WiMAX Forum® Hosts Rural Operator Workshop

PORTLAND, Ore., March 24, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- The WiMAX Forum will host its third operator-focused summit on April 26 – 27, 2011 at the Northern Quest Resort and Casino in Spokane, Washington, USA. The Rural Operator Summit will be an interactive workshop for new WiMAX operators to gain a better understanding of the necessary steps involved in launching a WiMAX network, including performing a new site survey, analyzing, planning and provisioning a network, deploying and maintaining a network and learning about best practices required for ensuring a successful and profitable network deployment.

"Providing operators with the tools to successfully launch their WiMAX networks will help deliver on WiMAX's potential to fully address today's broadband needs in the underserviced rural areas of the U.S.," said Ron Resnick, president and chairman of the WiMAX Forum. "The U.S. Department of Agriculture's RUS Fund awarded over $504 million in grants and loans to 40 companies from 22 states for use in the deployment of WiMAX networks. At the WiMAX Forum, we make it a priority to do our part to ensure these deployments run smoothly and that new operators have our full support throughout their network deployments and beyond."

The WiMAX Forum has invited more than 150 WiMAX service providers and vendors to help share key lessons learned from successful greenfield WiMAX deployments. The program will include sessions from deployment to marketing services, including:

• Operator Roundtable: Operational Considerations for Greenfield WiMAX Networks
• Government Perspectives on the Need for Rural Broadband Networks
• Leveraging Public Funds to Build a Rural Broadband Network
• Backhaul Considerations
• Device and CPE Considerations
• Building a Greenfield WiMAX Network - Timing and Planning Considerations
• Roaming and The US Spectrum Landscape
• OSS and AAA Considerations for WiMAX Network Deployments
• Review of Key Success Areas After Deploying a WiMAX Network
• Money Matters – How to raise money, manage it well and develop a successful business for Cash Flow or Exit

This event is available at no cost to all WiMAX operators. Membership in the WiMAX Forum is not a requirement for operators to attend. Immediately following the close of the Rural Operator Summit, the WiMAX Forum will offer a day of WiMAX certified training courses hosted by CelPlan® Technologies. To register for these fee-based courses, please go to http://www.celplan.com/.

To register for the WiMAX Forum Rural Operator Summit, please visit https://www.eiseverywhere.com/ereg/index.php?eventid=21849&.

The WiMAX Forum estimates that for every dollar spent on a new network, a WiMAX operator can cover 10 to 20 times the number of homes and businesses with WiMAX service than can be covered with wireline options. These savings are passed along to the customer and, more importantly, mean more customers will have access to broadband services. Rural America is home to about 17 percent (50 million) of the nation's people and accounts for 75 percent of the nation's land, according to the United States Department of Agriculture. About 12 percent of U.S. households have no access to broadband service, placing the U.S. at 15th in broadband penetration worldwide.

In February, the WiMAX Forum hosted an operator summit for BSNL franchisees in India. The event was filled to capacity, and more than 120 attendees representing BSNL franchisees, international WiMAX service providers, media and WiMAX equipment vendors shared key lessons learned from successful WiMAX deployments. Based on the demand for these events, the WiMAX Forum is planning additional operator summits around the world in 2011.

For more information on WiMAX Forum initiatives, please visit http://www.WiMAXForum.org.

About the WiMAX Forum®

The WiMAX Forum® is an industry-led, not-for-profit organization formed to certify and promote the compatibility and interoperability of broadband wireless products based upon the harmonized IEEE 802.16e/ETSI HiperMAN standard. A WiMAX Forum goal is to accelerate the introduction of these systems into the marketplace. WiMAX Forum Certified products are interoperable and support broadband fixed, nomadic, portable and mobile services. Along these lines, the WiMAX Forum works closely with service providers and regulators to ensure that WiMAX Forum Certified systems meet customer and government requirements. Through the WiMAX Forum Congress Events Series of global trade shows and events, the WiMAX Forum is committed to furthering education, training and collaboration to expand the reach of the WiMAX ecosystem. For more information, visit the trade show link at www.wimaxforum.org.

"WiMAX Forum," the WiMAX Forum logo and the WiMAX Forum Certified logo are registered trademarks of the WiMAX Forum. "WiMAX," "Mobile WiMAX," "Fixed WiMAX," "WiMAX Certified," and "WiMAX Forum Certified" are trademarks of the WiMAX Forum. Third-party trademarks contained in this document are the property of their respective owners.

SOURCE WiMAX Forum