04 July 2008

WiMAX Forum Supports EU On 2.6 GHz Frequency Band Move

The WiMAX Forum has fully supported the European Commission on the completion and publication of an important regulation relating to the 2.6 GHz (2500-2690MHz) frequency band.

The WiMAX Forum is an industry-led, not-for-profit organization formed to certify and promote the compatibility and interoperability of broadband wireless products based upon the harmonized IEEE 802.16/ETSI HiperMAN standard.
 The 2.3, 2.6 and 3.5 GHz frequencies are key bands for Mobile WiMAX technology and will contribute to providing suitable spectrum for WiMAX consumer and business services around the world.

The 2.6 GHz decision 2008/477/EC  titled “Commission Decision of 13th June 2008 on the harmonisation of the 2500-2690MHz frequency band for terrestrial systems capable of providing electronic communications services in the Community”. It was published in the Official Journal of the European Union on June 24th, 2008 (Official Journal L 163/37).

The  decision was as unanimously supported in the European Commission’s Radio Spectrum Committee, and it affords European Union administrations to make decisions in relation to the technology, services and usage that can be deployed within the band. It also offers administrations flexibility over the balance of paired (FDD) and unpaired (TDD) spectrum that can be awarded to operators, and provides the essential technical framework.

Under the regulation, the  market can decide which technology to deploy in this band, determine the most appropriate use of this spectrum, and create significant opportunities through opening the spectrum which will benefit all consumers.
This decision was made in addition to the recently published European Commission Decision 2008/411/EC harmonising the 3.5 GHz band for electronic communications services and represents a key milestone in the drive to advance new liberalised approaches to spectrum management within the European Commission WAPECS (“Wireless Access Policy for Electronic Communications Services”) initiative.

The WiMAX Forum Subscriber and User Forecast Study forecasts that by 2012 there will be more than 133 million WiMAX users globally and approximately 70 percent of forecasted WiMAX users will utilize mobile and portable WiMAX devices to access broadband Internet services. Currently there are more than 305 deployments of WiMAX services in 118 countries worldwide.