A Word to the Wise on WiMax

[Dave Farber <dave () farber net>]

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: [Dewayne-Net] A Word to the Wise on WiMax
Date: Wed, 22 Feb 2006 22:52:34 -0800
From: Dewayne Hendricks <dewayne () warpspeed com>
Reply-To: dewayne () warpspeed com
To: Dewayne-Net Technology List <dewayne-net () warpspeed com>

A Word to the Wise on WiMax

Commentary by Joanna Glasner | Also by this reporter
02:00 AM Feb, 21, 2006
<http://www.wired.com/news/columns/0,70241-0.html?tw=rss.index>

Marty Cooper, who invented the cell phone three decades ago, is
disappointed it's taking so long for the same kind of mobility to
reach the PC.

"Telling someone they have to be at a computer at a fixed location is
actually nutty," says Cooper, who has spent the last decade
convincing fellow engineers that "smart antennas" are the future of
wireless.

In another 10 years, Cooper predicts, high-speed mobile internet
connections will be so commonplace people will take them for granted.
He's convinced that a key technology behind such capability will be
the wireless broadband standard known as WiMax.

Cooper is not alone. Fans of mobile WiMax -- which is designed to
provide broadband access over a radius of up to several miles --
claim the technology will cover exponentially larger areas than
today's Wi-Fi networks and cost less to use than 3G mobile-phone
services. Mobile WiMax's main drawback is a big one: It's not available.

Still, mobile WiMax made a leap from concept to reality in December,
when the Institute of Electronics and Electrical Engineers approved a
standard for 802.16e, which adds mobility to previous standards
designed mainly for fixed services. This week will also be a
momentous one for the fledgling standard, with the WiMax Summit 2006
taking place in Paris.

For investors, it's too early to say whether WiMax will ever enjoy
the widespread adoption forecast by its most ardent backers. But if
you don't mind taking a risk, it's worth getting acquainted with the
major players behind WiMax. Here are a few of the basic W's to consider.
What is it all about?

According to the WiMax Forum, the trade group promoting the wireless
standard, WiMax is a "standards-based technology enabling the
delivery of last-mile wireless broadband access as an alternative to
cable and DSL." It's similar to Wi-Fi, but designed to work over much
vaster areas.

The different types of WiMax include fixed, portable (mobile within a
fixed area) and mobile.

Fixed WiMax, which aims to deliver broadband wirelessly to a specific
location such as a home or office, is the furthest along. Jeff Orr,
marketing director for the WiMax Forum, estimates that more than 150
trials of the technology are currently underway worldwide. While
services are not yet commercially available, Orr says that could
change any day, with the first networking products certified for
carriers about a month ago.

[snip]

Weblog at: <http://weblog.warpspeed.com>


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