WiMAX Forum Partners with Global TD-LTE Initiative

The WiMAX Forum has entered into a strategic partnership with the Global TD-LTE Initiative (GTI) meant to serve as the foundation to guaranteeing that WiMAX Advanced is fully compatible with TD-LTE. This should in turn ensure that WiMAX operators are able to share economy of scale with TD-LTE, while providing service with either Broadband Wireless Access (BWA) or International Mobile Telecom (IMT)-Advanced network implementations.

For this, the WiMAX Forum has proposed a co-labelling process of “WiMAX Advanced” and TD-LTE ecosystem products. It will also sponsor a WiMAX Advanced/TD-LTE platform to be implemented by the Taiwan Consortium of Mobile Broadband with the goal of facilitating ecosystem interoperability in August 2014.

With more than a decade of success under its belt, as well as the support of several international companies, the WiMAX Forum is a global body that promotes the compatibility and interoperability of broadband wireless products. The Global TD-LTE Initiative, meanwhile, is a global platform founded to drive co-operation among global broadband operators in the promotion of LTE-TDD as a global telecom standard.

"We are pleased to formalize our partnership with GTI," said Dr. Mohammad Shakouri, chairman of the WiMAX Forum, in a statement. "Through this collaboration, we'll be able to support several key goals of our combined memberships. Since its inception, the WiMAX Forum has been focused on supporting the global adoption of 4G mobile broadband. GTI shares the same vision to forge new opportunities, for operators and vendors alike, as technologies converge."

GTI chairman Craig Ehrlich expressed similar sentiments about the partnership, stating that he is happy to bring the WiMAX Forum in line with the GTI’s goals. He added that many of the GTI’s operator members are either running WiMAX currently or will be upgrading to WiMAX Advanced networks, which is “fully compatible with LTE-TDD within their coverage areas.”