News / Networks
First fixed WiMAX products receive certification
On 3 February 2006, the WiMAX Forum announced its first certified products for fixed WiMAX under IEEE 802.16-2004. Aperto Networks, Redline Communications, Sequans and Wavesat were named as manufacturers with equipment tested at the Forum’s Spanish lab.
What certification signalled
Certification was intended to give buyers confidence that tested equipment could work with other certified kit. It marked progress for fixed wireless access, which was designed to provide high-speed links across longer distances than a local Wi-Fi connection.
Mobile WiMAX was still unresolved
The source also notes that a mobile standard, 802.16e, had not yet been agreed. Delays created an opening for rival mobile-broadband approaches such as HSDPA. The account presents a 2006 industry milestone and uncertainty, not a current product recommendation or a conclusion about WiMAX’s later market outcome. The certification lab had opened only months earlier, underlining how early the programme still was.