When WiMAX broadband technology arrives in Indiana, you can thank researchers at Ball State’s Office of Wireless Research and Mapping (OWRM).

The office recently completed groundbreaking research that will guide the development of WiMAX to rural and underserved areas in the Midwest and throughout the United States. This emerging technology enables the delivery of wireless broadband services anytime and anywhere. For example, with a WiMAX-enabled laptop, you could connect to the Internet just like you do with your cell phone service.

“As one of the few research entities testing WiMAX in the United States, we’ve been able to examine the performance of the WiMAX platform during a typical Midwest deployment,” says Bizhan Nasseh, assistant vice president for information technology and director of OWRM. “Our research found that WiMAX equipment is much better at obtaining a consistent and usable signal from obstructed and non-line-of-sight locations than more traditional point-to-multipoint technology.”

Having the ability to test and deploy this type of leading-edge technology gives Ball State the data needed to accurately predict and map signal coverage of rural areas and establishes the university as a formative voice in WiMAX research. Already, industry partners such as Digital Bridge Communications and Alvarion are jumping at the chance to work with Ball State.

OWRM got its start from the Digital Middletown project, which tested the value and impact of high-bandwidth pre-WiMAX wireless technology in a community setting. Another result of the project was spin-off company Afterimage GIS, which specializes in geospatial information services (GIS), radio frequency modeling design, and wireless market analysis.

Together, OWRM, Afterimage GIS, and faculty and students from the Department of Geography and Center for Information and Communication Sciences are continuing to pursue research on WiMAX technology.

“The data collected will not just impact the wireless world,” says Nasseh. “It will have a significant educational and economic impact as well.”