Introduction To Fixed WiMAX Measurements

By National Instruments

Overview
As the deployment of WiMAX devices continues to increase, test engineers face an increasing challenge to reduce test costs. Thus, automated test systems used in either design validation testing or production testing must be designed to perform fast, accurate and repeatable WiMAX measurements. This article is aimed at the goal of equipping test engineers to understand the types of measurements typically required for characterization of Fixed WiMAX (IEEE 802.16-2004) devices.

Overview of the Fixed WiMAX Frame Structure
Each of the two WiMAX classifications, fixed and mobile are based on a subset of the IEEE 802.16 family of standards and are defined by the WiMAX forum. More specifically, "Fixed WiMAX" is based on the 802.16-2004 specifications which sometimes called "IEEE 802.16d. "Mobile WiMAX" is based on the 802.16e-2005 standard, which is revision of the original Fixed WiMAX standard. Mobile WiMAX provides added functionality such as base station handoffs, MIMO (multiple input multiple output) transmit/receive diversity, and scalable FFT sizes.