WiMAX, the often-embattled but wildly promising set of IEEE specifications being touted by the WiMAX Forum as both complement and successor to existing wireline and wireless broadband solutions, will be a commercial reality by the end of this year, according to the product certification testing agenda laid out by the forum at its recent heavily attended quarterly members meeting in Malaga, Spain.

At the meeting two weeks ago, the forum's board approved its 2005 plan of objectives, including a schedule for 802.16-2004 product certification and interoperability testing. The testing is set to begin in July at Cetecom, the forum's Malaga-based certification testing house. The first round of the certification process will focus on network and subscriber products designed for the 3.5 GHz band, the band in which several large carriers own spectrum licenses. WiMAX Forum President and Chairman Ron Resnick said at least nine base station and nine customer premises equipment products would be submitted for certification testing.

“The conformance testing of individual products will take at least a month or two, and then there will be interoperability testing, and we could end up with commercial WiMAX products as early as November,” he said.

Companies submitting products for certification will have to pay a $15,000 fee for the conformance test package and an additional $15,000 for the interoperability tests. It also will cost them $5500 for use of the WiMAX Forum certified logo on their products. Cetecom, a well-known testing firm that has worked with Wi-Fi and other technologies, is building a dedicated test lab for the WiMAX certification tests.

Beyond experience, one of the reasons the forum chose Cetecom was its ability to create automated testing processes and test beds that could be replicated easily in different locations, according to Ed Agis, co-chairman of the forum's Certification Working Group. This opens the possibility for future WiMAX certification tests to be held in Asia, the U.S. and other regions of the world to better serve carriers and vendors in those regions.

Releasing specific details of certification timing represents a new height in communication and organization for the busy and rapidly growing WiMAX Forum. The forum originally blew by an earlier January 2005 goal for certification testing (Telephony, Jan. 17, page 12), though several forum members interviewed by Telephony both in Malaga and during the week after the meeting insisted that the forum always had planned to begin certification testing in July. Several sources blamed analysts, media reports and over-eager vendors for the earlier confusion about when testing would begin.

For their part, forum officials admitted they are trying to improve communication regarding certification activities.

“We have been an easy target for negative criticism,” Resnick said, but added, “that will change in the second half of this year.” To that end, Resnick said the forum is launching a “WiMAX is real” marketing campaign. It couldn't have come at a better time.

“There has been skepticism regarding the road map, but the important thing is that the certification will happen this year,” said Mo Shakouri, vice president of marketing and chairman of the WiMAX Forum's Marketing Working Group. “There will be a big difference from the forum in the second half of this year in how aggressively we position WiMAX in the market and how we position the WiMAX Forum Certified brand.”

But, the forum also has started laying out a long-term strategy for certification of products based on 802.16e, the so-called Mobile WiMAX specification. The specification will not emerge from the IEEE until likely the fourth quarter of this year, but Resnick said the forum is preparing an aggressive schedule for Mobile WiMAX certification because many of the group's 291 member companies believe it ultimately presents a larger and more valuable market opportunity than the 802.16-2004 standard does. Resnick said the forum will look to have the Mobile WiMAX testing lab open by the third quarter of 2006, with certification beginning the following quarter.

In Malaga, the forum also christened a new group, the Mobile WiMAX Positioning Task Force, headed by Sai Subramanian.

“We want to clarify a lot of the confusion about what Mobile WiMAX really is,” he said. “It's about personal broadband. What it can offer is the freedom of broadband anywhere.”

WiMAX CERTIFICATION TESTING

JANUARY — 802.16-2004 certification had been expected to begin — the WiMAX Forum announces it will start instead in July. Forum announces Cetecom as testing facility.

APRIL — WiMAX Forum quarterly members meeting in Malaga, Spain. Forum signs agreement with ETSI. Forum members tour Cetecom facility.

JULY — 802.16-2004 certification testing due to begin.

NOVEMBER — Earliest likely date for commercial WiMAX Forum Certified equipment to appear.