Standards Convergence in Mobile Multimedia Broadcasting

Why do we need to go into various standards when we look at mobile multimedia or broadcasting using WiMAX networks? After all, are the WiMAX networks not going to be wireless extensions of other networks? This is a common question and quite natural. There are, of course, very good reasons. First of all, it is not completely true that WiMAX will be only an extension of existing networks. The development in mobile WiMAX network architectures, as well as the trend in deployments of applications, indicates that a very major move is underway. This will ultimately lead to open architecture networks including migration to NGN, and WiMAX networks are a very important part of this move. Secondly, we are now moving toward integrating multiple applications and services, which have developed separately in their own environments of broadcasting, communications, and internet, to work in the same mobile device. Hence standards from many different domains, which existed virtually independently in their specific areas, now need to converge by developing extensions to each standard as it moves into a converged environment.