Achieving Wireless Broadband with WiMax

W hen users want broadband Internet service today, they’re generally restricted to a T1, DSL, or cable-modem-based connection. However, these wireline infrastructures can be considerably more expensive and time consuming to deploy than a wireless one. In addition, rural areas and developing countries frequently lack optical fiber or copper-wire infrastructures for broadband services, and providers are unwilling to install the necessary equipment for regions with little profit potential. Many residents thus must do without broadband service. Wireless approaches could address this problem. Therefore, proponents are advocating WiMax (worldwide interoperability for microwave access), a technology based on an evolving standard for point-to-multipoint wireless networking. Carriers can use WiMax to provide wireless Internet service via transceivers to users’ antennas. Craig Mathias, principal analyst for the FarPoint Group, a technology and market analysis firm, said WiMax is the commercialization of the maturing IEEE 802.16 standard, which specifies the radio-frequency technology for wireless metropolitan area networks. In addition to IEEE 802.16, WiMax addresses the European Telecommunications Standards Institute’s (ETSI) similar high-performance radio metropolitan area network (HiperMAN) broadband standard, explained Dean Chang, director of product management for Aperto Networks, a vendor of broadband wireless access systems, and also a board member of the WiMax Forum. The forum is a wireless industry consortium supporting WiMax technology and promoting its commercial use. The “Promoting the Technology: The WiMax Forum” sidebar provides additional information about the consortium.