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Process, Promise, Problems: Developing WiMAX as an …
Tags: business ecosystem, competition issues, cooperative effort, development effort, high throughput, hybrid approach, industry alliance, industry stakeholders, internet protocol, money time, national institute of standards and technology, private stakeholders, promise problems, puskar, senior lecturer, standards development organization, time labor, university of texas at austin, wireless broadband, worldwide interoperability,Pages: 13
Language: english
Created: Tue Jul 8 08:21:19 2008
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Process, Promise, Problems: Developing WiMAX as an
International Standard
Erik Puskar, Program Manager, U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology
Ted A. Aanstoos, Senior Lecturer, The University of Texas at Austin
Abstract
The WiMAX set of wireless broadband standards (IEEE 802.16x) represents a joint effort
between a traditional standards development organization and industry stakeholders, with
facilitation and leadership by the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).
This hybrid approach seems to have added significant value to the overall development effort,
and to have hastened commercialization and market development of WiMAX technology and
services. This paper describes the process by which WiMAX evolved and explores its market
potential and impact on public and private stakeholders. Although WiMAX shows great promise
as an internet protocol native, high quality, high throughput wireless pipe with greater range than
competing existing technologies, the future of the technology is not ensured due to technical,
business, and standards competition issues. Still, an industrial and business ecosystem capable
of ensuring some role for WiMAX, in peripherals as well as 4G telephony, is rapidly emerging.
Introduction and Methodology
Participants in standards development want to know how their investment in the process
of standardization can be recouped whether at the level of an individual firm participating in the
process as well as at the national level. Standards participation is costly both in terms of money
(time, labor, travel, and other resources) and risk (possible loss of intellectual property, paying
for freeriders, etc). This paper is a narrative of the evolution of Worldwide Interoperability for
Microwave Access (WiMAX) standards, which is a cooperative effort between an international
standards development organization (IEEE), government (NIST), and an industry alliance for
testing and compliance (WiMAX Forum). Our premise is that this widely based cooperation
enhanced the pace and value of WiMAX standards, their international acceptance, and the
ecosystem of vendors and service providers of WiMAX products and technology, and the global
market for these products and services.
The move toward broadband wireless technologies represents the fusion of two major
technological revolutions; telephones and personal computers are morphing into fully integrated
mobile devices, creating many opportunities for networked systems. WiMAX is a revolutionary
communications technology that makes any desktop computer application possible wirelessly, on
the road, at broadband speeds, with a new and growing family of internet-connected devices.
WiMAX is capable of mobile data rates several times faster than current third-generation (3G)
cellular speeds. Based on the IEEE 802.16 standard, WiMAX is a new technology with the
potential to ultimately allow societies to become connected internally as well as globally.
This topic was selected following an activity in which NIST canvassed its laboratories for
examples of high impact documentary standards with NIST involvement (Puskar 2007). This
paper provides an overview of the development of the WiMAX standard, a summary of benefits
and costs to the stakeholders, market potential in WiMAX systems and components, social
benefits of the technology, and its impact on innovation and competitiveness. We also review
NIST's role in the development of the standard and attempt to determine its usefulness. Of
course, as a disruptive and transformative technology, there are also risks and challenges
associated with WiMAX, and these are discussed as well. Addressing these goals, the authors
used a small survey of ten active participants in the IEEE 802.16 community, a literature review
of wireless technologies and related market assessments and forecasts, and data gathering from
industry analyses, news reports and articles
This paper is not an economic analysis, but a descriptive narrative meant to explore the
role of government/industry cooperation in standardization of a new technology, and resulting
market creation and projected impacts. It is still several years too early to conduct a thorough
economic analysis of WiMAX. The lack of an available methodology for measuring impact was
also a constraining factor.
The IEEE 802.16 Standards Development Effort
History
In 1998, NIST began looking at a different wireless application: fixed broadband wireless
access providing high-speed network access to businesses, homes, and other stationary sites,
generally through rooftop antennas. NIST found little evidence of U.S. or worldwide efforts to
standardize such services, although an early program in the European Telecommunications
Standards Institute (ETSI) had begun. This application seemed ripe for standards, but industry
needed a catalyst. NIST assumed the role and called a meeting to discuss the topic in August
1998, and crafted a plan to initiate the standardization process.
This group did not follow the traditional telecommunications model of creating one or
more national standards leading to international standards competition. Instead, they followed
traditions established in data communications that had led to the global standards underlying the
Internet. Following that model, the NIST-initiated group, after considering possible consortium
development, elected to proceed with standardization through the ANSI-accredited IEEE
Standards Association (IEEE-SA), which is the standards developing arm of the Institute of
Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), a transnational nonprofit technical society of over
350,000 members. In particular, that group approached the IEEE 802 LAN/MAN
(Local/Metropolitan Area Networks) Standards Committee.
Within six months, the new IEEE 802.16 Working Group on Broadband Wireless Access
was chartered to develop its first standards project. The project attracted broad global interest,
drawing members from many countries. The core standard defining the WirelessMAN® air
interface was approved as IEEE Standard 802.16 in 2001. Additional standards to enhance the
applicability of the work and aid deployment of the systems have also been published, with
several more under development. The Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access
(WiMAX) Forum was formed in 2001 and has developed compliance tests.
Beginning in late 2002, the IEEE 802.16 Working Group undertook to expand the
WirelessMAN standard to mobile as well as fixed user devices. This project, 802.16e, resulted in
another surge of membership and concluded with publication of IEEE 802.16e-2005. The
resulting standard became the basis of the Mobile WiMAX certification procedures and led to
the commitment of hundreds of companies into the ecosystem. A very big step for WiMAX was
being recognized by the ITU-R as an IMT-2000 technology in October of 2007 (Corner 2007).
NIST's Role
Supporting the development of standards for broadband wireless access technology
provided NIST the opportunity to fulfill its mission in several ways such as: encouraging the use
of voluntary consensus standards; accelerating the standardization process and hence deployment
of the technology; being able to support the development of more broadband access alternatives
to a wider range of U.S. consumers and businesses; and increasing the chances for export market
opportunities due to the broad global participation in the 802.16 Working Group.
It is interesting to see how other IEEE 802.16 participants viewed NIST's active role in
the development of the standard. Overall, NIST's leadership role was cited positively by the
comments. There was an underlying assumption that some firms, in particular smaller ones, feel
that they may not be able to compete fairly at the standards setting table. Some examples of the
comments include:
· NIST's leadership and involvement allowed the standard to be developed in a much less
biased environment than is typical with standards. It served to protect companies, especially
small ones from being dominated.
· NIST leadership enabled development of 802.16 within the procedural rules of IEEE without
it becoming subject to miscreant forces
· In a fiercely competitive environment, NIST was a neutral facilitator.
Few ventured how long the standard would have been delayed without NIST's
participation; those that did estimated from one to two years. Twenty (20) percent of the
respondents stated that without NIST's involvement industry participation would have been less,
40 percent thought it had no impact, and 40 percent did not know or did not answer. This may
suggest that NIST's influence, while important, has limits. One respondent cautioned that while
NIST's role as enabler of the process was very useful, it must be careful not to "become a
troubleshooter for industry's internal standards issues". Other critical factors cited included the
backing of large industry players (especially chip makers), not being beholden to a single firm's
intellectual property, and the role of the WiMAX Forum in certification and commercialization
of the technology.
Development Costs
Companies and government organizations are generally cognizant of the costs involved
with developing a standard, certainly more so than with the benefits that accrue to them as a
result of participation. An attempt has made to identify to estimate the total cost of developing
the IEEE 802.16 standard from 1999 when the first official session of the Working Group was
held. From 802.16's inception in May 1999, NIST participated in every meeting, with a
minimum of one attendee. NIST's cost of participation included fully loaded salary for the Chair
of the Working Group, travel expenses, management oversight and administrative support.
Several guest researchers also supported this effort. For the seven year period the NIST cost was
calculated at $3.0 million. 1 This is an upper bound.
Private sector costs in any standards group are always an issue and can act as a barrier to
entry. A total of 47 sessions were held from the very first session in May 1999 until the final
meeting of 2006. The number of attendees at these sessions totaled 7,490. These are not all
unique individuals; in many cases one person would attend multiple sessions. A total of 730
companies participated in the 802.16 working group, representing 28 countries 2 . No company
participated in all sessions and participating companies changed significantly from the early days
of the in 1999-2001 to present. The average company participated in approximately 10 sessions.
From our survey results and data available on the 802.16 website we attempted to
estimate the costs of participation for firms in the IEEE 802.16 Working Group. Survey
respondents on average sent 93 people to these sessions with a median of 65. The average
amount spent by firms was $942,000. The median figure was, however, much lower at $180,000
and is probably more representative for a firm with continuing participation. This figure
represents staff and/or consultant's time, fees, travel expenses and overhead. The reported range
was $94,000 to $3 million. As one of the respondents was a large Fortune 500 firm that
participated heavily in the process, they and another very active (but smaller) company skewed
the average results significantly higher. Therefore the median cost per participant ($2769 in our
survey) is a deemed a better indicator 3 . Using the average of 10 meetings attended, a typical
firm therefore spent approximately $28,000 participating in the Working Group between 1999
and 2006. There are of course many small firms that participated rarely during this period.
The total estimated cost of both NIST and the private sector participants to develop the
802.16 series of standards through 802.16 (2005) was $30.7 million, as summarized in Table 1. 4
As a number of large and active participants may have spent several million dollars each, this is
probably a conservative estimate. The Working Group activity peaked in 2004 and 2005 before
declining slightly in 2006 (Figure 1). It has since ramped up again.
1
Data from NIST, EEEL, Electromagnetics Division, Boulder, Colorado.
2
Source: IEEE 802.16 Working Group website. This figure represents instances where the country of origin was
identified. In 99 cases it was not.
3
One of the respondents did not directly participate in the 802.16 effort and two other respondents did not know or
want to disclose their costs.
4
Based on number of participants times the median cost of attendance. $1 million per year between 2000 and 2006
was added to incorporate the higher reported costs of some survey respondents which would not otherwise have
been reflected.
Table 1: Total Cost of Participation in the IEEE 802.16 Working Group (in thousands)
Year NIST Private Total
1999 $354 $961 $1,315
2000 $369 $3,434 $3,803
2001 $376 $3,334 $3,710
2002 $390 $2,348 $2,738
2003 $404 $2,285 $2,689
2004 $396 $5,344 $5,740
2005 $415 $5,511 $5,926
2006 $322 $4,525 $4,847
Total $3,026 $27,742 $30,768
Estimated IEEE 802.16 Development Costs (000s)
$7,000
$6,000
$5,000
$4,000 Private
$3,000 NIST
$2,000
$1,000
$0
1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006
Figure 1: IEEE 802.16 Development Costs by Year
Firms track and assign their costs differently. Companies committed different number
and level of staff, and the number of years also varies. In most cases the survey respondents
were involved in the standards process since 2001. However each firm accounts for the costs, it
is the firm's own perception of their cost of participation that is important. Therefore even
though direct comparison of the figures may not be appropriate for detailed analysis, the self-
reported figures represent what the respondents think they have spent or contributed to this effort
as a cost of doing business.
Overview of WiMAX Market and Potential Benefits
Prior to any significant WiMAX adoption, broadband wireless access (BWA) in 2005
generated worldwide service revenues totaling $1.8 billion and equipment revenues of $750
million (Fellah and Syputa 2006, p. 138). 5 Most of the equipment sold in 2005 was non-
conformant or proprietary technology. However, WiMAX is gaining traction in the marketplace
as adoption of the industry-wide standards enables both service providers and technology
vendors to make commercial commitments to the technology, forming the foundation of a
WiMAX ecosystem. During 2006 service provider trials moved into launch phase in many
areas. WiMAX service revenues in 2006 are estimated by analysts in the hundreds of millions
of dollars and equipment revenues range from $143 million (Fellah and Syputa 2006) to $549
million 6 . For 2007, world-wide sales of WiMAX equipment totaled nearly $800 million,
representing 46% growth. 7 WiMAX chipsets will be embedded into laptops by 2008, handheld
devices by 2009, and consumer electronics in of 2010. These developments will spur mass
market adoption.
Full adoption of such services by significant numbers of consumers requires an
ecosystem of devices that can connect to the service. WiMAX is now promoting new mobile
devices with advanced functionality and that support high-speed handoffs, roaming and multiple
antenna technologies. Initial mobile WiMAX equipment will include notebook-based subscriber
units (mini PCMCIA cards, PCI Express, PCI Express mini, USB modules, etc.) and desktop
units. Various mobile devices now are available with embedded WiMAX devices, such as
notebooks, Ultra Mobile PCs (UMPC), PDAs, smart phones and other wireless devices. In
addition to VoIP, other real-time applications like mobile video and audio streaming,
videoconferencing, and gaming will greatly benefit from the quality of service and low latency
offered by WiMAX. New applications and functionality not yet considered may also result.
Benefits to Actors and Stakeholders
Stakeholders in WIMAX can be aggregated as follows:
· Operators. Operators include the subscription service providers for telephony,
communication, data, and other network services to end users. Some of these are major
phone and internet service providers whose networks cover huge areas, while others can
be small and specialized, both in regional area and in customer base.
· Legacy Incumbents. These are existing fixed voice and data service providers using
technologies, primarily DSL and cable, and to a lesser extent fiber optics.
· Vendors/Manufacturers. These include makers and marketers of chipsets, devices, base
stations and servers, peripherals, and test and certification systems as well as consulting
services to owners and operators of communications systems.
· SDO's/SSO's. Standards development organizations and standards setting organizations
develop families of standards. IEEE is the dominant SDO stakeholder in this group.
· Governments. A key metric for inter- and intra-national comparisons is the depth of
broadband connectiveness within countries. Governments therefore have a public policy
interest in broadband projects.
5
WiMAX is a technology segment within the overall broadband wireless access market.
6
Infonetics Research. "Landmark year for WiMAX: mobile WiMAX debuts, fixed WiMAX jumps 254% in 2006",
press release, March 15, 2007
7
Infonetics Research. "WiMAX equipment market up 46% in 2007, forecast to hit $7.7B in 2011", press release,
February, 2008.
· End Users--Business. Business customers are concerned with bandwidth, security, and
reliability of the communications services they contract for (this stakeholder group would
also account for Government end users).
· End Users--Public. Public end-users, whether household or individual, are critical to the
success of any technology-based service in that return on investment depends on
subscriber-generated revenue. Likewise, sales of WIMAX-embedded consumer devices
(PDA's, cameras, laptops etc) are driven by numbers of subscribed end users.
Identifying benefits, costs, risks
The benefits of WiMAX are multiple and manifest, and some or all of them accrue to
many stakeholders. Table 2 identifies the perceived primary (but non-exhaustive list of)
benefits of WIMAX systems and applications and which stakeholder groups enjoy these, while
Table 3 treats reduced benefits and increased costs.
Table 2. Stakeholders Affected by Benefit/Cost Savings.
Manufacturer
SDO's/SSO's
End Users--
End Users--
Government
Incumbents
Operators
Business
Vendor/
Public
Type of Benefit or Cost Saving
802.16 standards accelerates WIMAX development
and adoption
Standards participation increases ROI
Fixed WIMAX enables "last mile" connectivity and
service
Fixed WIMAX is efficient in backhaul operations
Fixed WIMAX covers more area than WiFi at lower
capital cost per user
Mobile WIMAX enables efficient applications for
SCADA, security, other municipal operations
Mobile WIMAX integrates 3G/4G phone with high
bandwidth data
WIMAX systems increase competition and improve
quality, availability, and affordability
Creative business models create stronger services
(bundling)
Hybrid systems utilize legacy hardware, software
Variety reduction leads to economies of scale
Lower system integration costs due to content of
standards
Supplier alliances benefits small business
Table 3. Stakeholders Affected by Costs and Risks
Manufacturers
SDO's/SSO's
End Users--
End Users--
Government
Incumbents
Operators
Vendors/
Business
Public
Type of Cost Increase or Benefit Reduction
"Real world" effects restrict WIMAX potential (range,
bandwidth, QoS)
Business models not tested; revenue, profit may not
meet projections
ARPU may not be sufficient for good ROI
Chipset power consumption difficult to solve
Competition threatens operators of legacy systems
Available spectra may be limited or costly
Industry Benefits
WiMAX has been gaining traction in the marketplace as the establishment of industry-
wide standards enables both service providers and technology vendors to make commercial
commitments to the technology, thereby forming the foundation of a WiMAX ecosystem. This
technology looks to be a major component of the broadband wireless industry. The standard has
created opportunities to expand the size of the market well beyond what it has been to date.
Although three years have passed since the adoption of 802.16(2004), significant market impact
is only in the beginning phases. The initial results in terms of market success achieved by
industry actors is not readily available and as a result the ability to conduct a quantitative
analysis on revenues (or cost savings) attributable to the standard is limited.
It is expected that WiMAX will increase revenues for the companies participating in the
new ecosystem. Projected revenue estimates were not provided by our survey respondents
except for one firm, and the answer it gave was very general. However, six of the respondents
stated that the 802.16 standards effort has hastened adoption of WiMAX technology, and
therefore have accelerated revenues or cost savings for the company. Four stated an acceleration
of 1 to 2 years, while two suggested an acceleration of 3 or more years, pointing out that there
might have been very little adoption at all without a consensus standard. Only one stated that
there was no acceleration, while the others did not know or did not answer. Figure 2 displays the
results.
Another key benefit of the standard is increased efficiencies. These can manifest
themselves in a number of ways. Within the WiMAX industry some of these include reduction
of entry barriers to new entrants, evident from the large number of firms which participated in
the IEEE 802.16 process as well as the very large membership of the WiMAX Forum, including
many small companies. Also, fewer base stations required greatly reduces network capital and
maintenance costs. The WiMAX standard has allowed for interoperability between products
from different vendors which has an impact on cost. According to our survey respondents,
market access/creation was the largest single benefit of adopting the 802.16 standard for their
company and was identified by 80% of the respondents. The second and third most common
benefit identified supply chain flexibility followed by mix-and-match interoperability (Figure 3).
Acceleration of Benefits
45
40
perent of respondents
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
no accel < 1 year 1-2 year 3+ years don't know
Figure 2: Estimate of the Acceleration of Benefits Due to the 802.16 Standard
Benefits of Adopting 802.16 Standard
Other
Network effects
Interoperability
Supply chain
Price pressure
Testing guidance
Market access
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
Percent of Respondents
Figure 3: Survey Results of the Benefits of Adopting the 802.16 Standard
Social/Public Benefits
The societal benefits of WiMAX accrue to government or other public institutions, to
individual users and consumers, or both. Early evidence suggests significant government
savings attributable to broadband wireless systems is possible; Allegany County Maryland,
which installed a pre-WiMAX system (a bridging technology) to provide high-speed Internet
access to the county's government buildings, schools and libraries, is saving $560,000 in
operational and telecommunications costs (Wong 2007, p. 39). One of the biggest potential
benefits to individual consumers is the availability of bundled high-speed internet voice and data
service, accessible with multiple devices (a mobile phone, home computer, consumer electronics
devices and productivity tools) at a set price. The private efficiency benefits should quickly be
passed on to consumers in the form of lower monthly rates.
Large scale consumer adoption benefits government and enterprise uses as well, since
vertical applications like surveillance, public safety, connectivity to remote devices, inventory
fleet tracking, fleet management and educational services are also supported by mobile WiMAX
network with little or no incremental cost to network operators.
WiMAX is in the process of being rolled-out in many countries in the developing world.
One of the primary reasons for this is that they have little copper-wire infrastructure and cannot
afford to begin to lay fiber connections. This allows these countries to compete on equal footing
with the developing world in telecommunications platforms and invite foreign investment and
promote economic growth in the country. Developing countries overall competitiveness will be
enhanced in the realm of globalization (NSR 2007, p. 2).
The Digital Divide
An unserved area can be defined as an area in which residents and businesses are unable
to obtain broadband connectivity at prices, level of service and quality of service levels
comparable to areas which are adequately served. There are approximately 1.5 billion people in
800,000 villages without connection to Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs).
According to a recent UNCTAD report, the Digital Divide is narrowing when it comes to basic
access to the Internet and mobile phones taking on new forms in terms of the differences in the
speed and quality of access to ICTs. The information and content gap is still growing (ITU
2007). Standards can be an important tool for bridging the divide and spurring economic
development. If firms in poor and developing countries can opt for these technical advances
represented in that technology, the standards can then provide an important means for the
technological catch-up process in such countries (Hesser, Czaya and Riemer 2006, p.76).
WiMAX along with WiFi and VoIP have been identified as enabling technologies which
allow access to ICT to be expanded to rural areas and improve the speed and quality of service in
unserved and underserved areas at an acceptable price-point. These deployments do not require
significant capital investment, are environmentally green and have low operating costs. Early
experience gained through several demonstration networks in developing countries indicate that
a reasonably-sized community can be provisioned for a capital investment on the order of
$25,000 - $40,000 (Owen 2007).
The digital divide is not just an issue for the developing world. There are either pockets
or large sparsely occupied areas of developed countries which have this issue. WiMAX will be a
key component of national broadband network to be developed by the Government of Australia
called Australia Connected to provide broadband services to rural and regional communities with
the goal of ensuring that 99 percent of the population has access to fast affordable broadband. 8
Many state and local governments in the United States have plans to reach their underserved or
unserved areas through wireless broadband initiatives which include WiMAX.
Impact on Innovation and Competitiveness
Standardization can both support and hinder innovation. A standard can precede
innovation by establishing a baseline for design and performance that will satisfy user
requirements--such standards must provide enough flexibility that suppliers or manufacturers
can vary features, function or price to establish a niche that positions them with a marketplace
advantage. In other cases, innovation comes first, and the resulting standard becomes the
physical documentation of an agreed-upon solution that has already been tested and proven.
Timing is an important issue in such cases. Blind has proposed that there is a dynamic
dimension to communications technology standards, because they play a crucial role in research
and innovation with various feedback loops along the research and development cycle, from pure
basic research through the diffusion of new products (Blind 2006).
From our survey, eight of ten survey respondents stated that the 802.16 standard
promotes innovation in WiMAX technologies (while two did not answer). Some of the reasons
given for these responses centered on the general framework of the standard, and the built-in
ability to co-exist with other state-of-the-art technologies. The creation of a WiMAX ecosystem
was noted as being crucial both for innovation as well as competition, as manufacturers are
encouraged to differentiate their products within the general bounds of the standard, which
generates both innovation and competition.
Challenges
Despite the promise of WiMAX as an IP-based, high throughput, long-range,
fixed/mobile wireless technology, there are serious challenges to its ultimate success. These fall
into three general categories: business plans, real-world performance, and competition for
growth in international standardization. The US market is also impacted negatively by the loss
of momentum in providing low-cost wireless broadband to underserved municipal areas through
public/private cooperative efforts; service providers are pulling out or drastically scaling back
their projects in numerous cities as their costs rose and market projections failed to realize
(Urbina 2008). Some dissatisfaction has surfaced with the technical performance, including
range and penetration, of WiMAX in an early Australian pilot, while others state it is too early
for conclusions (Hansell 2008). And while WiMAX has been touted as a key standard for 4G
telephony because of its potential for high quality IP streaming video in addition to high
8
Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts. Media Release, 80/07, Monday 18 June 2007
throughput voice and data, some manufacturers are clustering their support around competing
technologies such as the LTE (Long Term Evolution) standards based on CDMA technology
(Schenker 2007). In spite of these growth pains, WiMAX bolsters its potential with momentum.
Sprint/Nextel is obligated to a baseline WiMAX deployment in the US in the terms of its
spectrum agreements and recently announced a joint venture with Clearwire to build a nation-
wide network. The industrial ecosystem that is being built includes countless peripheral devices
in addition to phones and computers. Finally, ITU standardization approval for WiMAX
indicates that if not the backbone 4G technology, it likely will be a major supported standard.
Conclusions
The IEEE 802.16 standards development process is notable for several reasons. First, the
early proponents of the technology made a decision to pursue the model followed by data
communications standards developers and established a working group within the IEEE family
with broad global participation to help ensure a international support for the developed set of
standards. The IEEE Working Group then quickly pushed for adoption as formal international
standard. Secondly, the standards effort was initially championed and then lead by a NIST staff
member which is not necessarily the norm for NIST or the U.S. Government. Finally the
creation and cooperation of the WiMAX Forum with a large overlap in membership with the
802.16 Working Group is responsible for jump starting commercialization and adoption of the
technology.
The WiMAX family of standards has started to impact lives around the world in many
ways, including individuals representing global firms who helped develop the standard,
developers of the technology and the service providers, and end-users or consumers of the new
products and services that will result from WiMAX. Although both business and technical
challenges remain, millions are expected to be users of this technology. The benefits to industry
of participation in the standards working group have been identified and the costs have been
estimated to be at a minimum approximately $27 million. NIST's total cost relative to industry's
is likely to be somewhere between 5-10%, more likely closer to 5 percent considering that the
$27 million is a lower bound. Industry appreciated the leadership role of NIST in the standards
development process as an unbiased facilitator and believes that development of the standard
was expedited as a result. It remains for a further more detailed study to determine the actual
economic impact, but a net positive benefit is anticipated. Having a methodology for measuring
the impact of a standard available to guide such a study would be useful.
The future for information technology is practically limitless. WiMAX is poised to play
a very significant role in bringing transformational communications capabilities to people,
enterprises, and governments across the globe including hard to reach locations. Development of
the standards that enable WiMAX serves as a model of successful public/private cooperation in
the standards arena.
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