WIMAX - QUICK GUIDE

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WIRELESS INTRODUCTION
Before we begin a real theory of WiMax, let's spend few minutes to understand background
concepts on which WiMax has evolved.

Wireless means transmitting signals using radio waves as the medium instead of wires. Wireless
technologies are used for tasks as simple as switching off the television or as complex as supplying
the sales force with information from an automated enterprise application while in the field. Now
cordless keyboards and mice, PDAs, pagers and digital and cellular phones have become part of
our daily life.

Some of the inherent characteristics of wireless communications systems which make it attractive
for users, are given below:

Mobility: A wireless communications system allows users to access information beyond

their desk and conduct business from anywhere without having a wire connectivity.

Reachability: Wireless communications systems enable people to be better connected and

reachable without any limitation of any location.

Simplicity: Wireless communication system are easy and fast to deploy in comparison of
cabled network. Initial setup cost could be a bit high but other advantages overcome that
high cost.

Maintainability: Being a wireless system, you do no need to spend too much to maintain a
wireless network setup.

Roaming Services: Using a wireless network system, you can provide service any where
any time including train, buses, aeroplanes etc.

New Services: Wireless communications systems provide new smart services like SMS and
MMS.

Wireless Network Topologies:

There are basically three ways to set up a wireless network.

Point-to-point bridge: As you know a bridge is used to connect two networks. A point-to-
point bridge interconnects two buildings having different networks. For example, a wireless
LAN bridge can interface with an Ethernet network directly to a particular access point.

Point-to-multipoint bridge: This topology is used to connect three or more LANs that may
be located on different floors in a building or across buildings.

Mesh or ad hoc network: This network is an independent local area network that is not
connected to a wired infrastructure and in which all stations are connected directly to one
another.

Wireless Technologies:
Wireless technologies can be classified in different ways depending on their range. Each wireless
technology is designed to serve a specific usage segment. The requirements for each usage
segment are based on a variety of variables, including Bandwidth needs, Distance needs and
Power.

Wireless Wide Area Network WWAN:

This network enables you to access the Internet via a wireless wide area network WWAN access
card and a PDA or laptop.

These networks provide a very fast data speed compared with the data rates of mobile
telecommunications technology, and their range is also extensive. Cellular and mobile networks
based on CDMA and GSM are good examples of WWAN.

Wireless Personal Area Network WPAN:

These networks are very similar to WWAN except their range is very limited.

Wireless Local Area Network WLAN:

This network enables you to access the Internet in localized hotspots via a wireless local area
network WLAN access card and a PDA or laptop.

It is a type of local area network that uses high-frequency radio waves rather than wires to
communicate between nodes.

These networks provide a very fast data speed compared with the data rates of mobile
telecommunications technology, and their range is very limited. Wi-Fi is the most widespread and
popular example of WLAN technology.

Wireless Metropolitan Area Network WMAN:

This network enables you to access the Internet and multimedia streaming services via a wireless
region area network WRAN.

These networks provide a very fast data speed compared with the data rates of mobile
telecommunication technology as well as other wireless network, and their range is also extensive.

Issues with Wireless Networks:

There are following three major issues with Wireless Networks.

Quality of Service QoS: One of the primary concerns about wireless data delivery is that,
like the Internet over wired services, QoS is inadequate. Lost packets, and atmospheric
interference are recurring problems wireless protocols.

Security Risk: This has been another major issue with a data transfer over a wireless
network. Basic network security mechanisms like the service set identifier SSID and Wireless
Equivalency Privacy WEP. These measures may be adequate for residences and small
businesses but they are inadequate for entities that require stronger security.

Reachable Range: Normally wireless network offers a range of about 100 meters or less.
Range is a function of antenna design and power. Now a days the range of wireless is
extended to tens of miles so this should not be an issue any more.

Wireless Broadband Access WBA:

Broadband wireless is a technology that promises high-speed connection over the air. It uses radio
waves to transmit and receive data directly to and from the potential users whenever they want it.
Technologies such as 3G, Wi-Fi, WiMAX and UWB work together to meet unique customer needs.

BWA is a point-to-multipoint system which is made up of base station and subscriber equipment.
Instead of using the physical connection between the base station and the subscriber, the base
station uses an outdoor antenna to send and receive high-speed data and voice-to-subscriber
equipment.

BWA offers an effective, complementary solution to wireline broadband, which has become
globally recognized by a high percentage of the population.

What is Wi-Fi ?
Wi-Fi stands for Wireless Fidelity. Wi-Fi is based on the IEEE 802.11 family of standards and is
primarily a local area networking LAN technology designed to provide in-building broadband
coverage.

For more detail on Wi-Fi, please look into our Wi-Fi Tutorial.
 WIMAX - WHAT IS WIMAX ?
WiMAX is one of the hottest broadband wireless technologies around today. WiMAX systems are
expected to deliver broadband access services to residential and enterprise customers in an
economical way.

Loosely, WiMax is a standardized wireless version of Ethernet intended primarily as an alternative

to wire technologies suchasCableModems, DSLandT1/E1links to provide broadband access to customer
premises.

More strictly, WiMAX is an industry trade organization formed by leading communications,

component and equipment companies to promote and certify compatibility and interoperability of
broadband wireless access equipment that conforms to the IEEE 802.16 and ETSI HIPERMAN
standards.

WiMAX would operate similar to WiFi but at higher speeds over greater distances and for a greater
number of users. WiMAX has the ability to provide service even in areas that are difficult for wired
infrastructure to reach and the ability to overcome the physical limitations of traditional wired
infrastructure.

WiMAX was formed in April 2001, in anticipation of the publication of the original 10-66 GHz IEEE
802.16 specifications. WiMAX is to 802.16 as the WiFi Alliance is to 802.11.

WiMAX is:

Acronym for Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access.

Based on Wireless MAN technology.

A wireless technology optimized for the delivery of IP centric services over a wide area.

A scaleable wireless platform for constructing alternative and complementary broadband

networks.

A certification that denotes interoperability of equipment built to the IEEE 802.16 or

compatible standard. The IEEE 802.16 Working Group develops standards that address two
types of usage models:

A fixed usage model IEEE802.16 − 2004.

A portable usage model IEEE802.16e.

What is 802.16a ?
WiMAX is such an easy term that people tend to use it for the 802.16 standards and technology
themselves, although strictly it applies only to systems that meet specific conformance criteria laid
down by the WiMAX Forum.

The 802.16a standard for 2-11 GHz is a wireless metropolitan area network MAN technology that
will provide broadband wireless connectivity to Fixed, Portable and Nomadic devices.

It can be used to connect 802.11 hot spots to the Internet, provide campus connectivity, and
provide a wireless alternative to cable and DSL for last mile broadband access.

WiMax Speed and Range:

WiMAX is expected to offer initially up to about 40 Mbps capacity per wireless channel for both
fixed and portable applications, depending on the particular technical configuration chosen,
enough to support hundreds of businesses with T-1 speed connectivity and thousands of
residences with DSL speed connectivity. WiMAX can support voice and video as well as Internet
data.

WiMax will be to provide wireless broadband access to buildings, either in competition to existing
wired networks or alone in currently unserved rural or thinly populated areas. It can also be used
to connect WLAN hotspots to the Internet. WiMAX is also intended to provide broadband
connectivity to mobile devices. It would not be as fast as in these fixed applications, but
expectations are for about 15 Mbps capacity in a 3 km cell coverage area.

With WiMAX users could really cut free from today's Internet access arrangements and be able to
go online at broadband speeds, almost wherever they like from within a MetroZone.

WiMAX could potentially be deployed in a variety of spectrum bands: 2.3GHz, 2.5GHz, 3.5GHz, and
5.8GHz

Why WiMax ?
WiMAX can satisfy a variety of access needs. Potential applications include extending
broadband capabilities to bring them closer to subscribers, filling gaps in cable, DSL and T1
services, WiFi and cellular backhaul, providing last-100 meter access from fibre to the curb
and giving service providers another cost-effective option for supporting broadband services.

WiMAX can support very high bandwidth solutions where large spectrum deployments
i. e. > 10MHz are desired using existing infrastructure keeping costs down while delivering the
bandwidth needed to support a full range of high-value multimedia services.

WiMAX can help service providers meet many of the challenges they face due to increasing
customer demands without discarding their existing infrastructure investments because it
has the ability to seamlessly interoperate across various network types.

WiMAX can provide wide area coverage and quality of service capabilities for applications
ranging from real-time delay-sensitive voice-over-IP VoIP to real-time streaming video and
non-real-time downloads, ensuring that subscribers obtain the performance they expect for
all types of communications.

WiMAX, which is an IP-based wireless broadband technology, can be integrated into both
wide-area third-generation 3G mobile and wireless and wireline networks allowing it to
become part of a seamless anytime, anywhere broadband access solution.

Ultimately, WiMAX is intended to serve as the next step in the evolution of 3G mobile phones, via a
potential combination of WiMAX and CDMA standards called 4G.

WiMAX Goals:
A standard by itself is not enough to enable mass adoption. WiMAX has stepped forward to help
solve barriers to adoption, such as interoperability and cost of deployment. WiMAX will help ignite
the wireless MAN industry by defining and conducting interoperability testing and labeling vendor
systems with a "WiMAX Certified™" label once testing has been completed successfully.

WIMAX MAJOR BENEFITS

Benefits to Component Makers:

Creates a volume opportunity for silicon suppliers.

Benefits to Equipment Makers:

Innovate more rapidly because there exists a standards-based stable platform upon
which to rapidly add new capabilities.

No longer need to develop every piece of the end-to-end solution.

Benefits to Operators:

A common platform which drives down the cost of equipment and accelerates
price/performance improvements unachievable with proprietary approaches.

Generate revenue by filling broadband access gaps.

Quickly provision T1 / E1 level and "on demand" high margin broadband services.

Reduce the dollar risk associated with deployment as equipment will be less expensive
due to economies of scale.
 No longer be locked into a single vendor since base stations will interoperate with
multiple vendors' CPEs.

Benefits to Consumers:

More broadband access choices, especially in areas where there are gaps: worldwide
urban centers where building access is difficult; in suburban areas where the
subscriber is too far from the central office; and in rural and low population density
areas where infrastructure is poor.

More choices for broadband access will create competition, which will result in lower
monthly subscription prices.

WIMAX & WI-FI COMPARISON

WiMAX is similar to the wireless standard known as Wi-Fi, but on a much larger scale and at faster
speeds. A nomadic version would keep WiMAX-enabled devices connected over large areas, much
like today.s cell phones. We can compare it with Wi-Fi based on the following factors.

IEEE Standards:
Wi-Fi is based on IEEE 802.11 standard where as WiMAX is based on IEEE 802.16. However, both
are IEEE standards.

Range:
Wi-Fi typically provides local network access for around a few hundred feet with speeds of up to 54
Mbps, a single WiMAX antenna is expected to have a range of up to 40 miles with speeds of 70
Mbps or more. As such, WiMAX can bring the underlying Internet connection needed to service
localWi-Fi networks.

Scalability:
Wi-Fi is intended for LAN applications, users scale from one to tens with one subscriber for each
CPE device. Fixed channel sizes 20MHz.

WiMAX is designed to efficiently support from one to hundreds of Consumer premises equipments
CPEs, with unlimited subscribers behind each CPE. Flexible channel sizes from 1.5MHz to 20MHz.

Bit rate:
Wi-Fi works at 2.7 bps/Hz and can peak up to 54 Mbps in 20 MHz channel.

WiMAX works at 5 bps/Hz and can peak up to 100 Mbps in a 20 MHz channel.

Quality of Service:
Wi-Fi does not guarantee any QoS but WiMax will provide your several level of QoS.

As such, WiMAX can bring the underlying Internet connection needed to service local Wi-Fi
networks. Wi-Fi does not provide ubiquitous broadband while WiMAX does.

Comparison Table:

Freature WiMax Wi-Fi Wi-Fi

802.16a 802.11b 802.11a/g

Primary Broadband Wireless Wireless LAN Wireless LAN

Application Access
 Frequency Band Licensed/Unlicensed 2.4 GHz ISM 2.4 GHz ISM g

2 G to 11 GHz 5 GHz U-NII a

Channel Adjustable 25 MHz 20 MHz

Bandwidth 1.25 M to 20 MHz

Half/Full Duplex Full Half Half

Radio Technology OFDM Direct Sequence OFDM

256 − channels Spread Spectrum 64 − channels

Bandwidth <=5 bps/Hz <=0.44 bps/Hz <=2.7 bps/Hz

Efficiency

Modulation BPSK, QPSK, QPSK BPSK, QPSK,

16-, 64-, 256-QAM 16-, 64-QAM

FEC Convolutional Code None Convolutional Code

Reed-Solomon

Encryption Mandatory- 3DES Optional- RC4 Optional- RC4

Optional- AES AESin802.11i AESin802.11i

Mobility Mobile WiMax In development In development

802.16e

Mesh Yes Vendor Vendor Proprietary

Proprietary

Access Protocol Request/Grant CSMA/CA CSMA/CA

WIMAX SALIENT FEATURES

WiMAX is a wireless broadband solution that offers a rich set of features with a lot of flexibility in
terms of deployment options and potential service offerings. Some of the more salient features
that deserve highlighting are as follows:

Two Type of Services:

WiMAX can provide two forms of wireless service:

Non-line-of-sight: service is a WiFi sort of service. Here a small antenna on your computer
connects to the WiMAX tower. In this mode, WiMAX uses a lower frequency range -- 2 GHz to
11 GHz similartoWiFi.

Line-of-sight: service, where a fixed dish antenna points straight at the WiMAX tower from a
rooftop or pole. The line-of-sight connection is stronger and more stable, so it's able to send
a lot of data with fewer errors. Line-of-sight transmissions use higher frequencies, with
ranges reaching a possible 66 GHz.
OFDM-based physical layer:
The WiMAX physical layer PHY is based on orthogonal frequency division multiplexing, a scheme
that offers good resistance to multipath, and allows WiMAX to operate in NLOS conditions.

Very high peak data rates:

WiMAX is capable of supporting very high peak data rates. In fact, the peak PHY data rate can be
as high as 74Mbps when operating using a 20MHz wide spectrum.

More typically, using a 10MHz spectrum operating using TDD scheme with a 3:1 downlink-to-uplink
ratio, the peak PHY data rate is about 25Mbps and 6.7Mbps for the downlink and the uplink,
respectively.

Scalable bandwidth and data rate support:

WiMAX has a scalable physical-layer architecture that allows for the data rate to scale easily with
available channel bandwidth.

For example, a WiMAX system may use 128, 512, or 1,048-bit FFTs fastfouriertransforms based on
whether the channel bandwidth is 1.25MHz, 5MHz, or 10MHz, respectively. This scaling may be
done dynamically to support user roaming across different networks that may have different
bandwidth allocations.

Adaptive modulation and coding AMC:

WiMAX supports a number of modulation and forward error correction FEC coding schemes and
allows the scheme to be changed on a per user and per frame basis, based on channel conditions.

AMC is an effective mechanism to maximize throughput in a time-varying channel.

Link-layer retransmissions:
WiMAX supports automatic retransmission requests ARQ at the link layer for connections that
require enhanced reliability. ARQ-enabled connections require each transmitted packet to be
acknowledged by the receiver; unacknowledged packets are assumed to be lost and are
retransmitted.

Support for TDD and FDD:

IEEE 802.16-2004 and IEEE 802.16e-2005 supports both time division duplexing and frequency
division duplexing, as well as a half-duplex FDD, which allows for a low-cost system
implementation.

WiMAX uses OFDM:

Mobile WiMAX uses Orthogonal frequency division multiple access OFDM as a multiple-access
technique, whereby different users can be allocated different subsets of the OFDM tones.

Flexible and dynamic per user resource allocation:

Both uplink and downlink resource allocation are controlled by a scheduler in the base station.
Capacity is shared among multiple users on a demand basis, using a burst TDM scheme.

Support for advanced antenna techniques:

The WiMAX solution has a number of hooks built into the physical-layer design, which allows for
the use of multiple-antenna techniques, such as beamforming, space-time coding, and spatial
multiplexing.

Quality-of-service support:
The WiMAX MAC layer has a connection-oriented architecture that is designed to support a variety
of applications, including voice and multimedia services.
WiMAX system offers support for constant bit rate, variable bit rate, real-time, and non-real-time
traffic flows, in addition to best-effort data traffic.

WiMAX MAC is designed to support a large number of users, with multiple connections per
terminal, each with its own QoS requirement.

Robust security:
WiMAX supports strong encryption, using Advanced Encryption Standard AES, and has a robust
privacy and key-management protocol.

The system also offers a very flexible authentication architecture based on Extensible
Authentication Protocol EAP, which allows for a variety of user credentials, including
username/password, digital certificates, and smart cards.

Support for mobility:

The mobile WiMAX variant of the system has mechanisms to support secure seamless handovers
for delay-tolerant full-mobility applications, such as VoIP.

IP-based architecture:
The WiMAX Forum has defined a reference network architecture that is based on an all-IP
platform. All end-to-end services are delivered over an IP architecture relying on IP-based
protocols for end-to-end transport, QoS, session management, security, and mobility.

WIMAX BUILDING BLOCKS

A WiMAX system consists of two major parts:

A WiMAX base station.

A WiMAX receiver.

WiMAX Base Station:

A WiMAX base station consists of indoor electronics and a WiMAX tower similar in concept to a cell-
phone tower. A WiMAX base station can provide coverage to a very large area up to a radius of 6
miles. Any wireless device within the coverage area would be able to access the Internet.

The WiMAX base stations would use the MAC layer defined in the standard, a common interface
that makes the networks interoperable and would allocate uplink and downlink bandwidth to
subscribers according to their needs, on an essentially real-time basis.

Each base station provides wireless coverage over an area called a cell. Theoretically, the
maximum radius of a cell is 50 km or 30 miles however, practical considerations limit it to about
10 km or 6 miles.

WiMAX Receiver:
A WiMAX receiver may have a separate antenna or could be a stand-alone box or a PCMCIA card
sitting in your laptop or computer or any other device. This is also referred as customer premise
equipment CPE.

WiMAX base station is similar to accessing a wireless access point in a WiFi network, but the
coverage is greater.

Backhaul:
A WiMAX tower station can connect directly to the Internet using a high-bandwidth, wired
connection forexample, aT3line. It can also connect to another WiMAX tower using a line-of-sight
microwave link.

Backhaul refers both to the connection from the access point back to the base station and to the
connection from the base station to the core network.
It is possible to connect several base stations to one another using high-speed backhaul
microwave links. This would also allow for roaming by a WiMAX subscriber from one base station
coverage area to another, similar to the roaming enabled by cell phones.

WIMAX NETWORK MODEL

The IEEE 802.16e-2005 standard provides the air interface for WiMAX but does not define the full
end-to-end WiMAX network. The WiMAX Forum's Network Working Group NWG is responsible for
developing the end-to-end network requirements, architecture, and protocols for WiMAX, using
IEEE 802.16e-2005 as the air interface.

The WiMAX NWG has developed a network reference model to serve as an architecture framework
for WiMAX deployments and to ensure interoperability among various WiMAX equipment and
operators.

The network reference model envisions a unified network architecture for supporting fixed,
nomadic, and mobile deployments and is based on an IP service model. Below is simplified
illustration of an IP-based WiMAX network architecture. The overall network may be logically
divided into three parts:

Mobile Stations MS used by the end user to access the network.

The access service network ASN, which comprises one or more base stations and one or
more ASN gateways that form the radio access network at the edge.

Connectivity service network CSN, which provides IP connectivity and all the IP core network
functions.

The network reference model developed by the WiMAX Forum NWG defines a number of
functional entities and interfaces between those entities. Fig below shows some of the more
important functional entities.

Base station BS: The BS is responsible for providing the air interface to the MS. Additional
functions that may be part of the BS are micromobility management functions, such as
handoff triggering and tunnel establishment, radio resource management, QoS policy
enforcement, traffic classification, DHCP DynamicHostControlProtocol proxy, key management,
session management, and multicast group management.

Access service network gateway ASN − GW: The ASN gateway typically acts as a layer 2
traffic aggregation point within an ASN. Additional functions that may be part of the ASN
gateway include intra-ASN location management and paging, radio resource management,
and admission control, caching of subscriber profiles, and encryption keys, AAA client
functionality, establishment, and management of mobility tunnel with base stations, QoS and
policy enforcement, foreign agent functionality for mobile IP, and routing to the selected
CSN.

Connectivity service network CSN: The CSN provides connectivity to the Internet, ASP,
other public networks, and corporate networks. The CSN is owned by the NSP and includes
AAA servers that support authentication for the devices, users, and specific services. The CSN
also provides per user policy management of QoS and security. The CSN is also responsible
for IP address management, support for roaming between different NSPs, location
management between ASNs, and mobility and roaming between ASNs.
The WiMAX architecture framework allows for the flexible decomposition and/or combination of
functional entities when building the physical entities. For example, the ASN may be decomposed
into base station transceivers BST, base station controllers BSC, and an ASNGW analogous to the
GSM model of BTS, BSC, and Serving GPRS Support Node SGSN.

WIMAX TECHNOLOGY
WiMAX is a technology based on the IEEE 802.16 specifications to enable the delivery of last-mile
wireless broadband access as an alternative to cable and DSL. The design of WiMAX network is
based on the following major principles:

Spectrum . able to be deployed in both licensed and unlicensed spectra.

Topology . supports different Radio Access Network RAN topologies.

Interworking . independent RAN architecture to enable seamless integration and

interworking with WiFi, 3GPP and 3GPP2 networks and existing IP operator core network.

IP connectivity . supports a mix of IPv4 and IPv6 network interconnects in clients and
application servers.

Mobility management . possibility to extend the fixed access to mobility and broadband
multimedia services delivery.

WiMAX has defined two MAC system profiles the basic ATM and the basic IP. They have also
defined two primary PHY system profiles, the 25 MHz-wide channel for use in USdeployments the
10.66 GHz range, and the 28 MHz wide channel for use in Europeandeployments the 10.66 GHz range.

WiMAX Physical and MAC Layers are explained in separate chapters of this tutorial.

The WiMAX technical working group is defining MAC and PHY system profiles for IEEE 802.16a and
HiperMan standards. The MAC profile includes an IP-based version for both wireless MAN licensed
and wireless HUMAN licence − exempt.

IEEE Standard 802.16 was designed to evolve as a set of air interfaces standards for WMAN based
on a common MAC protocol but with physical layer specifications dependent on the spectrum of
use and the associated regulations.

The WiMAX framework is based on several core principles:

Support for different RAN topologies.

Well-defined interfaces to enable 802.16 RAN architecture independence while enabling

seamless integration and interworking with WiFi, 3GPP3 and 3GPP2 networks.

Leverage and open, IETF-defined IP technologies to build scalable all-IP 802.16 access
networks using common off the shelf COTS equipment.

Support for IPv4 and IPv6 clients and application servers, recommending use of IPv6 in the
infrastructure.

Functional extensibility to support future migration to full mobility and delivery of rich
broadband multimedia.

WIMAX PHYSICAL LAYER

The WiMAX physical layer is based on orthogonal frequency division multiplexing. OFDM is the
transmission scheme of choice to enable high-speed data, video, and multimedia communications
and is used by a variety of commercial broadband systems, including DSL, Wi-Fi, Digital Video
Broadcast-Handheld DVB − H, and MediaFLO, besides WiMAX.

OFDM is an elegant and efficient scheme for high data rate transmission in a non-line-of-sight or
multipath radio environment.

Adaptive Modulation and Coding in WiMAX:

WiMAX supports a variety of modulation and coding schemes and allows for the scheme to change
on a burst-by-burst basis per link, depending on channel conditions. Using the channel quality
feedback indicator, the mobile can provide the base station with feedback on the downlink
channel quality. For the uplink, the base station can estimate the channel quality, based on the
received signal quality.

Following is a list of the various modulation and coding schemes supported by WiMAX.

Downlink Uplink

Modulation BPSK, QPSK, 16 QAM, 64 QAM; BPSK BPSK, QPSK, 16 QAM; 64 QAM
optional for OFDMA-PHY optional

Coding Mandatory: convolutional codes at rate Mandatory: convolutional codes

1/2, 2/3, 3/4, 5/6 at rate 1/2, 2/3, 3/4, 5/6

Optional: convolutional turbo codes at Optional: convolutional turbo

rate 1/2, 2/3, 3/4, 5/6; repetition codes at codes at rate 1/2, 2/3, 3/4, 5/6;
rate 1/2, 1/3, 1/6, LDPC, RS-Codes for repetition codes at rate 1/2, 1/3,
OFDM-PHY 1/6, LDPC

PHY-Layer Data Rates:

Because the physical layer of WiMAX is quite flexible, data rate performance varies based on the
operating parameters. Parameters that have a significant impact on the physical-layer data rate
are channel bandwidth and the modulation and coding scheme used. Other parameters, such as
number of subchannels, OFDM guard time, and oversampling rate, also have an impact.

Following is the PHY-layer data rate at various channel bandwidths, as well as modulation and
coding schemes.

WIMAX OFDM BASICS

OFDM belongs to a family of transmission schemes called multicarrier modulation, which is based
on the idea of dividing a given high-bit-rate data stream into several parallel lower bit-rate streams
and modulating each stream on separate carriers, often called subcarriers or tones.

Multicarrier modulation schemes eliminate or minimize intersymbol interference ISI by making the
symbol time large enough so that the channel-induced delays delay spread being a good measure
of this in wireless channels are an insignificant typically, < 10percent fraction of the symbol duration.

Therefore, in high-data-rate systems in which the symbol duration is small, being inversely
proportional to the data rate splitting the data stream into many parallel streams increases the
symbol duration of each stream such that the delay spread is only a small fraction of the symbol
duration.

OFDM is a spectrally efficient version of multicarrier modulation, where the subcarriers are
selected such that they are all orthogonal to one another over the symbol duration, thereby
avoiding the need to have nonoverlapping subcarrier channels to eliminate intercarrier
interference.

In order to completely eliminate ISI, guard intervals are used between OFDM symbols. By making
the guard interval larger than the expected multipath delay spread, ISI can be completely
eliminated. Adding a guard interval, however, implies power wastage and a decrease in bandwidth
efficiency.

WIMAX MAC LAYER

The IEEE 802.16 MAC was designed for point-to-multipoint broadband wireless access applications.
The primary task of the WiMAX MAC layer is to provide an interface between the higher transport
layers and the physical layer.

The MAC layer takes packets from the upper layer, these packets are called MAC service data units
MSDUs and organizes them into MAC protocol data units MPDUs for transmission over the air. For
received transmissions, the MAC layer does the reverse.

The IEEE 802.16-2004 and IEEE 802.16e-2005 MAC design includes a convergence sublayer that
can interface with a variety of higher-layer protocols, such as ATM TDM Voice, Ethernet, IP, and
any unknown future protocol.

The 802.16 MAC is designed for point-to-multipoint PMP applications and is based on collision
sense multiple access with collision avoidance CSMA /CA.

The MAC incorporates several features suitable for a broad range of applications at different
mobility rates, such as the following:

Privacy key management PKM for MAC layer security. PKM version 2 incorporates support for
extensible authentication protocol EAP.

Broadcast and multicast support.

Manageability primitives.

High-speed handover and mobility management primitives.

Three power management levels, normal operation, sleep, and idle.

Header suppression, packing and fragmentation for efficient use of spectrum.

Five service classes, unsolicited grant service UGS, real-time polling service rtPS, non-real-
time polling service nrtPS, best effort BE, and Extended real-time variable rate ERT − VR
service.

These features combined with the inherent benefits of scalable OFDMA make 802.16 suitable for
high-speed data and bursty or isochronous IP multimedia applications.

Support for QoS is a fundamental part of the WiMAX MAC-layer design. WiMAX borrows some of
the basic ideas behind its QoS design from the DOCSIS cable modem standard.

Strong QoS control is achieved by using a connection-oriented MAC architecture, where all
downlink and uplink connections are controlled by the serving BS.
WiMAX also defines a concept of a service flow. A service flow is a unidirectional flow of packets
with a particular set of QoS parameters and is identified by a service flow identifier SFID.

WIMAX MOBILITY SUPPORT

WiMAX envisions four mobility-related usage scenarios :

Nomadic: The user is allowed to take a fixed subscriber station and reconnect from a
different point of attachment.

Portable: Nomadic access is provided to a portable device, such as a PC card, with

expectation of a best-effort handover.

Simple mobility: The subscriber may move at speeds up to 60 kmph with brief
interruptions lessthan1sec during handoff.

Full mobility: Up to 120 kmph mobility and seamless handoff lessthan50mslatencyand < 1 is
supported.

It is likely that WiMAX networks will initially be deployed for fixed and nomadic applications and
then evolve to support portability to full mobility over time.

The IEEE 802.16e-2005 standard defines a framework for supporting mobility management. In
particular, the standard defines signaling mechanisms for tracking subscriber stations as they
move from the coverage range of one base station to another when active or as they move from
one paging group to another when idle.

The standard also has protocols to enable a seamless handover of ongoing connections from one
base station to another.

The standard also has protocols to enable a seamless handover of ongoing connections from one
base station to another. The WiMAX Forum has used the framework defined in IEEE 802.16e-2005,
to further develop mobility management within an end-to-end network architecture framework.
The architecture also supports IP-layer mobility using mobile IP.

WIMAX SECURITY FUNCTIONS

WiMAX systems were designed at the outset with robust security in mind. The standard includes
state-of-the-art methods for ensuring user data privacy and preventing unauthorized access with
additional protocol optimization for mobility.

Security is handled by a privacy sublayer within the WiMAX MAC. The key aspects of WiMAX
security are as follow:

Support for privacy:

User data is encrypted using cryptographic schemes of proven robustness to provide privacy. Both
AES AdvancedEncryptionStandard and 3DES TripleDataEncryptionStandard are supported.

The 128-bit or 256-bit key used for deriving the cipher is generated during the authentication
phase and is periodically refreshed for additional protection.

Device/user authentication:
WiMAX provides a flexible means for authenticating subscriber stations and users to prevent
unauthorized use. The authentication framework is based on the Internet Engineering Task Force
IETF EAP, which supports a variety of credentials, such as username/password, digital certificates,
and smart cards.

WiMAX terminal devices come with built-in X.509 digital certificates that contain their public key
and MAC address. WiMAX operators can use the certificates for device authentication and use a
username/password or smart card authentication on top of it for user authentication.

Flexible key-management protocol:

The Privacy and Key Management Protocol Version 2 PKMv2 is used for securely transferring keying
material from the base station to the mobile station, periodically reauthorizing and refreshing the
keys.

Protection of control messages:

The integrity of over-the-air control messages is protected by using message digest schemes, such
as AES-based CMAC or MD5-based HMAC.

Support for fast handover:

To support fast handovers, WiMAX allows the MS to use preauthentication with a particular target
BS to facilitate accelerated reentry.

A three-way handshake scheme is supported to optimize the reauthentication mechanisms for

supporting fast handovers, while simultaneously preventing any man-in-the-middle attacks.

WIMAX STANDARDS
The IEEE 802.16, the Air Interface for Fixed Broadband Wireless Access Systems, also known as the
IEEE WirelessMAN air interface, is an emerging suite of standards for fixed, portable and mobile
BWA in MAN.

These standards are issued by IEEE 802.16 work group that originally covered the wireless local
loop WLL technologies in the 10.66 GHz radio spectrum, which were later extended through
amendment projects to include both licensed and unlicensed spectra from 2 to 11 GHz.

The WiMAX umbrella currently includes 802.16-2004 and 802.16e. 802.16-2004 utilizes OFDM to
serve multiple users in a time division fashion in a sort of a round-robin technique, but done
extremely quickly so that users have the perception that they are always transmitting/receiving.
802.16e utilizes OFDMA and can serve multiple users simultaneously by allocating sets of tones to
each user.

Following is the chart of various IEEE 802.16 Standards related to WiMAX.

NOTE: The IEEE 802.16 standards for BWA provide the possibility for interoperability between
equipment from different vendors, which is in contrast to the previous BWA industry, where
proprietary products with high prices are dominant in the market.

WIMAX WIMAXFORUM™
A nonprofit organization called WiMAX Forum™ was formed in 2001, with the aim of harmonizing
standards, testing and certifying interoperability between equipment from different
manufacturers.

WiMAX Forum™ was formed by equipment and component suppliers to support the IEEE 802.16
BWA system by helping to ensure the compatibility and interoperability of BWA equipment, which
will lead to lower cost through chip-level implementation.
WiMAX Forum™ is doing what WiFi Alliance has done for wireless LAN and IEEE 802.11. WiMAX
Forum Certified™ products adhere to the IEEE 802.16 standard and offer higher bandwidth, lower
costs and broader service capabilities than most of the available proprietary solutions.

The WiMAX Forum™ is working on setting up a baseline protocol that allows equipment and
devices from multiple vendors to interoperate and also provides a choice of equipment and
devices from different suppliers.

Members of WiMAXForum:
The WiMAX Forum™ has more than 400 members from equipment manufacturers, semiconductor
suppliers, and services providers, and membership was recently opened for content providers.
Some of the noted members are Alcatel, AT&T, Fujitsu, Intel, Nortel, Motorola, SBC, and Siemens.

WIMAX SUMMARY
This tutorial teaches you most of the basics of WiMAX. This tutorial should be your starting point
and you have lot of things to refer to become a master in WiMAX. So, please check WiMAX Useful
Resources chapter of this tutorial for more information on WiMAX.

I am summarizing few points related to WiMAX:

WiMAX is based on a very flexible and robust air interface defined by the IEEE 802.16 group.

WiMAX is similar to the wireless standard known as Wi-Fi, but on a much larger scale and at
faster speeds.

The WiMAX physical layer is based on OFDM, which is an elegant and effective technique for
overcoming multipath distortion.

The physical layer supports several advanced techniques for increasing the reliability of the
link layer. These techniques include powerful error correction coding, including turbo coding
and LDPC, hybrid-ARQ, and antenna arrays.

WiMAX supports a number of advanced signal-processing techniques to improve overall

system capacity. These techniques include adaptive modulation and coding, spatial
multiplexing, and multiuser diversity.

WiMAX has a very flexible MAC layer that can accommodate a variety of traffic types,
including voice, video, and multimedia, and provide strong QoS.

Robust security functions, such as strong encryption and mutual authentication, are built into
the WiMAX standard.

WiMAX defines a flexible all-IP-based network architecture that allows for the exploitation of
all the benefits of IP.

WiMAX offers very high spectral efficiency, particularly when using higher-order MIMO
solutions.

WiMAX Forum™ is an industry-led, non-profit corporation formed to promote and certify

compatibility and interoperability of broadband wireless products.

WiMAX Forum Certified™ products will be based upon a single global standard IEEE 802.16
enabling complete interoperability worldwide.

What is Next?
IEEE 802.16 products are in the final phases of commercial development with initial trial
deployments already underway. So be ready for a new wireless revolutionary phase.

You might be interested to know more about WiMAX. So please check WiMAX Useful Resources.

Send me your feedback at [email protected]

Thanks.
Thanks.
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