WiMAX and satellite: unhappy together? (and Danny Bork)

It's the award-winning IT Blogwatch: in which it seems that WiMAX may have a problem: does it disrupt satellite communications? Not to mention happy St. Patrick's Day...

Jeff Hecht raises concerns:

WiMAX, a long-range version of Wi-Fi ... may have a critical flaw. According to tests ... the radio frequencies WiMAX uses will interfere with satellite communications ... WiMAX uses a static base-station antenna to distribute digital data at speeds of up to 40 megabits per second. This is especially useful in areas where cable, DSL broadband and even dial-up might not exist, like parts of the developing world. But last week the Florida-based Satellite Users Interference Reduction Group (SUIRG) revealed test results showing that WiMAX antennas can disrupt satellite reception up to 20 kilometres away from a base station. They say they have demonstrated conclusively that WiMAX poses a significant interference threat. more

Kathryn Vercillo treads carefully:

WiMax is slowly starting to gain a toehold as an emerging wireless technology despite controversy about whether or not it’s the right way to move forward. (For example, South Carolina is currently considering becoming the first state to go wireless using WiMax.) However, the development of this technology could be facing a bump in the road ... [SURIG says] WiMax radio frequencies apparently affect the C-Band where those communications take place. more

Paul Miller thinks he can, he thinks he can:

Yeah, all those sticky sweet stories about WiMAX actually happening this decade or possibly showing up in a device or two were really getting on our nerves. Now it seems the "little wireless standard that couldn't" is back to form with a report from ... SUIRG ... Naturally, it sounds like this group's primary purpose is to come up with data like this to protect that satellite spectrum turf, but it's disconcerting nonetheless, and we'd love to hear from the WiMAX camp on the issue -- if it comes down to a choice between mobile broadband and a new season of Meerkat Manor in HD, we don't want to be the ones making the hard decisions. more

Dan G clarifies:

C-band satellite antennas are generally the “big dish” variety with sizes ranging from 7.5 to 12 feet, so they’re the big style dish, not the smaller dishes used by DirecTV or Dish Network. These days the big dishes are more common in rural areas, the same areas that could really benefit from WiMAX since they often won’t have access to other means of high speed Internet access. more

Om Malik invokes supernatural power:

When it comes to wireless broadband, WiMAX is one technology that has some bad juju. You have two of its premier proponents in the US, Clearwire and Sprint riding leaky boats in rocky financial seas. You have LTE as a potential competitor, thanks to backing from AT&T and Verizon. And now there is a new report out that says that WiMAX causes interference with satellite communications transmitted in the C-Band frequency. Of course one has to take the report with a pinch of salt since ... [SUIRG] has conflicts up the wazoo. They conducted tests to “measure interference levels generated by fixed WiMAX transmissions into an FSS satellite receiving station.” The tests found that the “WiMAX transmit signal could cause significant problems to a satellite digital signal well in excess of 12 km distance.” more

Never mind, Sam Churchill stops us in our tracks:

It’s hardly news. Six months ago, WARC-07 ruled that WiMAX and other services can’t share satellite “C” band frequencies. The World Administrative Radio Council last year looked into whether part of C-band satellite spectrum could be shared by services like WiMAX — but ruled against it ... The ITU World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC) 2007, was held 22 October-1 November in Geneva. To keep their frequencies “pristine”, the satellite industry showed that WiMAX could interfere with a satellite digital signal more than 7 miles away — if WiMAX shared the satellite “C band”. So WRC preserved the C-band for exclusive use by satellite operators last year. Case closed. more

John Biggs inserts tongue into cheek:

It’s important to become alarmed and post without thinking regarding the threat to our precious satellite connectivity. more

And finally...

• Oh Danny Bork
  

Buffer overflow:

• Groklaw: Two More US Trustee Motions as text, More Bankruptcy Filings, and a Note on SCO v. Novell's Docket
• Sean P. Aune: China Becomes Largest Web Surfing Country In The World
• Geertjan: Lookup API Outside the NetBeans Platform
• Henry Blodget : Japan ISPs to Unplug File-Sharers; Should US Follow Suit?
• Matthew Lasar: FCC living in the dark ages; a threat to net neutrality aims

Other Computerworld bloggers:

• Joyce Carpenter: Computerworld Blogs win 2008 Neal Award
• Mike Elgan: New mini laptop to cost under $300
• Patrick Thibodeau: Five reasons why the H-1B visa cap will increase
• Eric Lai: INCITS re-affirms 'Yes' on OOXML; voting (and debate) continues
• Don Tennant: Video: Dell's Steve Schuckenbrock on customer-service problems
• Mike Elgan: Smartphone claims one year of standby!
• Robert L. Mitchell: RIAA easing up?
• Heather Havenstein: TSA blog goes over, under and around red tape
• Preston Gralla: Laptop buyers: We don't want Windows machines
• Robert L. Mitchell: Verizon's Right Not to Know Law
• Mark Hall: Finding votes one by one
• Michael R. Farnum: Anonymous not so Anonymous
• Douglas Schweitzer: Information security failing and ailing
• Shark Tank: That's not a bug; it's an extra hour's sleep
• Shark Bait: Your computer won't turn on because it hates you

Richi Jennings is an independent analyst/adviser/consultant, specializing in blogging, email, and spam. A 20 year, cross-functional IT veteran, he is also an analyst at Ferris Research. You too can pretend to be Richi's friend on Facebook, or just use boring old email: blogwatch@richi.co.uk.

Previously in IT Blogwatch:

• AOL buys British with Bebo (and pursuing trivia)
• Hacking medical implants is worrisome (and dog+cat+squid)
• Google and DoubleClick, sittin' in a tree (and Magneto Boy)