- Rural areas can be support WiMax in the 5GHz band
- Urban areas require licensed spectrum in the 3GHz band, much of which is owned by Sprint-Nextel (from its merger)
- Verizon's Seidenberg considers it a niche technology due to spotty availability and improvements in 3G technologies
- Others consider it a technology that could disrupt the established broadband duopoly in the US
05 October 2005
BW on WiMax as a broadband alternative
BusinessWeek has an article about the disruptive potential of WiMax. Some observations that Steve Rosenbush makes are:
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WiMAX technology allows an operator to build a wireless network over a wide area, like a city or rural county, that will allow high-speed connections to the Internet. Initially, the service will work just like DSL or cable modem. Users would connect their computers to a fixed device in their homes or offices to hop onto the Internet.
While WiMAX promises connection speeds of 70Mbps, as with most wireless technologies, that bandwidth would be shared among users. Individual customers are likely to receive several Mbps or less.
The future of WiMAX is really as a mobile service that would allow users to access the Internet with their laptops or PDAs anywhere in a city that WiMAX is available. Users could access the Internet from their homes or offices as well as a restaurant, golf course, or park. This is the real holy grail for broadband wireless access, combining Wi-Fi speeds and prices with cellular-type coverage.
But the standard for Mobile WiMAX (802.16e) isn't set yet, meaning it will be several years before it's complete, after which vendors must start making equipment and operators will need to build the networks.
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