Nortel Flips the Channel to 4G

BOSTON—In a booth outfitted to look like a comfy living room, replete with couch and streamed network TV showing on a widescreen IPTV, Nortel on Oct. 10 unveiled what it’s calling the first end-to-end mobile MIMO-powered WiMax setup to deliver 4G mobile broadband content.

That includes Internet everywhere, mobile video, VOIP, streaming media, data applications and mobile electronic commerce.

In Nortel’s demonstration, an IP television service with a live, high-speed WiMax connection was used to view and download broadcast TV via a 4MB stream with an integrated electronic program guide.

Users will simultaneously be able to share instant messages and pictures captured on screen or from other devices.

Nortel also demonstrated click-to-call capability over VOIP using IMS. With IMS, users will be able to access personal files, including address book, calendar or buddy lists, and Web content using any IP-based device, with a single sign-on.

The setup was enabled by a combination of WiMax and MIMO (multiple input, multiple output).

MIMO is a mathematical model for multi-antenna communication systems. The technology has recently created a buzz in wireless communications, given that it can provide a big boost in throughput and range without requiring more bandwidth or overall transmit power expense.

MIMO can be used in conjunction with OFDM (orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing), the basis of a digital modulation scheme that is part of the IEEE 802.16 standard and which will also be part of the IEEE 802.11n High-Throughput standard, which is expected to be finalized in mid-2007.

Read the full story on eWEEK.com: Nortel Flips the Channel to 4G.