xchange is pleased to announce the Best of WiMAX World Europe 2007 Awards, which recognizes leaders in the development and deployment of WiMAX technologies. xchange was tapped by Trendsmedia, producer of WiMAX World Europe Conference & Expo, to sponsor and administer the awards program. Nominations were open to exhibitors and sponsors of the conference, held May 29-31, in Vienna, Austria. Nearly 40 nominations were received between March 21 and April 20.
The winners were selected by an independent judging panel and announced during the WiMAX World Conference by xchange Group Publisher Mike Saxby.
“xchange would like to thank all the WiMAX World exhibitors for support of this awards program,” said Saxby. “We are pleased to be able to provide a forum to showcase the incredible innovation occurring in the WiMAX arena. Congratulations to all of the winners that by virtue of a competitive field have proved to be the industry’s leaders.”
INDUSTRY CHOICE
 Eliot Weinman, president of Trendsmedia, with Industry Choice Award recipient Rupert Baines, vice president of marketing at picoChip. |
New to the Best of WiMAX World Awards program, the Industry Choice award was chosen by the delegates at WiMAX World Europe Conference & Expo from among 13 finalists selected by the judging committee. The peer award goes to the company delegates deemed to have made the most significant contribution to the WiMAX community this year.
Winner: picoChip Designs Ltd. Femtocell Reference Design
picoChip has taken a leadership position in offering low-cost, flexible baseband solutions with Wave 2 capabilities. Its femtocell solution addresses an important requirement for WiMAX to deliver low-cost in-building coverage.
Runner-Up: Motorola Inc. CPEi 200/300 Series WiMAX Desktop Unit
This desktop unit is one of the most functional of the current range of desktop units and provides good integration with other devices in the company’s range, including future links to converged home systems.
SYSTEMS DESIGN
 Dr. Won Pyo Hong, executive vice president and adviser for Samsung, with the company’s award in the Systems Design category. |
This category includes box-level systems using WiMAX technology that includes approaches/methods above and beyond standardized minimums that enhance the total value of a WiMAX system. Nominees were judged based on general concept, application, feature set, benefits and standards compliance.
Winner: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. U-RAS Premium Base Stations
This base station supports Mobile WiMAX Wave 2 technology in an all-in-one rack system. It offers support for MIMO, beam forming, redundancy, easy upgrades, scalability and LTE.
Runner-Up: Nortel Networks Ltd. BTS 5000
BTS 5000 base stations have a small footprint with the ability to support three sectors of 2X2 MIMO in a single radio platform. The use of MIMO technology in the Nortel BTS 5000 is going to be critical to the success of WiMAX.
INDUSTRY INNOVATION
 Rupert Baines, vice president of marketing at picoChip, receives his company’s Best of WiMAX World Europe award in the Industry Innovation category from xchange Group Publisher Mike Saxby. |
This category includes leading-edge WiMAX technology, microelectronics, hardware, software or services that have the potential to transform the mobile and personal broadband industries. Entries were judged based on the unique technology, its impact on the market and globe, and its benefit to service providers and end users.
Winner: picoChip Femtocell Reference Design
picoChip has taken a leadership position in offering low-cost, flexible baseband solutions with Wave 2 capabilities. Its femtocell solution addresses an important requirement for WiMAX to deliver low-cost in-building coverage.
Runner-Up: WiNetworks Inc. WiN6000 Relay System
WiNetworks offers a WiMAX solution that is targeted specifically toward DBS and cable operators. This solution capitalizes on the terrestrial footprint and vested interest these providers have in implementing wireless broadband solutions like WiMAX.
CHIP DESIGN
 Rupert Baines, vice president of marketing for picoChip, with the company’s third award of the contest in the Chip Design category. |
This category includes 802.16-2004 (.16d) and 802.16-2005 (.16e) base station and terminal chips and chip sets, including PHY and/or MAC or higher-level solutions. Entries were based on novelty, completeness, silicon availability, power consumption and available options.
Winner: picoChip Femtocell Reference Design
picoChip has taken a leadership position in offering low-cost, flexible baseband solutions with Wave 2 capabilities. Its femtocell solution addresses an important requirement for WiMAX to deliver low-cost in-building coverage.
Runner-Up: Comsys Ltd. ComMAX
These licensable PHY/MAC IP solutions offer proven cellular protocol stacks with added WiMAX PHY and MAC, providing chip suppliers with a compelling foundation for new cellular/ WiMAX products.
Runner-Up: Wavesat WiMAX NP7256 Mini PCI Module
This unique mini PCI card-based PHY coupled with WiMAX Forum Certified CPE MAC software enables a complete product solution.
DEVICE/PERIPHERAL/APPLICATION SOFTWARE
 Eliot Weinman, president of Trendsmedia, with Device/Peripheral/Application Software winner Hossein Parandeh, director of global WiMAX marketing at Motorola. |
This category includes any WiMAX-based device, fixed or mobile (not a base station or point-to-point/point-to-multipoint link) or systems software for a WiMAX product or installation. Nominations were judged based on concept, application, features and benefits.
Winner: Motorola CPEi 200/300 Series WiMAX Desktop Unit
This desktop unit is one of the most functional of the current range of desktop units and provides good integration with other devices in the company’s range including future links to converged home systems.
Runner-Up: PCTEL Integrated Variable Electrical Tilt Antenna
Multimode systems will be the most important in the early WiMAX markets and PCTEL is using the same technologies, such as phase shifter designs, for this WiMAX base station antenna as for its cellular products. The iVET provides high levels of tilt accuracy, is easy to deploy and is virtually plug-and-play.
COMMERCIAL DEPLOYMENT
 Peter Ziegelwanger, CTO of WiMAX Telecom, accepted the Best of WiMAX World Europe award in the Commercial Deployment category on behalf of his company. |
This category includes behavior and characteristics of broadband wireless or WiMAX equipment operating in the field. Entries were judged based on throughput, coverage, ease of use and installation, price and migration path.
Winner: WiMAX Telecom WiMAX FON (Voice over WiMAX)
WiMAX Telecom is a leading transnational service provider with an aggressive deployment road map and a successful initial launch. It expects an extraordinary uptake of wireless Internet access subscriptions next year. Increased demand for personal broadband will lead it to offer “quadruple-play” services, as well as IPTV, music/video downloads and streaming or participating in real-time TV shows.
Runner-Up: Motorola wi4 WiMAX (Wateen Telecom, Pakistan Nationwide WiMAX Deployment)
Motorola is leading the deployments in terms of customer wins among Tier 1 and Tier 2 operators and is a leader in the development of 802.16- 2005 equipment.
Best of WiMAX World Awards Selection Committee
Farstad has more than 24 years of experience in planning and management of technology initiatives. His clients include local governments, telecom providers, and financial service, educational, manufacturing and health care organizations. www.rclient.com
Fellah is a leading industry analyst covering broadband wireless technologies, including WiMAX/802.16, 802.20, EV-DO, WCDMA TD-CDMA, HSDPA and wireless local loop systems. www.maravedis-bwa.com
Gabriel co-founded Rethink in 2002 to provide market research and consulting in the broadband wireless, 3G, fixed/mobile convergence and wireline broadband markets. www.rethinkresearch.biz
Dr. Marshall manages a team of analysts at Yankee Group that investigates market and service opportunities and technology trends for existing and future wireless mobile systems. www.yankeegroup.com
Mathias is an expert in wireless communications and mobile computing. Farpoint Group provides technology assessment, analysis and integration; product specification, design and marketing; strategy development; program management; and education and training. www.farpointgroup.com
Saxby is a group publisher at xchange magazine. He has led the publication’s multimedia strategy and its support for the WiMAX World Europe Conference & Expo, including development of the Best of WiMAX World Awards program. www.xchangemag.com
Strauss is a leading analyst on digital signal processing market trends and an authority on semiconductor trends in wireless, audio and VoIP markets. www.fwdconcepts.com
An industry thought leader, Weinman has founded and sold four integrated media companies serving high-tech markets. His fourth startup, Trendsmedia, producer of the WiMAX World Conference & Expo, was acquired by Yankee Group in September 2006. www.trendsmedia.com
| Links |
| Comsys Ltd. www.comsysmobile.com Motorola Inc. www.motorola.com Nortel Networks Ltd. www.nortel.com PCTEL Inc. www.pctel.com picoChip Designs Ltd. www.picochip.com Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. www.samsung.com Trendsmedia www.trendsmedia.com Wavesat www.wavesat.com WiMAX Telecom AG www.wimax-telecom.net WiMAX World Conference & Expo www.wimaxworld.com WiNetworks Inc. www.winetworks.com |
