technologies Ltd, Samsung Electronics Co., LTD and Sequans Communications.

"Mobile WiMAX Certification is now real and this milestone is proof the industry is following through on its commitment to deliver Mobile WiMAX infrastructure," said Ron Resnick, president of the WiMAX Forum, during a press conference from the show floor in Singapore. "With the first group of Mobile WiMAX certified products now available, we have delivered on our promise to ensure that WiMAX products are interoperable and that operators have the certified equipment and devices to begin delivering mobile broadband services that consumers want. Stay tuned. We expect this momentum to continue throughout the year when the first products for the 2.5 GHz frequency achieve certification in the coming months."

The products were certified in collaboration with the WiMAX Forum’s lead certification testing laboratory, AT4 wireless, in Malaga, Spain, and members of the Telecommunications Technology Association's (TTA) IT Testing & Certification Lab from Seoul, Korea.

"AT4 wireless is very proud and satisfied; achieving Mobile WiMAX certification for the 2.3 GHz profile is an important milestone for the WiMAX Forum and the technology itself," said Luis Fernando Martinez, AT4 wireless general director. "It is the result of the team work of many companies. That is why AT4 wireless, as the WiMAX Forum lead laboratory, would like to thank all the test equipment vendors, validation companies, BS/SS vendors and testing labs involved."

KT Corporation also announced its intention to use WiMAX Forum Certified products in its commercial network at the WiMAX Forum press conference.

"More than 70 percent of the Korean population is using fixed broadband Internet service and the demand for accessing the Internet anytime, anywhere is growing more and more," said Dr. Hyun Myung Pyo, executive vice president and head of mobile WiMAX business unit for KT. "We have seen first-hand how Mobile WiMAX changes peoples' lifestyles by allowing Internet anytime, anywhere on any device. Now, the world market will accelerate through availability of WiMAX Forum Certified products."

KT deployed its first portion of its Mobile WiMAX network in 2006 and began full commercial services in the Seoul metropolitan area in April 2007. Currently KT has more than 140,000 customers on its WiMAX network and expects at least 410,000 subscribers by the end of 2008, covering more than 40 percent of the Korean population.

The future looks strong for WiMAX subscribers. In an April 2008 WiMAX Forum Subscriber and User Forecast Study, the WiMAX Forum projects there will be more than 133 million WiMAX users globally by 2012. Additional data from the study estimates that approximately 70 percent of the forecasted WiMAX users by 2012 will use mobile and portable WiMAX devices to access broadband Internet services.

Products achieving Mobile WiMAX certification have gone through rigorous testing to ensure they meet the interoperability and conformance to standards of the WiMAX Forum. Testing includes ranging, idle mode, sleep mode, dynamic services, handover, power control, security applications, negotiations functions and more.

"WiMAX is the only technology to certify base stations and terminals to ensure that interoperability is carried across all levels of the WiMAX network when WiMAX Forum Certified products are used in a deployment," said Resnick. "When compared to other wireless standards, it is considered an improvement to test products with base stations to ensure interoperability, which is the core value proposition of the WiMAX Forum's standard."

Today, dozens of products are registered for Mobile WiMAX certification in 2.3 GHz and 2.5 GHz frequencies and more than 100 products are expected to be certified for Mobile WiMAX by the end of 2008.

The WiMAX Forum forecasts that more than 1,000 products will undergo Mobile WiMAX certification testing by 2011, representing an influx of new consumer devices and infrastructure equipment to support continued rapid WiMAX user adoption in the 2.3 GHz, 2.5 GHz, and 3.5 GHz frequency bands. The WiMAX Forum's current network of six labs in China, Korea, Spain, U.S. and two in Taiwan will expand to eight by the end of 2008 with additions in India and Japan to handle the anticipated certification demand. The WiMAX Forum also plans to open a certification lab in Brazil in 2009.

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