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Feb 4, 2003
Wi-LAN announced that the Institute of Electrical and
Electronics Engineers (IEEE) "WirelessMAN" Standard 802.16a, incorporates Wi-LAN's
patented W-OFDM (Wide-band Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing)
technology. Wi-LAN is first to market with Standard 802.16a-like products and is
dedicated to advancing the implementation of this standard.
Wi-LAN has a non-exclusive agreement with Fujitsu Microelectronics America (FMA)
to develop Standard 802.16a System-on-Chip solutions.
"With the conclusion of the IEEE Standard 802.16a we are much closer to
achieving the full potential of broadband wireless applications and devices,"
said Keith Horn, FMA's vice president of marketing. "Fujitsu can now move
forward with Wi-LAN to design standard-compliant, high-performance and highly
integrated System-on-Chip solutions and offer them at a low cost that will help
to ensure broad market acceptance of this very promising technology."
The experience Wi-LAN has gained in implementing W-OFDM based LIBRA products
makes Wi-LAN the leader in Standard 802.16a implementation. Wi-LAN's proprietary
LIBRA Broadband Wireless Access (BWA) products provide a working commercial
model of the W-OFDM based physical layer of Standard 802.16a. LIBRA has been
deployed in networks in almost 30 countries and is designed for a seamless
transition to Standard 802.16a.
"Wi-LAN's technology team has worked hard with other IEEE members to finalize
IEEE Standard 802.16a, and we have developed our LIBRA products in parallel with
the development of the standard", said Dr. Sayed-Amr El-Hamamsy, president and
chief operating officer, Wi-LAN Inc. "With LIBRA, the only existing product line
that incorporates the W-OFDM based physical layer of Standard 802.16a, we can
promise customers a seamless transition to Standard 802.16a products, and we
have demonstrated the expertise necessary to assist other companies to implement
and market Standard 802.16a solutions."
The IEEE Wireless Metropolitan Area Networks (WirelessMAN) Standard 802.16a,
announced on January 30, 2003, defines a standard for BWA systems operating in
radio frequencies from 2 to 11 GHz. Although Standard 802.16a specifies three
alternative physical layers (PHYs), it is the W-OFDM based PHY that is intended
for mainstream applications. The emerging European equivalent to Standard
802.16a, the ETSI BRAN HiperMAN standard, will incorporate Standard 802.16a's W-OFDM
based PHY, making W-OFDM the worldwide standard for BWA systems.
"There are no words to describe the feeling one gets when he sees something that
he helped invent become a global standard," said Dr. Hatim Zaghloul, chairman
and chief executive officer, Wi-LAN Inc. "Ever since W-OFDM's co-inventor, Dr.
Michel Fattouche, and I filed the W-OFDM patents in the early 1990's, Wi-LAN has
worked towards this day. I believe the IEEE Standard 802.16a, and its European
equivalent, the emerging ETSI BRAN HiperMAN standard, will become the basis for
fourth generation mobile systems. These mobile systems are being designed to
have data capacity in excess of 10 Mbps, and this will facilitate a host of high
bandwidth applications, which are not possible with current technologies. W-OFDM
will then be truly ubiquitous."
The W-OFDM Advantage
W-OFDM is a variation of OFDM that further improves its characteristics. The
signal reception is corrected for distortions, allowing greater transmission
speeds, and the signal is processed to maximize the range and multipath
resistance. W-OFDM allows lower-power, multipoint radio frequency (RF) networks
to be implemented, minimizing interference with adjacent networks.
W-OFDM effectively permits several independent channels to operate within the
same frequency band, allowing multipoint networks and point-to-point backbone
systems to be overlaid on one another. Less disruption of adjacent users and
insensitivity to external noise means that high-speed multipoint data networks
can be simply and rapidly deployed. These systems are tolerant of changes in the
RF environment, limiting maintenance requirements, and the systems can be easily
and economically expanded to meet the service provider's growing busines
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