Perfect transmission with SkyMAX

July 11, 2005

Siemens Communications recently succeeded in completing the first live data transfer with SkyMAX, a new end-to-end WiMAX (Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access) solution based on the IEEE 802.16-2004 standard, in its test lab in Milan, Italy . During the live link between a modem and a base station in the 3.5 GHz frequency spectrum, data was transmitted at a top speed of up to 12 megabits per second in 3.5 MHz bandwidth. Transmission rates as high as this had only previously been achieved with early proprietary systems.

"This successful test demonstrates that we have met our ambitious target of being ready for the commercial deployment of WiMAX in the second half of 2005,” said Christoph Caselitz, President of Mobile Networks at Siemens Communications. "We will now make SkyMAX available to our customer for trials."

The SkyMAX solution includes a base station that uses orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) technology and modems as end devices. OFDM technology protects wireless broadband transmissions against most interference from echoes and multipathing. The SkyMAX modems use Intel’s PRO/Wireless 5116 chip, the first on-chip system for WiMAX that is based on the IEEE 802.16-2004 standard.