Chapter 6 WiMAX
WiMAX Device Configuration User’s Guide
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WiMAX technology uses radio signals (around 2 to 10 GHz) to connect subscriber stations and
mobile stations to local base stations. Numerous subscriber stations and mobile stations connect to
the network through a single base station (BS), as in the following figure.
Figure 23 WiMAX: Multiple Mobile Stations
A base station’s coverage area can extend over many hundreds of meters, even under poor
conditions. A base station provides network access to subscriber stations and mobile stations, and
communicates with other base stations.
The radio frequency and bandwidth of the link between the WiMAX Device and the base station are
controlled by the base station. The WiMAX Device follows the base station’s configuration.
Authentication
When authenticating a user, the base station uses a third-party RADIUS or Diameter server known
as an AAA (Authentication, Authorization and Accounting) server to authenticate the mobile or
subscriber stations.
The following figure shows a base station using an AAA server to authenticate mobile station MS,
allowing it to access the Internet.
Figure 24 Using an AAA Server
In this figure, the dashed arrow shows the PKM (Privacy Key Management) secured connection
between the mobile station and the base station, and the solid arrow shows the EAP secured
connection between the mobile station, the base station and the AAA server. See the WiMAX
security appendix for more details.
