WiMax

[lil_freak]

I usually don’t post things about Wireless Technology, but after my meeting at work today I thought I should.

For those of you that have not heard of WiMax, it is suppose to be a new wireless networking technology that will cover areas as far as 30 miles from a tower at speeds faster than DSL or cable modems.

From what we went over in my meeting today, WiMax initially will exist alongside WiFi but those involved with WiMax hope it will oust the WiFi community. WiFi and WiMax share some common technical characteristics; however WiFi coverage won’t be as great as that of WiMax.

As of right now Atmel Corp. and Wavesat with Intel have all signed an agreement. An effort to speed WiMax products to market are in the works now.

More Information can be attained at the: WiMax Forums

[renderman]

It's a promising technology, which makes me believe that someone (read regulators or carriers) will step in and screw it up somehow

[converge]

802.16 has been bumping around for at least a good 6 months to a year now.. iirc some guys from http://www.personaltelco.net had already set up a node for public use... just a matter of time before price dictates a new market flood

[allentrace]

What are they saying for the initial costs? And is it going to be made available to the public or private sectors first?

[lil_freak]

802.16 has been bumping around for at least a good 6 months to a year now.. iirc some guys from http://www.personaltelco.net had already set up a node for public use... just a matter of time before price dictates a new market flood

Yes, 802.16 has been out there for awhile, but like you said it's "just a matter of time before price dictates a new market flood" and Intel wants that market.

What are they saying for the initial costs? And is it going to be made available to the public or private sectors first?

We didn't talk about market costs. I think they are wating till all the new financials scores/reports come out berfore they make up their minds.

As for its availability it is supose to hit both the public and private sectors at once, but when does anything happen like its suppose to.

Intel is pushing for a November deadline, but I'm not sure if it will be met.

[seramai]

Re: WiMax

Hello,

I am a GA for a technology professor and he would like me to write on the future of Wimax, other than the links here, where else should I go and what should I keep in mind.

Thank you.

[noid]

Re: WiMax

I hear Google has lots of answers.

[barry99705]

Re: WiMax

I hear Google has lots of answers.

That guy freaking knows everything.

[xor]

Re: WiMax

The Pres has it in his area, perhaps he can share some first or second hand user experience. Sorry didn't mean to out you Pres :-). Sprints XOHM service is supposedly online in Baltimore.

No expert here but from what I've read; WIMAX is a great technology to put in place where there is no technology. Places where you have competition are less likely to get it. It's much cheaper to put up a redundant set of towers then run broadband lines and build CO's. Emerging economies, economies where the wired infrastructure is too either old or too expensive to upgrade; are good candidates for WIMAX.

You of course have latency issues when dealing with distance. The pro side claims it is a transformative technology, voice, data, video. It's slow adaptation in the US is because of the pseudo-monopolies we currently have.

There are other portions of the the spectrum that are being opened up to we the people/unlicensed operation. 700MHz, 900MHz, 2.4GHz, 3.xGHz, and +5Ghz each will bring new benefits and challenges.

The router station I just picked up will except a variety of radios. So you could have a single device capable of 700MHz, 900Mhz and Wi-Fi.

xor

[g3k_]

Re: WiMax

Be happy that the DTV transition didn't get pushed back... had it been pushed back, the 802.16 standard is looking at the 700mhz range for use.

Personally, I'd love to get my hands some WiMax equipment for work. I work in law enforcement and we utilize aircards through a VPN to get back to our systems.... We're kind of rural, so the wireless reception for the local towers isn't too great out in the boonies and our officers drop their connection often.

[streaker69]

Re: WiMax

Be happy that the DTV transition didn't get pushed back... had it been pushed back, the 802.16 standard is looking at the 700mhz range for use.

Personally, I'd love to get my hands some WiMax equipment for work. I work in law enforcement and we utilize aircards through a VPN to get back to our systems.... We're kind of rural, so the wireless reception for the local towers isn't too great out in the boonies and our officers drop their connection often.

I did some similar work for local PD's here and we found that the problem with their aircards was using the cheesey little antenna that was attached to them.

We ended up swapping out the cards with ones that had an external antenna jack and then installing a puck like antenna on the trunk of the car. It worked much better after that.

[g3k_]

Re: WiMax

I did some similar work for local PD's here and we found that the problem with their aircards was using the cheesey little antenna that was attached to them.

We ended up swapping out the cards with ones that had an external antenna jack and then installing a puck like antenna on the trunk of the car. It worked much better after that.

I suggested that, but the command staff didn't want to pay for it. We're kind of the red-headed stepchild of county government ;/ C'est la vie

WiMax should be sexy though. I did similar work with 900mhz radios at a wireless ISP a few years ago, but it was just point to point connections. Just imagine sending wireless for 54 miles.....

[Thorn]

Re: WiMax

I suggested that, but the command staff didn't want to pay for it. We're kind of the red-headed stepchild of county government ;/ C'est la vie

Cops are ALWAYS treated that way by local governments.

[xor]

Re: WiMax

Cops are ALWAYS treated that way by local governments.

Yeah didn't David Spade donate like $100K to the Arizona police force to buy guns. Sadly that's a little too small government.

xor

[Deviant Ollam]

Re: WiMax

Yeah didn't David Spade donate like $100K to the Arizona police force to buy guns. Sadly that's a little too small government.

xor

or, on the contrary it could be just the right size. instead of that, they could allow police to purchase any weapons they wish for their duty gun and make it a total tax write-off. couple that with shall-issue CCW valid anywhere for the citizenry and you have a pretty damn effective.

(NOTE... seems like AZ went from no CCW to "shall issue" in 1994 or something. at least they're partway there)

heh, we seem to be straying from the topic quite a bit, however. my only experience with WiMax was in Honolulu where (i believe) a lot of the public hotspots (which are friggin' everywhere) connect to their backend. I could be wrong, however.

I was told something by many of the locals that i found interesting, btw... So many people have open APs there because they (a) don't care much about or understand much about security in general and (b) because bandwidth is so bloody cheap. With all the connectivity to the island for Navy and DoD purposes, it (allegedly) makes high speed internet so ubiquitous as to be treated like water from a faucet.