WiMAX Open Retail Initiative

What is Open Retail Certification Initiative?

The WiMAX Forum Open Retail Certification Initiative defines a set of processes, features and testing cases that ensures end user devices can be sold to consumers via any retail store, and allows end users to activate the services without any help from service providers. The Open Retail Certification initiative is designed to test WiMAX devices in an end-to-end network IOT environment with common test requirements accepted by WiMAX operators around the globe.

Open Retail Certification Value Proposition?

The WiMAX Forum Open Retail Certification Initiative's goal is to create a more balanced device ecosystem. Open Retail Certification enables the following benefits:

For Customers

• Buy devices through retail stores in the same way they purchase other consumer electronics such as computers.
• Ability to scan and discover all available Service Providers in a market; and freedom to choose an operator's network via self activation based on a desired tariff plan.
• "Pay as you go" roaming model for WiMAX access outside of the home service area.
• More choices of devices and services.
• Competitive device pricing enabled by economies of scale.

For Operators

• Reduce in-house IOT costs.
• Shorten time to market for new products.
• Allow the market to introduce innovative CE devices.
• Choice for operators to potentially reduce or eliminate device subsidies if they desire.
• Enhanced retail distribution through innovative lower cost products.
• Create a global SKU to enable global roaming revenue.

For Retailers

• Help lower return rates.
• Help retailers reduce product testing costs.
• Shorten time to market for new products.

For Device Manufactures

• Certify once, and sell the same product to everyone.
• Increase points of presence, more sales channel, and more revenue opportunity.
• To have interoperability and global SKU.
• Reduce IOT cost and time to market.
• Opportunity to establish or grow retail brand amongst consumers.
• Ability to think "out of box" for innovative new WiMAX enabled consumer electronic products.
• Reduce IOT cost and time to market.
• More sales channel, more revenue opportunity.
• Opportunity to establish or grow retail brand amongst consumers.

What are the differences between the current WiMAX Forum Certification and WiMAX Open Retail Certification?

As shown on Figure 2, the current WiMAX Forum Certification focuses on air interface conformance testing. Open Retail Certification testing adds three layers of testing on top of the current WiMAX Forum Certification program. These newly added tests are focus on:

• Network entry, detection, selection and security
• Over-the-air activation and provisioning
• Certification Version Signaling (CVS) related testing

Figure 2

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