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Broadband access is now crucial for service providers since it enables them to provide new value-added services such as Video on Demand (VOD), mobile video telephony, mobile streaming, online gaming, VoIP, TV broadcasting etc. Broadband technologies can be fixed (xDSL, cable, FTTH, etc.), wireless with limited mobility (802.11 family, WiMAX) or mobile (UMTS, CDMA2000 1x EV-DO). However, wireless broadband technologies should benefit from the following combination of factors:
- Broadband is going mass-market
- Mobile telephony leads the telephony market
- Consumers are increasingly mobile
- Portable computer sales are rising, while PDAs and mobile handsets evolve towards smarter and more powerful devices constantly integrating more PC-like functionalities.
This report focuses on the debate over the place of WiMAX, UMTS TDD, Flarions FLASH-OFDM and ArrayComms iBurst versus traditional 3G technologies (UMTS FDD & CDMA2000 1x EV-DO Rev0) and their offspring (HSDPA/HSUPA & EV-DV/EV-DO RevA). The main characteristics of these technologies are presented in the tables below. |