WiMAXForum’10 gets date in Lagos

Telecom Answers Associates (TAA) has announced the date for its inaugural edition of the Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) forum in Lagos.

Chief executive officer, Telecom Answers Associates, Mr. Titi Omo-Ettu, disclosed this in Lagos, last weekend, saying that they have declared June 15 and 16 as WiMAX dates for the country.

He also said that WiMAX Forum 2010, is being hosted in partnership with the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and a number of industry players.

The forum, Omo-Ettu noted represents a rallying call to both the telecom industry players and consumers for further cooperation to share the responsibilities and rewards of enterprise so that future potential of further development, sustenance and informed investment in emerging technologies could be realized.

As said by him, the forum would be building on the success of the Co-location Forum 2009, organized by Telecom Answers Associates, but this time, a two-day event.

This, he said, would serve the industry with a befitting compendium of industry players, resources and prospects in the Nigerian market.

“It will also include a guided exhibition of world class, true relevant technologies and solutions,” he declared.

WiMAX, according the global forum on technology, is a wireless digital communications system, also known as IEEE 802.16, which is, intended for wireless Metropolitan Area Networks (MAN).

Equally, WiMAX has the ability to provide Broadband Wireless Access (BWA) up to 30 miles or 50 kilometres (km) for fixed stations, and three to 10 miles, an equivalent of between five and 15 km for mobile stations.

In contrast, the Wireless Fidelity (WiFi) 802.11 wireless local area network standard is limited in most cases to only 100 - 300 feet (30 - 100m).

Experts said that with WiMAX, WiFi-like data rates are easily supported, but the issue of interference is very much lessened, even as WiMAX operates on both licensed and non-licensed frequencies; providing a regulated environment and viable economic model for wireless carriers.

Thus, WiMAX could be used for wireless networking in much the same way as the more common WiFi protocol. WiMAX is a second-generation protocol that allows for more efficient bandwidth use, interference avoidance, and is intended to allow higher data rates over longer distances.


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