We are fortunate: the N810 WiMAX Edition is due in Q2/2008, and we have an existing WiMAX network that is nationwide. As pointed out by TheHMan, it should be possible to use this device on the Inukshuk network being resold by Rogers and Bell. It should be as simple as calling them up with the MAC Address of the N810WE, and surfing to your heart's content.
A few questions for discussion:
1. Does anyone have the current WiMAX offering from either Bell or Rogers (you know, the brick of a modem that is supposed to be 'portable'?
2. If so, when you activated it, did you simply give them the MAC address of the modem?
3. Has anyone tried getting more information from Rogers/Bell with respect to the possibilitiy of adding the N810WE to their network?
4. Any insights from more knowledgeable ITT members - Is this a fruitless discussion? Is there something fundamentally wrong with assuming that it could be as simple as being suggested?
My girlfriend has Rogers Portable Internet in montreal, and it's terrible. the modem has to be near a window at all times, it disconnects a lot or becomes really slow in bad weather, and is usually much slower than videotron cable. about once a month, it goes down completely and rogers can't seem to get it back up for a day or so because their system still registers her mac address as connected and their only solution for this is waiting for the lease to expire.
Is there something fundamentally wrong with assuming that it could be as simple as being suggested?
With the limitation of an absolutely minimal understanding of WiMAX, I've been trying figure that out myself. One of the basic questions I'm trying to answer is whether the network and equipment Rogers is using follows the base 802.16-2004 standard or the 802.16e-2005 addition. In other threads, folks have pointed out that Rogers states on a web page that their subscriber units cannot switch towers without a cold restart, so 802.16-2004 seems likely. I haven't found confirmation of that though.
On the other hand, it appears that Rogers is using Motorola subscriber units, and Motorola indicates in their product literature that transparent hand-off between base stations is supported even at "vehicular speed". Does that mean the subscriber units are 802.16e-2005, but Rogers has done something in their network configuration to break the roaming capability? And if Rogers calls their network "pre-WiMAX", are they really using Expedience and planning a later transition to WiMAX?
Well, I'm not terribly WiMAX knowledgable myself, but I'd expect an N810W would work on 802.16-2004; you'd just have to manually reconnect when it should hand-off. So it'd possibly still work well walking around.
Of course, knowing Nokia, that "manually reconnect" bit won't be easy; some scripting around things would likely be necessary.
I think ultimately WiMAX will just become another "Carrier protocol" which will require $$ to enjoy, just like a cell phone service. And I doubt it will be easy to get in Canada anyway, at least not anytime soon.
Ladies and gentlemen at this time we have time for two additional questions. Your first one John Henderson. Please go ahead… from Scotia Capital.
John Henderson - Scotia Capital
Yes, thank you, and congrats on some great numbers. The question is around sort of Inukshuk and wireless data. And I just wanted to get a sense of where Inukshuk revenues are going, do they show up in your data revenue line at all? Do they impact postpaid ARPU? And then also just an outlook on, I guess capital spending for Inukshuk for 802.16e and when we might expect that to get started?
Robert W. Bruce - President, Rogers Wireless
Yes, it's Rob Bruce. The numbers do show up in the revenue. I would say with respect to Inukshuk, it's still early days. We continue to take up a modest approach in terms of how we roll out Inukshuk and the guidance that we've provided in the past in terms of capital is, we're still at it.
Edward Rogers - Senior Vice President, Communications Group
It's Ed Here. This is really turning out to be better than we ever forecast. You may have read recently that Sprint and Craig McCaw's company have done a deal in the United States that remarkably tracks the deal that ourselves and Bell have done. We will be converting it to WiMAX over the next couple of years. And it is now a stationary service, you can't use it in a moving vehicle or anything. And that will happen in the next couple of years. So it’s a… plus I've always said it was a investment in the future with '08, '09, '10 as the start of the maturity years. And I think we made a fabulous decision to get into it. Our board was a little nervous, as you can imagine, but the Rogers boards have always been a little nervous when I was proposing things over the years.
John Henderson - Scotia Capital
Thanks very much. That’s great.
So what I can gather from this transcript is that they've been spending money on upgrading the network and bringing it to the full "Wimax" standard 802.16e which will allow for roaming. All we need to figure out now is whether or not the existing model will work with the fixed network hardware they have installed. If not, then we might have to wait a year or two before they upgrade the hardware in major urban centers.
So what I can gather from this transcript is that they've been spending money on upgrading the network and bringing it to the full "Wimax" standard...
Ah, so it does sound as though they've been using Expedience. So, until they move from Expedience to WiMAX, the N810 WiMAX Edition has zero chance of connecting.
Thanks for all the discussion. Primus Canada has a WiMAX trial in Hamilton, and one supposedly in Toronto which uses the 802.16e-2005 standard. So, if they are trialing that, then obviously the Inukshuk network is using the 802.16-2004 standard. Otherwise, what would the point of their trial be?
*Sigh* - I have had little luck getting information on Primus' Toronto trial - they do not seem to know about it, although it has been in the press for a while now.
