Officially known as IEEE 802.16, WiMax could be the broadband story of 2004, thanks to backing from industry heavyweights like Intel, Nokia and Alcatel. Analysts expect it to account for anywhere from 10 percent to 50 percent of the wireless market within ten years -- and products haven't even shipped yet.
While Wi-Fi hot spots provide wireless Internet access over distances of up to 100 feet, Wi-Max networks cover distances up to 30 miles. This means it has the potential to provide broadband access in rural areas that are too far from exchanges to provide wired or Wi-Fi access.
Distances up to 30 miles
"The biggest potential market for WiMax is residential users and small businesses," says Richard Dineen, a research director with Ovum. "In Europe, there are plenty of areas where people live too far from an exchange to get broadband, or the terrain is too hilly to lay cables. In that situation, WiMax does something that DSL can't."
WiMax is also likely to be used in places like campus sites, says Jeff Orr, product marketing manager at wireless hardware vendor Proxim. "There could be a company's headquarters, its manufacturing plant and a few remote locations all within close proximity to one another," he says. "To use a wired fibre-optic solution to network all of these buildings together would be an extremely expensive proposition. WiMax could offer a better total cost of ownership than a wired solution because recurring monthly costs of multiple T-1 and E-1s could be avoided and would come at a much lower cost than trenching."
Talkback
I just want to point out that this article is FACTUALLY INACCURATE and totally misleading.
Read the comment at this link, by the chair of the Technical Working Group for WiMax (who works at wi-lan). There is no certified WiMax equipment available from anyone, so I don't see how Alvarion can be the sales leader:)
http://www.wi-lan.com/news/wirelessworld.htm
Unfortunately ZDNet doesn't seem to have done a proper job of fact checking in this article.
This article runs uder the mis apprehension that wifi or 802.11 can only run on short ranges.
This is patently not the case.
Traditionally, in wireless communication systems, including television, radio, mobile phone etc. the transmission power has been set so that the service will work even if the antennas are relatively ineffectual. Likewise the 802.11 standard similarly assumed a low effectiveness for the antennas.
As a result of the power limitations of 802.11 a number of antenna designers have started to think effectiveness instead of transmitter power.
For instance we at A-Antenna Ltd have an omni-directional antenna designed for base station use which has been operating a link in excess of 10km for over 2 years.
If you would like further details of this antenna and similar client adaptors with seriously enhanced range then please call on 07736 258 580.
This article runs uder the mis apprehension that wifi or 802.11 can only run on short ranges.
This is patently not the case.
Traditionally, in wireless communication systems, including television, radio, mobile phone etc. the transmission power has been set so that the service will work even if the antennas are relatively ineffectual. Likewise the 802.11 standard similarly assumed a low effectiveness for the antennas.
As a result of the power limitations of 802.11 a number of antenna designers have started to think effectiveness instead of transmitter power.
For instance we at A-Antenna Ltd have an omni-directional antenna designed for base station use which has been operating a link in excess of 10km for over 2 years.
If you would like further details of this antenna and similar client adaptors with seriously enhanced range then please call on 07736 258 580.
Do you think WiMax will be a better consumer choice than Wild Blue satellite broadband?
Whitch one will grab the rural market first.