WiMAX Moves Forward in Taiwan

Introduction

The Taiwan government has already invested more than $220M in WiMAX¹ and has
heavily promoted the technology for "next-generation" mobile Internet access. 
In 2007, the first WiMAX Forum Applications lab was opened on the island nation. 
And in April 2008, the Taiwan Ministry of Economic Affairs and Intel-Taiwan
signed a memorandum of understanding to jointly accelerate the commercial
deployment of WiMAX in Taiwan.  But a lot more has happened since then.

In a highly anticipated presentation last week, Dr.  Ching-Tarng Hsieh –
Engineering Director at ITRI and Head the WiMAX Forum Taiwan office – described
the current and forthcoming WiMAX deployments in Taiwan along with several
unique applications being trialed.  Dr.  Hsieh spoke to an audience of
approximately 40 engineers and scientists at a July 13th meeting at ITRI
International Inc., San Jose, CA.  ITRI, NATEA, and IEEE ComSoc -SCV
jointly sponsored Dr.  Hsieh’s well received talk.

Ching-Tarng also briefed attendees on WiMAX deployments in other countries,
including Japan, Malaysia, Russia, and the U.S.  According to the WiMAX
Forum, there are currently 475 WiMAX deployments in 140 countries providing
fixed and mobile WiMAX services. 

A strong case was made that broadband penetration can significantly increase a
country’s GDP (one surmises this was a main motivator for the Taiwan government
to invest so heavily in WiMAX).  In addition, WiMAX availability stimulates
the design and development of innovative new devices and applications, which
further contribute to economic growth.  At the CES- 2009, Sony CEO Howard
Stringer stated, "By 2011, 90 percent of Sony products will connect to the
Internet and to each other."

The creation of a complete WiMAX ecosystem is expected to enhance the global
competitiveness of Taiwan originated WiMAX offerings through greater
interoperability with the WiMAX infrastructure in other parts of the world. 
Indeed, Taiwanese PC and CPE manufacturers are already a leading exporter of
WiMAX products to many countries.  And the growth of the domestic Taiwan
WiMAX market will likely re-enforce this trend.

WiMAX in Taiwan – a Complete Package

Two of the six WiMAX Forum certification labs in the world are in Taiwan. 
Certification is needed to ensure interoperability of WiMAX base stations,
subscriber stations, CPE, and mobile devices.  A March 2009 the WMF NOTF
Low Cost Device Survey found that 89% of global network operators will require
certification of WiMAX equipment and terminals.  To corroborate this point,
Takashi Tanaka, President, UQ Communications (Japan) recently stated: "A variety
of WiMAX Forum Certified end products are indispensable for UQ pursuing the
retail distribution business model."

More about the WiMAX Forum in Taiwan at:

http://www.wimaxforum.org.tw/

MTWAL is the first WiMAX Forum Applications Lab (M-Taiwan WiMAX Applications
Lab).  It was established by ITRI with support from WiMAX service provider
VMAX Telecom.  The objective of the Applications lab was to provide a
platform for developing innovative WiMAX applications.  It is currently an
important ITRI attraction that is frequented by many international and domestic
visitors.

ITRI-Taiwan is conducting a trial of WiMAX technology on a high- speed train
(maximum speed of 300 Km/hour)² .  Maintaining broadband connectivity during
rapid motion is a super challenge in itself, but it’s complicated by the fact
that the high-speed train often goes through tunnels, which effectively block
radio waves.  For more on ITRI’s role in the WiMAX ecosystem, please see
the Editors Note on ITRI at the end of this article.

Taiwan was said to have a "Complete WiMAX Ecosystem" -" in collaboration with
leading international companies.  The ecosystem includes: IC/Modules, CPE,
Femto /Pico/Micro Base Stations (BS), Carrier-Grade BS/Software System, Testing
and Certification, SI and Content Providers, and WiMAX Network Operators/
Service Providers.  The ecosystem is listed in the graphic below:

Ongoing WiMAX Projects and Future Events in Taipei

Some of the recent WiMAX projects and upcoming events in Taiwan include:

o Roaming trial:  ITRI is conducting roaming testing with Tatung University
in
cooperation with Aicent.  Domestic operators will soon be invited to
participate in the trial.  In addition, Taiwan will participate in the
WiMAX Forum Global Roaming trial.

o WiMAX on Taipei MRT (Municipal Rapid Transit): ITRI teamed up with VMAX
Telecom, Acer, AWB, MSI, Tecom and ZyXEL, PTS, Taipei Zoo, and the Taipei City
Government to offer WiMAX service on designated subway trains.  This is a
one-year project on the Muzha Line.  VMAX Telecom installed 13 WiMAX base
stations to facilitate the WiMAX service to each train.  WiFi is used for
wireless connectivity between the passenger and the WiFi AP within the train. 
Then WiMAX is used to backhaul the WiFi traffic to the ISP.  The project
has and will continue to demonstrate instant mobile and high quality media
entertainment available to subscribers in motion.

o WiMAX Forum member conference and MTWAL open house in Taipei in
October 2009

o VTC2010-Spring in Taipei May 16-19, 2010 (www.vtc2010spring.org)

WiMAX Deployment in Taiwan- It’s Happening Now

The WiMAX development in Taiwan reached an important milestone with the first
commercial service deployment earlier this year.  On April 27, 2009, Tatung
InfoComm formally launched WiMAX services on Penghu, Taiwan’s largest outlying
island with 21 base stations providing coverage.  Several promotions were
offered to entice Penghu’s 93,000 residents to sign up for the new broadband
wireless Internet service.  On July 8, 2009, Tatung InfoComm launched WiMAX
service in Kaohsiung with 200 base stations.  The service is cheaper than
ADSL, but offers 3 to 4 times the speed along with mobility. 

Tatung has a very aggressive schedule for WiMAX deployments in the 2008~2012
time period (3000+ Base Transceiver Stations or BTS’s):
- 2008-2010 Covering 90% population major cities
- 2009-2011 Over 70% population major counties
- 2010-2012 Optimized full coverage

In addition, Tatung Infocomm plans many innovative applications and services for
its WiMAX offerings.  These include Location Based Services, remote home
care, mobile office with VoIP, mobile tour guide, and mobile security.  In
addition, the service provider has an impressive roadmap for WiMAX devices:
- 2009-USB Dongle, Indoor CPE, Outdoor CPE
- 2010-Embedded netbook, WiMAX MID, Dual mode phone
- 2011-PDA, PSP, Digital Camera, Navigator, etc.

But that’s just the beginning?..

CTV – the largest TV network in Taiwan- currently uses a WiMAX network to
distribute video news clips to the TV stations. 
By the end of 2009, WiMAX service will be available from six different network
operators: Fitel, VMAX Telecom, Vee Telecom Multimedia, Far Eastone, Global
Mobile, and Tatung InfoComm.  For spectrum license purposes, the main
island of Taiwan is divided into North and South zones.  By the end of
2012, it is expected that WiMAX operators will cover the entire island nation of
22.9M people.

VMAX Telecom has very impressive plans for WiMAX deployment.  The operator
will launch commercial service by Q3/2009 in Taipei City or Hsinchu County. 
They plan to have 20% coverage by Q3/2009, 50% by Q1/2010, and 85% by Q4/2010. 
VMAX is partnering with ASUS, Tecom and Intel to realize their WiMAX deployment
schedule.  Data, voice, and value added services (TBD) will be offered to
subscribers.  Subscribers will be able to buy WiMAX CPE from retail stores,
key account partners, and 3C chain stores.  As previously noted, VMAX is
working with ITRI in support of a one year project to provide WiMAX service on
the Taipei MRT Muzha/Neihu Line.

Questions and Open Issues

From the discussion during and after the presentation, several critical issues
were identified for WiMAX to be successful in Taiwan (and probably other
countries as well):

- Roaming between WiMAX network operators- when will it be operational?
- Interoperability and handoff between Mobile WiMAX and 3G/GSM networks – both
for data and voice? Which 2G/3G networks should a WiMAX phone also support (in
addition to VoIP over WiMAX)?
- Sufficient backhaul capacity?
- VoIP over WiMAX interoperability and roaming- will it be just Skype service or
a provider based VoIP service that ensures a minimum QOS?
Choice of different handheld devices with embedded WiMAX radios/interfaces, e.g. 
cameras, MIDs, Sony gadgets, smart phones, other?
- Availability of WiFi APs with embedded WiMAX radios/interfaces

Conclusions

The successful deployment of WiMAX will make industry in Taiwan even more
competitive and enhance the quality of life for subscribers.  At three to
four times the speed of DSL (plus mobility), the service will be very
attractively priced.  
But the WiMAX activities in this island nation have even more global
significance.  Interoperability testing, applications and research lab
results will strongly contribute to the progress of the global WiMAX ecosystem. 
An open and thriving WiMAX market in Taiwan will help device and equipment
vendors, as well as companies that develop applications for WiMAX notebooks,
netbooks and other terminals.  We find it very encouraging that notebook PC
leaders Acer and Asus-Tech are providing WiMAX CPE along with D-Link.  We
are impressed with the devices that Tatung Infocomm (and other Taiwan WiMAX
operators) are planning to offer subscribers, through either partners or retail
sales channels.  Good luck Taiwan!

Postscript from the Speaker

In response to a wimax360 member comment questioning the vibrancy and
sustainability of WiMAX in Taiwan, Dr.  Ching-Tarng Hsieh wrote:

"Taiwan’s ICT industry is not a "low-cost PCB assembly centric service economy."
Taiwan has been dominating the world in the design and production of many ICT
products.  The WiMAX Forum depends on Taiwan to come up with a wide variety
of economical WiMAX products.  Taiwan’s WiMAX industry has exported base
stations and a large quantity of WiMAX CPEs.  In 2008, Taiwan vendors
collectively held a dominant global market share of WiMAX CPEs.  The
increased shipments in 2009³ indicate this trend is continuing.  This is the
real impact of Taiwan’s WiMAX industry."

Best regards,
Ching-Tarng Hsieh, PhD

Editors Note:  ITRI’s Role in Taiwan’s WiMAX Ecosystem

ITRI has been involved in the development of many WiMAX related research
projects.  These include: WiMAX/WiFi high-speed seamless handover
technology, the establishment of a WiMAX Experiment Network also included the
construction of Taiwan High Speed Rail (HSR) 300 Km/Hr.  experiment
network.  By emphasizing the technology uniqueness and diversification, the
WiMAX Experiment Network will promote the development of Taiwan bred WiMAX chip,
terminal, base station, and application services that can provide a complete
WiMAX industry chain. 

ITRI also collaborates with national and international research organizations
and WiMAX device manufacturers with the expectation of developing new models of
services and operations to assist Taiwan in becoming a world-leading country for
WiMAX system and applications.

For more information, please refer to: 

WiMAX-enabled PMD Platform and the World-leading WiMAX Experiment Network and
Services

Acknowledgements:  We would like to thank Dr. 
Ching-Tarng Hsieh for his excellent presentation and follow up answers to
questions.  Thanks also to ITRI International Inc.  President Sean
Wang for hosting this and other very relevant technology forums from NATEA, IEEE
ComSoc, Monte Jade, etc.  IEEE ComSoc officer Simon Ma did an excellent job
as the co-coordinator and MC for this meeting (a job normally done by this
author).  Thanks Simon!

Alan J.  Weissberger
IEEE ComSoc SCV Program Chair

___________

¹ – The government’s $220M contribution was said to be 1/3 the total
cost of the M-Taiwan Program. Please refer to: M-Taiwan Program and Objectives
of WiMAX in Taiwan at:

http://www.wimax360.com/profiles/blogs/mtaiwan-program-and-objectives

² – Applicable OFDM Communication Technology for Taiwan High Speed
Rail

http://www.itri.org.tw/eng/Research/Focus-Area/focus-sub-area-detail.asp?RootNodeId=0301&NodeId=03011&RDProjectNBR=187

³ – 2Q 2009 Finds That the Taiwanese Wimax CPE Makers Saw Demand
Surge in the First Quarter of 2009,

http://www.wimax360.com/profiles/blogs/research-and-markets-the