First of all, it must be mentioned that many of the mainline broadcasters and distributors ( i.e. cable MSOs) have shown keen interest in partnering with WiMAX operators ( such as Sprint). As per industry news, Major MSOs such as Time Warner and Comcast are in talks with Sprint and Clearwire to invest upto $1.5 Billion. There are other MSOs as well which are looking at investing and joining the bandwagon. The coming in of Cable MSOs in a WiMAX venture was only to be expected and has been in the air for some time now. The winning in the 700 MHz auction of the telecom majors such as Verizon and AT&T;has also set the cat amongst the pigeons as to how these companies will leverage this very valuable broadcast spectrum. It has now been revealed ( at least by Verizon that it will be used for LTE!).
In the meantime for those who have been left out in auctions, it is time to focus on new strategies. What can be more innovative than the Sprint and Clearwire WiMAX networks which have been in making for a while now? WiMAX networks do have clear advantages in providing QoS based connectivity for streaming applications as well as multicast channels. The MSOs need this sorely for VoD content as well as for enabling triple play services. They can also target a host of mobile devices which are Wimax enabled for video and multimedia applications.
Secondly, there has been a slew of new devices which have become between last year and now. With Nokia formally announcing the N810 internet tablet, one more device based on native use of WiMAX (and WiFi) gets added to the domain of WiMAX enabled devices. Everex Systems has unveiled a WiMAX laptop which is compatible with the XOHM network of Sprint Nextel. The Laptop ( Cloudbook MAX) also supports WiFi ( 802.11b/g). With Nokia formally announcing the N810 internet tablet, one more device based on native use of WiMAX (and WiFi) gets added to the domain of WiMAX enabled devices. Intel has announced the prices for Mobile WiMAX ( IEEE802.16e-2005) and WiFi ( 802.11 a/g/n) modules. These modules have been designed for Intel’s Montevina™ based notebooks. The module called “Echo Peak” will be available in two versions. The 1×2 MIMO version will be priced around $44 while the 3×3 MIMO will be priced at $54.The modules will be available in the Mini card form factor.
The announcement of pricing of WiMAX mini cards by Intel was widely expected before CTIA 2008 and the expectations have not been belied, on the announcement or the price. The price of $44 for 1×2 MIMO and $54 for 3×3 MIMO is well below the expected range considering that the volumes have yet to pickup. The CPE prices of $50 are much more affordable than over $100 which were prevailing earlier for similar WiMAX CPEs.
The WiFi 802.11n and Mobile WiMAX 802.16e-2005 wave 2 present the best combo option for high speed applications such as Video. The WiFi 802.11n can be used for live streaming video at full resolution in a WiFi hot spot owing to its high peak speeds of over 100 Mbps.

With new Systems on Chip(SoC) with ultra low power consumption and conformance with Wireless ( 802.11n) as well as mobile WiMAX wave 2 certification profiles making a strong surge, the mobile WiMAX scene is set to be a witness to major changes. Many new applications and devices will get powered and the broadcast sector is set to be one of the largest gainers in this regard.
Third, WiMAX based mobile TV delivery technologies have been made available for commercial use by vendors such as Nextwave. Nextwave has used the most powerful features of Mobile WiMAX technology i.e. Multicast and Broadcast Service ( MBS) and macro-diversity. A multicast service in WiMAX can be extended to hundreds of thousands of users, a feature which had so far been not exploited in commercial applications. macro-diversity makes it possible as it ensures that the mobile receives the transmissions from a number of base stations simultaneously. Not only does such a technology use the more readily available WiMAX spectrum ( rather than 3G), the QoS features of mobile WiMAX ensure better delivery over a wireless medium. It also cuts across multiple standards for Mobile TV which have been the bane of the industry.
Fourth, the predictions coming from the WiMAX Forum are quite optimistic for the growth of Mobile WiMAX, pegging the number of users at over 133 million by 2012, a majority of which will consist of users of mobile WiMAX with portable devices.
If one is to draw a parallel with the mobile networks, it is a good bet that a large number of users will come from BRIC countries. ( In particular Brazil, India and China). The number of mobile phone users in India at over 250 million has exceeded those of US and is at the second place in the world, the first being China.
Fifth, the lowering cost of H.264/AVC encoders and their increasing use in broadcast systems makes possible the encoding of video for wireless distribution at extremely low rates. Operators such as Echostar, which has interests in SlingMedia are looking at IPcasting of TV content to mobiles for which Mobile WiMAX is potentially a very useful delivery medium.
Broadband TV is a major focus area in NAB 2008 including a Conference on April 16th, which features various broadband technologies including broadband wireless.
With the theatrics normally associated with the launches, all in all it promises to be a very interesting show.

Nextwave® has announced a mobile TV platform based on the use of mobile WiMAX technology. The Mobile WiMAX technology platform is based on Multicast and Broadcast (MBS) feature of the Mobile WiMAX technology. The multicast service in mobile Wimax uses macro-diversity features to ensure that all mobiles are able to receive the multicast transmissions. Unlike a unicast transmission of mobile TV which needs capacity for every mobile using the service, a multicast service can be scaled up to thousands of users in the same spectrum. ( See Mobile Broadcasting Using WiMAX- a technology overview).When dedicated for multicast upto 45 TV channels can be supported in a 10 MHz bandwidth carrier.
Developers of Mobile WiMAX technology and equipment such as Huawei and Alcatel Lucent have already committed to use the Nextwave® technology in their mobile WiMAX products based on IEEE802.16e-2005.