Korean electronics giant Samsung, will next year launch a phone that supports mobile WiMax, a company executive is reported to have said.

According to the IDG news network the company is planning a dual-mode handset that pairs WiMax with GSM. IDG quotes Hwan Woo Chung, vice president of Samsung’s Mobile WiMax Group saying: “The first model will come during the first half of 2007.”

Samsung is the first major brand to announce its support for WiMax on a handset, although other brands are expected to follow suit.

According to Samsung its mobile WiMax technology will achieve downlink speeds of nearly 40Mbps by the third quarter of 2007.

WiMax has yet to establish itself as a favourite among operators, principally because of muddled standards and a protracted development period. However, in March, analyst firm TelecomView raised a few eyebrows in the operator community with a report that argued the RoI from WiMax will be higher than that of 3G. “Our business case shows that the RoI for WiMAX is significantly better than 3G technologies,” said Bob Larribeau, principal analyst at TelecomView and co-author of the report, ‘Broadband Strategies for the Mobile Market’.

Ian Cox, Principal Analyst at TelecomView, said at the time: “We think that WiMAX will have 16 per cent of the subscribers and account for 16 per cent of capex in high-speed mobile networks in 2011.”

The technology has also been the subject of heated disputes between industry heavyweights Qualcomm and Motorola. In May, the pair battled it out over the wireless technology with Moto saying it will dominate the market in the future and Qualcomm saying it’s a non-starter.

Having secured the world’s first nationwide WiMAX network deployment in Pakistan and with its full portfolio of wireless broadband solutions available to operators, Motorola, Inc. (NYSE:MOT) strongly reaffirms its commitment to deliver cost-effective broadband wireless access (BWA) across Asia Pacific. At CommunicAsia 2006, Motorola is showcasing the strength and breadth of its MOTOwi4 TM wireless broadband portfolio, including the latest addition – its carrier-class wi4 WiMAX solution.

WiMAX is a converged network solution capable of IP services within one architecture model. With WiMAX, as well as other MOTOwi4 solutions, operators are able to deploy next-generation IP networks now that are cost effective and technically advanced for delivering multimedia services.

“The ability to deliver WiMAX at the end-user level as well as the network infrastructure level will determine the true value of WiMAX and its widespread adoption in Asia Pacific,” said Dr. Simon Leung, regional president, Asia Pacific, Motorola Inc. “Our end-to-end architecture for broadband wireless access and our comprehensive MOTOwi4 portfolio will enable operators to do so, and effectively help them to meet the increasing demands for greater bandwidth, simpler networks and ultimately true seamless mobility.”

New analysis from global growth consulting company Frost & Sullivan, WiMAX Growth Opportunities in Asia Pacific1, reveals that revenue in the WiMAX services market — covering 12 major Asia Pacific economies — is forecasted to total US$165.3 million by end-2006, and could reach US$5.4 billion in 2010.

MOTOwi4 is a portfolio of wireless broadband solutions and services that creates, complements and completes IP networks. Delivering coverage to virtually all spaces, MOTOwi4 also includes wi4 fixed broadband, wi4 Mesh, and wi4 Broadband over Powerline, in addition to wi4 WiMAX solutions for private and public networks.

WiMAX solutions demonstrations at CommunicAsia 2006 include:

* Motorola’s new carrier-class wi4 WiMAX network, an 802.16e solution that uses advanced antenna techniques to provide greater coverage range and building penetration, which will perform rich media downloads and video streaming through a laptop. Based on Motorola’s Carrier Access Point architecture, this is an all-IP fully distributed peer-to-peer architecture solution that reduces the amount of equipment needed.
* IP video telephony and rich media downloads over Motorola’s 802.16e-based wi4 WiMAX Ultra Light Access Point and wi4 Canopy solutions.
* MOTOwi4 networks powered by Motorola’s next-generation converged core network — IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS).
* A comprehensive portfolio of wi4 WiMAX related professional services, from network planning to design and implementation.

Motorola secures nationwide managed services contract

Motorola, Inc. (NYSE:MOT) today announced that it has signed a nationwide managed services contract with Wateen Telecom-Pakistan, part of Warid Telecom International, to drive the design and implementation of a MOTOwi4в„ў nationwide wireless broadband voice and data network in Pakistan, with initial network deployment expected to be completed during the second half of 2006. Enabling Wateen to focus critical resources, the Motorola managed services contract will also empower the service provider to increase efficiencies and keep up with rapidly advancing technologies.

Wateen Telecom-Pakistan is part of Warid Telecom International LLC, an Abu Dhabi Group company led by His Highness Sheikh Nahayan Mabarak Al Nahayan. HH Sheikh Nahayan formally signed the new contract with senior Motorola executives, including Eric Pradier, Vice President Network Services, Europe, Middle East, Africa (EMEA) and Latin America Caribbean, (LAC), Motorola Networks & Enterprise.

Under the managed services contract, Motorola will take responsibility for the operations and maintenance of the wi4WiMAX/IMS network according to an established set of key performance indicators. The services included in the contract will ensure that Wateen’s evolving WiMAX infrastructure stays current and responsive to business demand.

“The Wateen network is a multi-faceted project that combines a number of new technologies. This managed services agreement with Motorola will enable the combined team to realize Wateen’s vision of �Broadband Pakistan’ quickly and efficiently,” said HH Sheikh Nahayan Mabarak Al Nahayan.

“This managed services agreement allows Wateen to leverage Motorola’s standards-compliant infrastructure, skilled staff, clear operational processes and demonstrated ability to manage a network of this complexity and diverse emerging technologies,” said HH Sheikh Nahayan.

One of the key elements in Wateen Telecom-Pakistan’s decision to opt for a managed services agreement was time to market. “Often in these wide-ranging nationwide infrastructure roll-outs, the operator has to devote large portions of their internal team to managing the day-to-day operational requirements of the network,” said Eric Pradier.

“Wateen’s management had the vision and clarity to opt for a single point of contact that integrates the response to all service requirements, freeing the operator to focus on running its business and serving customers across the country,” continued Pradier.

The announcement of the managed services agreement between Wateen and Motorola comes just weeks after the two companies signed an agreement for the planning, design and deployment of a nationwide wireless broadband voice and data network in Pakistan. From a technology perspective, the announcement heralded the world’s largest nationwide commercial WiMAX 802.16e contract and leveraged Motorola’s IMS solution.

The 802.16e-based wi4в„ў WiMAX access network and subscriber units will enable Wateen Telecom-Pakistan to offer broadband data services covering residential Internet access and voice services, corporate hosted VoiP and virtual private networks (VPN) and public hotspots. The solution will provide the access network, subscriber units, IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) core and services to quickly and cost-effectively connect the unconnected.

A portion of purchase price will be financed by Motorola.