Anybody heard or know anything about WiMax?
 

I was doing some idle surfing around this afternoon and heard about this new technology. It was IEEE 802.16 IIRC wireless broadband that could broadcast in like a 50 km shot. Pretty sweet so anybody know anything more about this stuff?

WiMax will be coming soon. There are close to 140 companies pushing for it.

Here is a PDF file called the Complete Guide to WiMax that should answer most of your questions.

Here is a link to the WiMax forum homepage.

Hope this helps.

Sure! What do you want to know? :-)

The links bendsley offered are a great starting point.

WiFi (the 802.11 familiy of standards) and WiMax (the 802.16 standards) shall most likely co-exist. They effectively "target" two seperate requirements.

WiFi will continue to be used for local area wireless networks; ie WLANs.
WiMax will be used to compete with DSL/cable for "last mile" broadband and with GPRS/CDMA/3G for "mobile data access" on laptops etc.

The fact that INTEL have embraced this technology and are working to embed WiMax functionality into their chipsets makes its success much more likely.

There are two "camps" within the 802.16 standards area and they are both jockeying for position. Also, it should be noted that WiMax is no where near being ratified as a standard yet. Expect it sometime in 2006.


Mr Mephisto

I've seen a lot of documentation that we can expect to see WiMax gear in mid to late 2005 that will co-exist with exisiting 802.11x protocols and will be software upgradable to WiMax. Any truth or anything to this that you might have heard Mr. Mephisto?. Thanks

Well, that's just another way of saying that you will see pre-standard 802.16 equipment before the standard is ratified by the IEEE.

So yeah, I wouldn't necessarily discount that possibility. But there is currently a lot of hype around 802.16 and WiMax.

See http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.j...toryID=6480696 for example, and http://www.wi-fiplanet.com/wimax/article.php/3376591 (though this article is a few months old).

The kit will appear in mid to late 2005, but the standard won't be ready. And the WiMax business segment won't be anywhere near the WLAN until at least 2007.

It's a great technology and I'm excited about it, but it is aimed at a different target than wireless LANs. It's the DSL and cable providers I'd be worried about! It will also be very successful in developing countries with limited existing copper/fibre infrastructure.

Mr Mephisto

I say wait till the ratify a standard or you have a chance of getting screwed (remember RAMBUS?)

Well, you could can more or less rely on the fact that the standard will come and that products available next year will be flash-upgradeable once the IEEE and WiMAX forum ratify the standard.

But, I agree with jonjon. When they come out first, the products will not be interoperable and will be expensive.

Patience grasshopper.... patience....


Mr Mephisto

My roommate is very into this technology. He just went to a seminar at Motorola and one of the topics was WiMax. He could probably shed a lot of light on the subject.