The issue of the need to introduce WiMAX - the protocol of broadband radio communication (Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access) in the Emirates has already been resolved positively: officials from the telecommunications sector are actively developing regulations for its use.
A new regulation on the use of wireless networks, including Wi-Fi and WiMAX, is planned to be introduced by the end of this year. It will set up radio frequencies allocated for use by WiMAX by government agencies, cellular networks and Wi-Fi providers.
"We have already given permission for the use of WiMAX to both telecommunications companies in the Emirates: etisalat and du," Mohammed Al Ghanem, Director General of the UAE's Telecommunications Sector Management Department, told the Xpress newspaper.
The use of WiMAX technology will expand the range of wireless connectivity from 30 meters (Wi-Fi) to 70 km. Etisalat has already concluded an agreement with Samsung, a South Korean company, to supply equipment for WiMAX networks and create real “smart areas” where all objects will be connected into a single network.
WiMAX technology is used to provide communications to remote or hard-to-reach areas in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kenya, India, China, Canada and the United States.
