ANALYSIS: Is Cofetel Prepared for WiMax?
The decision by Mexican authorities to open up frequency bands for wireless technologies without the need for a concession license is a welcome development that should help define future WiMax spectrum use parameters, analysts say.
In March this year the country's telecoms regulator Cofetel published regulations that will monitor the use of certain frequency bands for wireless technologies such as WiMax and Wi-Fi. Authorities agreed that spectrum in the 900MHz, 2.0GHz and 5.0GHz bands would be freely available, while the 3.6GHz to 3.7GHz bands would be reserved for concessionaires
Analysts on the whole have approved the ruling but some believe questions still remain to be answered before authorities offer spectrum concession licenses for WiMax.
José Otero, president of Signals Consulting asks why the communications ministry SCT has not made it clear how they are going to account for interference, and how many operators can function in a particular geographical area offering what service.
"They didn't make it clear how many operators will use the frequency. Will it be 100 or 20," Otero told BNamericas.
According to Enrique Melrose, analyst with thinktank Javier Lozano y Asociados and a former Cofetel technical advisor, even in the US there is still not agreement on how many operators can share the same frequency.
"Some say that with more than five or six operators problems start to arise, others say that interference occurs after 10. It depends a lot on the characteristics of the equipment and the sensitivity of the receivers," Melrose told BNamericas.
"It also depends on the type of traffic. If they want to use it for VoIP the number of operators will be lower in order to guarantee voice quality. But if they want it just for data, they could have many more. Only experience is going to show how many operators can function," Melrose said.
COFETEL PREPARED
However, Canadian wireless broadband equipment supplier Redline Communications is confident that Cofetel has it all under control.
Redline's worldwide sales and support VP Michael Ansley met with the regulator in February and told BNamericas that Cofetel is perfectly aware of the global standardization process for WiMax equipment and the procedures for channeling spectrum, as stipulated by the WiMAx Forum.
"Cofetel was very aware of what is going on in the world and the standardization process. They were really working for the right balance for regional development in the country by offering both national licenses and regional licenses," Ansley told BNamericas.
According to the executive, there is always a greater risk of interference in an unlicensed band and for that reason Cofetel only will leave the 5.8GHz band unlicensed, to encourage local ISPs to set up and offer service to rural communities.
Roberto Martínez, government relations director in Mexico for US chip maker Intel, believes the unlicensed bands probably will be used for pilot projects for public or government services in areas of low geographical density.
The licensed bands promise a lot more from a technological perspective as they have greater potential for efficient spectrum use.
"It's like the difference between a private toll highway and a publicly-maintained secondary road," Martínez said.
Intel has collaborated with local Mexican governments in helping to install security cameras over WiMax and to connect government buildings.
EQUIPMENT STANDARDIZATION
Cofetel requested that the telecommunications and electronics industry association Canieti carry out a public consultation with some of the manufacturers potentially interested in selling equipment to Mexico. The manufacturers include Aperto, Redline, Alvarion, Airspan, Axxcelera, NEC and WaveIP.
According to Ansley, Cofetel is following procedures of the WiMax Forum to certify equipment for use in the 3.4-3.6GHz band with a 3.5MHz and a 7MHz channel.
Fixed wireless broadband has been proprietary for many years. However WiMax Forum Certification offers vendor interoperability, which allows competition of a variety of equipment vendors to ensure competitive prices.
BNamericas.com"
Posted to the site on 1st May 2006
