ZyXEL Communications max208m User Manual

Chapter 6 WiMAX

WiMAX Device Configuration User’s Guide

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. 

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. 

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.

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.