WiBro
Encyclopedia
WiBro is a wireless broadband Internet
technology developed by the South Korea
n telecoms industry. WiBro is the South Korean service name for IEEE
802.16e (mobile WiMAX
) international standard. By the end of 2012, the Korean Communications Commission intends to increase WiBro broadband connection speeds to 10Mbit/s, around ten times the current speed, which will complement their 1Gbit/sec fibre-optic network.
WiBro adopts TDD
for duplexing, OFDMA
for multiple access and 8.75/10.00 MHz as a channel bandwidth. WiBro was devised to overcome the data rate limitation of mobile phones (for example CDMA 1x
) and to add mobility to broadband Internet access (for example ADSL
or Wireless LAN
). In February 2002, the Korean government allocated 100 MHz of electromagnetic spectrum
in the 2.3–2.4 GHz band, and in late 2004 WiBro Phase 1 was standardized by the TTA of Korea and in late 2005 ITU
reflected WiBro as IEEE
802.16e (mobile WiMAX
). Two South Korean Telcom (KT, SKT
) launched commercial service in June 2006, and the tariff is around US$30.
WiBro base station
s will offer an aggregate data throughput of 30 to 50 Mbit/s per carrier and cover a radius of 1–5 km allowing for the use of portable internet usage. In detail, it will provide mobility for moving devices up to 120 km/h (74.5 mi/h) compared to Wireless LAN having mobility up to walking speed and mobile phone technologies having mobility up to 250 km/h. From testing during the APEC Summit in Busan
in late 2005, the actual range and bandwidth were quite a bit lower than these numbers. The technology will also offer Quality of Service
. The inclusion of QoS allows for WiBro to stream video content and other loss-sensitive data in a reliable manner. These all appear to be (and may be) the stronger advantages over the fixed WiMAX
standard (802.16a). Some Telcos in many countries are trying to commercialize this Mobile WiMAX (or WiBro). For example, TI (Italy), TVA
(Brazil), Omnivision (Venezuela), PORTUS (Croatia), and Arialink (Michigan) will provide commercial service after test service around 2006–2007. While WiBro is quite precise in its requirements from spectrum use to equipment design, WiMAX leaves much of this up to the equipment provider while providing enough detail to ensure interoperability between designs.
) offers Wave 2 (18.4 Mbit/s, 4 Mbit/s) for 10000 KRW/mo (around $11 or €6.50) with 1 GB data usage to 40000 KRW/mo with 50 GB data usage plus free access to their own WiFi
hotspots, ollehWiFi. The service coverage is advertised as nationwide, but actual coverage is restricted to every si, some railroad station, airports, and major highways. SK Telecom
also offers Wave 2 WiBro Service for $18.87 a month with 30 GB data usage. Actual service coverage is limited mostly to major cities and highways.
For short term visitors, KT rents WiBro modem and bridge at KT Roaming Center in Incheon International Airport
. As of September 2011, WiBro-only USB modem costs 5,000 KRW per day plus 100,000 KRW deposit, WiBro-HSPA USB modem and WiBro Egg cost 8,000 KRW per day plus 150,000 KRW deposit. One-day rent is free at KT Roaming Center, and requires credit card and passport. So far I know, you can also rent in inside Seoul, but in case of, rent in the Incheon Airport. Also it was working in Daejon, which is almost 2 hours from Seoul away by bus.
In India, Tikona Digital Networks
(Independent services provider) offers WiBro service for up to 2 Mbit/s and 4 Mbit/s in many cities in India. 2 MBit/s Unlimited monthly monthly is for Rs. 649.00 (roughly $14).
executives agreed to ensure compatibility between WiBro and Mobile WiMAX technology.
KT Corporation, SK Telecom
and Hanaro Telecom(acquired by SK Telecom
and renamed to SK Broadband) had selected as Wibro operators in January, 2005. However, Hanaro Telecom has cancelled its plan for the WiBro and returned WiBro licence in April 2005.
In September 2005, Samsung Electronics
signed a deal with Sprint Nextel Corporation to provide equipment for a WiBro trial.
In November 2005, KT Corporation(aka Korea Telecom
) showed off WiBro trial services during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Busan.
February 10, 2006: Telecom Italia
, the dominant telephony and internet service provider in Italy, together with Korean Samsung Electronics, has demonstrated to the public a WiBro network service on the occasion of the 2006 Winter Olympics
, held in Turin
, with downlink speed of 10 Mbit/s and uplink speed of some hundreds of kbit/s even in movement up to 120 km/h.
In the same event Samsung tlc div. president Kitae Lee assured a future of 20–30 Mbit/s by the end of this year (2006) and >100 Mbit/s down/>1 Mbit/s up in 2008.
KT Corporation launched commercial WiBro service on June 2006.
Sprint (US), BT (UK), KDDI (JP), and TVA (BR) have or are trialing WiBro.
KT Corporation and SK Telecom
launched WiBro around Seoul on June 30, 2006. More about the KT launch.
On April 3, 2007, KT launched WiBro coverage for all areas of Seoul
including all subway lines
.
As of March, 2011, KT's WiBro coverage is expanded nationwide covering 85% of Koreans.
KT promised to expand coverages and maintain their WiBro network as 3W (WiBro, Wi-Fi, WCDMA) plan.
SK is not interested in WiBro. Their coverage is limited to Seoul area and few hot spots over the nation.
SK still uses 8.75Mhz bandwidth on 2.3Ghz frequency. However, in 2012 - when license for 2.3Ghz expires, there is a rumor that SK will dump WiBro system and move on to LTE
.
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
technology developed by the South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
n telecoms industry. WiBro is the South Korean service name for IEEE
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers is a non-profit professional association headquartered in New York City that is dedicated to advancing technological innovation and excellence...
802.16e (mobile WiMAX
WiMAX
WiMAX is a communication technology for wirelessly delivering high-speed Internet service to large geographical areas. The 2005 WiMAX revision provided bit rates up to 40 Mbit/s with the 2011 update up to 1 Gbit/s for fixed stations...
) international standard. By the end of 2012, the Korean Communications Commission intends to increase WiBro broadband connection speeds to 10Mbit/s, around ten times the current speed, which will complement their 1Gbit/sec fibre-optic network.
WiBro adopts TDD
Duplex (telecommunications)
A duplex communication system is a system composed of two connected parties or devices that can communicate with one another in both directions. The term multiplexing is used when describing communication between more than two parties or devices....
for duplexing, OFDMA
OFDMA
Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiple Access is a multi-user version of the popular Orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing digital modulation scheme. Multiple access is achieved in OFDMA by assigning subsets of subcarriers to individual users as shown in the illustration below...
for multiple access and 8.75/10.00 MHz as a channel bandwidth. WiBro was devised to overcome the data rate limitation of mobile phones (for example CDMA 1x
CDMA2000
CDMA2000 is a family of 3G mobile technology standards, which use CDMA channel access, to send voice, data, and signaling data between mobile phones and cell sites. The set of standards includes: CDMA2000 1X, CDMA2000 EV-DO Rev. 0, CDMA2000 EV-DO Rev. A, and CDMA2000 EV-DO Rev. B...
) and to add mobility to broadband Internet access (for example ADSL
Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line
Asymmetric digital subscriber line is a type of digital subscriber line technology, a data communications technology that enables faster data transmission over copper telephone lines than a conventional voiceband modem can provide. It does this by utilizing frequencies that are not used by a voice...
or Wireless LAN
Wireless LAN
A wireless local area network links two or more devices using some wireless distribution method , and usually providing a connection through an access point to the wider internet. This gives users the mobility to move around within a local coverage area and still be connected to the network...
). In February 2002, the Korean government allocated 100 MHz of electromagnetic spectrum
Electromagnetic spectrum
The electromagnetic spectrum is the range of all possible frequencies of electromagnetic radiation. The "electromagnetic spectrum" of an object is the characteristic distribution of electromagnetic radiation emitted or absorbed by that particular object....
in the 2.3–2.4 GHz band, and in late 2004 WiBro Phase 1 was standardized by the TTA of Korea and in late 2005 ITU
International Telecommunication Union
The International Telecommunication Union is the specialized agency of the United Nations which is responsible for information and communication technologies...
reflected WiBro as IEEE
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers is a non-profit professional association headquartered in New York City that is dedicated to advancing technological innovation and excellence...
802.16e (mobile WiMAX
WiMAX
WiMAX is a communication technology for wirelessly delivering high-speed Internet service to large geographical areas. The 2005 WiMAX revision provided bit rates up to 40 Mbit/s with the 2011 update up to 1 Gbit/s for fixed stations...
). Two South Korean Telcom (KT, SKT
SK Telecom
SK Telecom Co., Ltd. or Sunkyoung Telecom is a South Korean wireless telecommunications operator, controlled by the SK Group, one of the country's largest chaebol. As a part of SK Group, SK stands for Sun Kyung.SK Telecom is a provider of mobile service in Korea, with 50.5% of the market share as...
) launched commercial service in June 2006, and the tariff is around US$30.
WiBro base station
Base station
The term base station can be used in the context of land surveying and wireless communications.- Land surveying :In the context of external land surveying, a base station is a GPS receiver at an accurately-known fixed location which is used to derive correction information for nearby portable GPS...
s will offer an aggregate data throughput of 30 to 50 Mbit/s per carrier and cover a radius of 1–5 km allowing for the use of portable internet usage. In detail, it will provide mobility for moving devices up to 120 km/h (74.5 mi/h) compared to Wireless LAN having mobility up to walking speed and mobile phone technologies having mobility up to 250 km/h. From testing during the APEC Summit in Busan
Busan
Busan , formerly spelled Pusan is South Korea's second largest metropolis after Seoul, with a population of around 3.6 million. The Metropolitan area population is 4,399,515 as of 2010. It is the largest port city in South Korea and the fifth largest port in the world...
in late 2005, the actual range and bandwidth were quite a bit lower than these numbers. The technology will also offer Quality of Service
Quality of service
The quality of service refers to several related aspects of telephony and computer networks that allow the transport of traffic with special requirements...
. The inclusion of QoS allows for WiBro to stream video content and other loss-sensitive data in a reliable manner. These all appear to be (and may be) the stronger advantages over the fixed WiMAX
WiMAX
WiMAX is a communication technology for wirelessly delivering high-speed Internet service to large geographical areas. The 2005 WiMAX revision provided bit rates up to 40 Mbit/s with the 2011 update up to 1 Gbit/s for fixed stations...
standard (802.16a). Some Telcos in many countries are trying to commercialize this Mobile WiMAX (or WiBro). For example, TI (Italy), TVA
Televisão Abril
TVA - Televisão Abril is a Brazilian subscription television operator, working with Multichannel Multipoint Distribution Service analog system, analog cable and digital cable...
(Brazil), Omnivision (Venezuela), PORTUS (Croatia), and Arialink (Michigan) will provide commercial service after test service around 2006–2007. While WiBro is quite precise in its requirements from spectrum use to equipment design, WiMAX leaves much of this up to the equipment provider while providing enough detail to ensure interoperability between designs.
| WiBro | |
|---|---|
| Peak Download | 128 Mbit/s |
| Peak Upload | 56 Mbit/s |
Current service
In Korea, KT (Korea TelecomKorea Telecom
KT Corporation is a South Korean integrated wired/wireless telecommunication service provider. KT has an information & communications business, and has the largest portion of the South Korean local telephone and high-speed Internet business...
) offers Wave 2 (18.4 Mbit/s, 4 Mbit/s) for 10000 KRW/mo (around $11 or €6.50) with 1 GB data usage to 40000 KRW/mo with 50 GB data usage plus free access to their own WiFi
WIFI
WIFI is a radio station broadcasting a brokered format. Licensed to Florence, New Jersey, USA, the station is currently operated by Florence Broadcasting Partners, LLC.This station was previously owned by Real Life Broadcasting...
hotspots, ollehWiFi. The service coverage is advertised as nationwide, but actual coverage is restricted to every si, some railroad station, airports, and major highways. SK Telecom
SK Telecom
SK Telecom Co., Ltd. or Sunkyoung Telecom is a South Korean wireless telecommunications operator, controlled by the SK Group, one of the country's largest chaebol. As a part of SK Group, SK stands for Sun Kyung.SK Telecom is a provider of mobile service in Korea, with 50.5% of the market share as...
also offers Wave 2 WiBro Service for $18.87 a month with 30 GB data usage. Actual service coverage is limited mostly to major cities and highways.
For short term visitors, KT rents WiBro modem and bridge at KT Roaming Center in Incheon International Airport
Incheon International Airport
Incheon International Airport is the largest airport in South Korea, the primary airport serving the Seoul national capital area, and one of the largest and busiest airports in the world...
. As of September 2011, WiBro-only USB modem costs 5,000 KRW per day plus 100,000 KRW deposit, WiBro-HSPA USB modem and WiBro Egg cost 8,000 KRW per day plus 150,000 KRW deposit. One-day rent is free at KT Roaming Center, and requires credit card and passport. So far I know, you can also rent in inside Seoul, but in case of, rent in the Incheon Airport. Also it was working in Daejon, which is almost 2 hours from Seoul away by bus.
In India, Tikona Digital Networks
Tikona Digital Networks
Tikona Digital Networks next generation Wireless Broadband company providing Broadband Services in India based in Mumbai. It uses fourth generation OFDM and MIMO wireless technology to provide broadband services. TDN has an all India Class-A ISP license granted by the Ministry of Communications,...
(Independent services provider) offers WiBro service for up to 2 Mbit/s and 4 Mbit/s in many cities in India. 2 MBit/s Unlimited monthly monthly is for Rs. 649.00 (roughly $14).
Network deployment
In November 2004, Intel and Samsung ElectronicsSamsung Electronics
Samsung Electronics is a South Korean multinational electronics and information technology company headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul...
executives agreed to ensure compatibility between WiBro and Mobile WiMAX technology.
KT Corporation, SK Telecom
SK Telecom
SK Telecom Co., Ltd. or Sunkyoung Telecom is a South Korean wireless telecommunications operator, controlled by the SK Group, one of the country's largest chaebol. As a part of SK Group, SK stands for Sun Kyung.SK Telecom is a provider of mobile service in Korea, with 50.5% of the market share as...
and Hanaro Telecom(acquired by SK Telecom
SK Telecom
SK Telecom Co., Ltd. or Sunkyoung Telecom is a South Korean wireless telecommunications operator, controlled by the SK Group, one of the country's largest chaebol. As a part of SK Group, SK stands for Sun Kyung.SK Telecom is a provider of mobile service in Korea, with 50.5% of the market share as...
and renamed to SK Broadband) had selected as Wibro operators in January, 2005. However, Hanaro Telecom has cancelled its plan for the WiBro and returned WiBro licence in April 2005.
In September 2005, Samsung Electronics
Samsung Electronics
Samsung Electronics is a South Korean multinational electronics and information technology company headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul...
signed a deal with Sprint Nextel Corporation to provide equipment for a WiBro trial.
In November 2005, KT Corporation(aka Korea Telecom
Korea Telecom
KT Corporation is a South Korean integrated wired/wireless telecommunication service provider. KT has an information & communications business, and has the largest portion of the South Korean local telephone and high-speed Internet business...
) showed off WiBro trial services during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Busan.
February 10, 2006: Telecom Italia
Telecom Italia
Telecom Italia is the largest Italian telecommunications company, also active in the media and manufacturing industries. Now a private concern listed on the Borsa Italiana, it was founded in 1994 by the merger of several state-owned telecommunications companies, the most important of which was...
, the dominant telephony and internet service provider in Italy, together with Korean Samsung Electronics, has demonstrated to the public a WiBro network service on the occasion of the 2006 Winter Olympics
2006 Winter Olympics
The 2006 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XX Olympic Winter Games, was a winter multi-sport event which was celebrated in Turin, Italy from February 10, 2006, through February 26, 2006. This marked the second time Italy hosted the Olympic Winter Games, the first being the VII Olympic Winter...
, held in Turin
Turin
Turin is a city and major business and cultural centre in northern Italy, capital of the Piedmont region, located mainly on the left bank of the Po River and surrounded by the Alpine arch. The population of the city proper is 909,193 while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat...
, with downlink speed of 10 Mbit/s and uplink speed of some hundreds of kbit/s even in movement up to 120 km/h.
In the same event Samsung tlc div. president Kitae Lee assured a future of 20–30 Mbit/s by the end of this year (2006) and >100 Mbit/s down/>1 Mbit/s up in 2008.
KT Corporation launched commercial WiBro service on June 2006.
Sprint (US), BT (UK), KDDI (JP), and TVA (BR) have or are trialing WiBro.
KT Corporation and SK Telecom
SK Telecom
SK Telecom Co., Ltd. or Sunkyoung Telecom is a South Korean wireless telecommunications operator, controlled by the SK Group, one of the country's largest chaebol. As a part of SK Group, SK stands for Sun Kyung.SK Telecom is a provider of mobile service in Korea, with 50.5% of the market share as...
launched WiBro around Seoul on June 30, 2006. More about the KT launch.
On April 3, 2007, KT launched WiBro coverage for all areas of Seoul
Seoul
Seoul , officially the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea. A megacity with a population of over 10 million, it is the largest city proper in the OECD developed world...
including all subway lines
Seoul Metropolitan Subway
The Seoul Metropolitan Subway or Metropolitan Subway in Seoul, in Seoul, South Korea, is one of the most heavily used rapid transit systems in the world, with well over 8 million trips daily on the system's thirteen lines...
.
As of March, 2011, KT's WiBro coverage is expanded nationwide covering 85% of Koreans.
Road Map
KT will continually build and upgrade WiBro. KT has formerly upgraded its network bandwidth to 10Mhz from 8.75Mhz.KT promised to expand coverages and maintain their WiBro network as 3W (WiBro, Wi-Fi, WCDMA) plan.
SK is not interested in WiBro. Their coverage is limited to Seoul area and few hot spots over the nation.
SK still uses 8.75Mhz bandwidth on 2.3Ghz frequency. However, in 2012 - when license for 2.3Ghz expires, there is a rumor that SK will dump WiBro system and move on to LTE
3GPP Long Term Evolution
3GPP Long Term Evolution, usually referred to as LTE, is a standard for wireless communication of high-speed data for mobile phones and data terminals. It is based on the GSM/EDGE and UMTS/HSPA network technologies, increasing the capacity and speed using new modulation techniques...
.
See also
- Digital Multimedia BroadcastingDigital Multimedia BroadcastingDigital Multimedia Broadcasting is a digital radio transmission technology developed in South Korea as part of the national IT project for sending multimedia such as TV, radio and datacasting to mobile devices such as mobile phones...
(DMB) - HIPERMANHIPERMANHiperMAN stands for High Performance Radio Metropolitan Area Network and is a standard created by the European Telecommunications Standards Institute Broadband Radio Access Networks group to provide a wireless network communication in the 2 - 11 GHz bands across Europe and other countries which...
- IEEE 802.16IEEE 802.16IEEE 802.16 is a series of Wireless Broadband standards authored by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers . The IEEE Standards Board in established a working group in 1999 to develop standards for broadband Wireless Metropolitan Area Networks...
- WiMAXWiMAXWiMAX is a communication technology for wirelessly delivering high-speed Internet service to large geographical areas. The 2005 WiMAX revision provided bit rates up to 40 Mbit/s with the 2011 update up to 1 Gbit/s for fixed stations...
- Wireless Internet ProtocolWireless Internet ProtocolWireless Internet Protocols are the suite of wireless protocols after Wireless Application Protocol 2.0 . It includes XHTML Basic, Nokia's XHTML Mobile Profile, and future developments of WAP by the Open Mobile Alliance....
- Yota EggYota EggYota Egg — an autonomous mobile gateway between WiMax and WiFi wireless networks.Yota Egg is a battery powered mobile WiFi access point, that connects to the IEEE 802.16e wireless networks , designed to provide Internet access to the devices without a WiMax adapter...
(nearly identical to the WiBro Egg)
External links
- WiBro Website (in English)
- Korea Telecom's WiBro site (in Korean)
- PDF file: 2.3 GHz Portable Internet (WiBro) for Wireless Broadband Access
- WiMAX: Opportunity or Hype? (a paper presented at the ITERA 2006 academic conference discussing WiBro and WiMAX)
- News report discussing WiBro technology
- News article about an alliance between SK Telecom and Hanaro Telecom for WiBro rollout
- News report about the LG/Intel agreement
- TTA (Telecommunications Technology Association) of Korea
- South Korea Pushes Mobile Broadband
- WiBro, HSDPA Providers Vying for Future Markets