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Table Of Contents
Introduction
When accessing the Internet today we have about three common options available to us:
• Broadband access – In your home you will probably find either a cable modem or DSL connection or at work you could possible find a T1 or T2 line.
• WiFi access - In your home, you may have set up a WiFi router that lets you surf the Web while you lounge with your laptop. On the road, you can find WiFi hotspots in restaurants, hotels, coffee shops and libraries.
• Dial-up access - If you are still using dial-up, chances are that either broadband access is not available, or you think that broadband access is too expensive.
The main problems with broadband access are that it is pretty expensive and it doesn't reach all areas and a major problem with WiFi access is that hot spots are very small, sometimes hard to find therefore coverage is sparse.
What if there were a new technology that solved all of these problems? This new technology would provide:
• The high speed of broadband service
• Wireless rather than wired access, so it would be a lot less expensive than cable or DSL and much easier to extend to suburban and rural areas
• Broad coverage like the mobile phone network instead of small WiFi hotspots
This system is actually coming into being right now, and it is called WiMAX. WiMAX is short for Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access, and it also goes by the IEEE name 802.16.
WiMAX has the potential to do to...