Stephen Nold

What happened to the promise of WiMax?
November 21, 2007

Seven years ago, David Rogers, communications manager with Intel, told a small group of associates that the advances for WiFi technology didn’t really matter – WiMax would replace it all. Today, there are still very few WiMax networks and no noticeable efforts to change the market. WiMax stands for Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access which is a communications technology aimed at providing wireless data over long distances. It allows a user to browse the internet without physically connecting to a router, hub or switch. 

Today, cellular companies are still evaluating WiMAX as a means of increasing bandwidth for a variety of data-intensive applications. If the promise holds true, WiMax is more efficient for Internet access than cellular networks, which were designed primarily for voice communications.

There could be a great deal of synergy between WiMax and the 802.11 Wi-Fi standard, since WiMax can extend the coverage area provided by Wi-Fi.   Wi-Fi and WiMax can really allow enterprises to create an end-to-end wireless project -- WiMax for a large campus areas and Wi-Fi at a smaller local scale. Looking at WiMax in terms of the show floor, allows convention centers and venues to bypass wired fibre-optic solutions which often serve as the network backbone at an extremely expensive proposition.

WiMax would aid in delivery internet connectivity and keep prices down by delivering better total cost of ownership (TCO) than a wired solution as the equipment and infrastructure outlay of T-1 and E-1s could be avoided completely. 

Another attractive benefit to the technology is that it would offer facilities network ownership, which would allow them, in turn, to take "the proactive approach" in their technology.  Some experts note that WiMax would allow for the "holy grail" of wireless technology, meaning that it has capacity for Internet access, voice over IP and video.
 

So where is the promise of WiMax today? It seems to still be caught up in the haggling of big technology stakeholders who have not defined a clear approach for launching this tool on a national market.  But don’t be surprised if it builds momentum in 2008.

Posted by Stephen Nold on November 21, 2007 | Comments (0)