Certification gets back on track with announcement of forum-certified process

Process is of principal importance to the WiMAX Forum — coordinating the certification and promotion of an entire technology ecosystem requires all gears to be synchronized. But over the past year, a mix of delay and miscommunication has confounded the group's efforts.

The root of the latest hiccup was last-minute changes the IEEE made to the 802.16-2004 Fixed WiMAX standard in November 2005, well after the forum's certification testing program was under way in Malaga, Spain. Those adjustments caused the forum to miss its goal of announcing certified products by the end of the year.

The adjustments required the forum to have up to 16 new tests developed over the month of December, adding to the battery of many more existing baseline tests, said Jeff Orr, director of marketing for the WiMAX Forum. In addition to performing the new tests, much of the work that had been done between July and November had to be redone. The test process also has been much more manual than automated, Orr said.

The WiMAX Forum did ultimately announce the first round of forum-certified gear on Jan. 19 at the WCA International and Business Expo in San Jose, Calif.

The latest delay came at a time when the forum and the WiMAX community didn't have much time to waste. In addition to the 3.5 GHz TDD profile that was the subject of this initial round of certification, the forum still has to certify 3.5 GHz FDD and several other profiles, each with a core constituency of vendors and carriers clamoring for certification. BellSouth, which has been using the 2.3 GHz and 2.5 GHz frequencies for fixed wireless, said it will campaign for the forum to act quickly on those profiles.

“2.3 GHz wasn't the first thing certified, so we had to be sure our vendors could deliver pre-WiMAX [equipment in that band],” said Susan Steele, senior director of broadband wireless for BellSouth.

Certification of other standards also could confound the process. Orr said the forum still hopes to begin certification testing for 802.16e Mobile WiMAX at the end of 2006. Although that won't be the end of 802.16-2004 testing, some believe if Mobile WiMAX certification comes in the short term, it will make fixed certification less relevant.

“This is not how we feel, but there is a feeling in the industry that some people won't bother with ‘2004’ if 802.16e is ready,” said Bernard Aboussouan, vice president of marketing and business development for Sequans Communications, one of two chip firms that earned 802.16-2004 certification last week.

Orr said automated test equipment is being moved into the Cetecom labs in Malaga to facilitate a more automated test process. Also, the forum has booked 26 reservations for vendor products to enter the labs, which will keep Cetecom busy testing through March. The forum plans to add new tests about every six months, addressing emerging market requirements and applications.

“The automation and what we're doing now will make future testing go that much more efficiently,” Orr said.

KEY WiMAX EVENTS

01.05

Forum 802.16-2004 plugfest delayed. Cetecom, Spain, named certification lab.

04.05

Forum approves initial test plan, focusing on the 3.5 GHz profile. Testing starting in July to result in certified products by December 2005.

07.05

Certification testing lab at Cetecom opens.

11.05

IEEE issues corrigendum with changes to 802.16-2004 standard. Certification Working Group assesses changes.

12.05

New tests written. 2005 certification goal missed.

01.06

Regression testing and new testing begins. Initial certified products announced.

Source: WiMAX Forum