Shocker -- First WiMAX Equipment Actually Certified

Even as late as yesterday there were rumors that certification of the first WiMAX equipment wouldn't be completed in time to make the WiMAX Forum's self-appointed goal of having an announcement to make at a broadband trade show this week, but in a development completely atypical of the delay-ridden history of WiMAX, they actually made it -- three base stations and one piece of customer-premises equipment are the first real, certified WiMAX products. But, as Steve Stroh points out, this equipment has been certified for 3.5GHz spectrum only -- spectrum only being used outside the US. So, regardless of what press releases and news articles say, there's still no WiMAX in the US. Also, certification testing of 5.8GHz WiMAX equipment -- the stuff that operates in unlicensed frequencies that's spawned the "anybody can be a broadband provider with WiMAX!" stories -- won't begin until the end of the year in the very best case.

Leave a Comment..