WiMAX Basestation range

Dapos

Hey,

Anyone have any idea of what range a WiMAX basestation would give operating @3.5 GHz. Also what speeds would you expect at the edge of coverage for both line of sight and non-line of sight?

pedropumpalot

Dapos wrote: »

Hey,

Anyone have any idea of what range a WiMAX basestation would give operating @3.5 GHz. Also what speeds would you expect at the edge of coverage for both line of sight and non-line of sight?

Hi Dapos,

It depends on quite a few factors for instance:

BTS Tx power
Receiver sensitivity required for QAM or QPSK
Path Loss
Max CPE Tx power
Cell size
Rural, suburban or dense urban clutter

Not as clear cut as you think.

mayhem#

pedropumpalot wrote: »

Hi Dapos,

It depends on quite a few factors for instance:

BTS Tx power
Receiver sensitivity required for QAM or QPSK
Path Loss
Max CPE Tx power
Cell size
Rural, suburban or dense urban clutter

Not as clear cut as you think.

Exactly the reason why I didn't reply...
;-)

Dapos

pedropumpalot wrote: »

Hi Dapos,

It depends on quite a few factors for instance:

BTS Tx power
Receiver sensitivity required for QAM or QPSK
Path Loss
Max CPE Tx power
Cell size
Rural, suburban or dense urban clutter

Not as clear cut as you think.

Ok i guess the important word i left out here is typical.

I don't know too much about WiMAX BTS's.

BTS Tx Power roughly 35dBm i guess. CPE Tx power i'm not sure, again what is typical.

With regards path loss and clutter i'd be interested in rural, suburban and urban scenarios.

Just a rough estimate is what i'm after

Marlow

It's quite simpel, really.

Comreg limits the range to 20 km in the license, it used to be 15 km.

Speeds depend on the manufacturer.

Essentially, apply the values for fixed wireless and asume that you'll get a bit more speed and be able to do partially NLoS.

Also, when you are talking about CPE, is this a fixed CPE (fixed wireless on WiMAX base) or a mobile cpe (WiMAX adapter inside house etc.)

/Martin

mayhem#

One main thing to consider is to NOT believe any of the claims in the media...
It's better than WiFi but only by a factor of 2 to 3...

Marlow

mayhem# wrote: »

One main thing to consider is to NOT believe any of the claims in the media...
It's better than WiFi but only by a factor of 2 to 3...

I'd say, you don't even get that. Basically, WiMAX allows people, that couldn't get a connection before (in a fixed wireless scenario) to get it now.

Also, the quality of the connection increases for marginal connections.

But if you compare the price for WiMAX gear compared to fixed wireless, then it's currently a very costly way to go.

/Martin

mayhem#

I'd say, you don't even get that.

Believe me, on average you do. I've seen some field tests and the results were that good. However as with any radio based network performance is subject to a lot of external factors..

Basically, WiMAX allows people, that couldn't get a connection before (in a fixed wireless scenario) to get it now.

That's only one of the advantages. Increased throughput, proper QoS and improved roaming are others...

But if you compare the price for WiMAX gear compared to fixed wireless, then it's currently a very costly way to go.

While still more expensive than wifi hardware prices have been dropping fast. But it's a new-ish technology which always leads to high prices until there is sufficient market penetration. Martin, you should well remember what we used to pay for wifi cards 10 years ago. Just look what these are going for now...
All in all Wimax is a Telco solution at the core and is best used for backhaul with wifi as the last mile/delivery technology...

Marlow

mayhem# wrote: »

That's only one of the advantages. Increased throughput, proper QoS and improved roaming are others...

QoS is not down to the technology, but down to the platform behind. There are plenty of fixed wireless solutions, that do QoS properly. I'd bet you find some half arsed WiMAX solutions, that don't :-)

mayhem# wrote: »

All in all Wimax is a Telco solution at the core and is best used for backhaul with wifi as the last mile/delivery technology...

Surely is, but not yet profitable for rural deployment with small customerbases below 100 users per base, which is exactly what has been the case for the providers covering these areas. Anyhow, I'd reckon we're getting way off topic here.

/Martin

mayhem#

This might give you a good comparison also...