WiMax Broadband – the high speed mobile internet access technology

WiMax is a state of the art wireless broadband technology facilitates high speed mobile internet access to the portable devices like laptops, Netbooks, Smart-phones, PDAs etc.  WiMax is not WiFi, it will fill in between hotspots and extend the Internet access on the go. In other words it is a combination of WiFi and cell phone technology.

WiMax Broadband is termed as the fourth generation (4G) wireless technology, which is an effective and economical alternative of the costly DSL broadband system. The present WiMax broadband system provides upto 40Mbps and with IEEE 802.16m update it can skyrocket up to an unbelievable speed of 1Gbps .   As per the WiMax forum which was established on Jun 2001 “Wimax is a standard –based technology enabling the delivery of last mile wireless broadband access as an alternative to cable and DSL”

WiMax  wireless broadband system can be an effective replacement of the GSM and CDMA cell phone technologies. Other than the high speed Internet access, WiMax system can deliver reliable cum  fast VoIP(Voice over internet protocol) and IPTV services to the customers.

WiMax connectiviy

WiMax broadband connectivity is established between the base stations and Customer Premises Equipment (CPE) . The CPE s or Subscriber Units (SU) are special Wimax Modems / gateways . There are several devices available in the market to facilitate WiMax connectivity. Subscribers have to install these devices at their end to establish connection. Recent developments include the incorporation of WiMax technology in the portable devices such as Cell phones, PDAs and other portable gaming devices.

WiMax penetration

WiMax broadband technology is not yet broadened worldwide. In Russia ,Yota has been providing exceptional WiMax broadband service and millions of Yota subscribers enjoying the benefits of this next generation technology. This technology is very much helpful for the fast growing countries like India where rural internet penetration is still a challenge.

The greatest challenge for WiMax is the requirement of higher range of frequencies and more base stations for connectivity. Developing countries are still struggling to setup the 2G/3G infrastructure. In India the 3G spectrum allocation for broadband and voice communication is yet to be finalized. In this juncture adoption of WiMax broadband technology (4G) will be a giant leap from EDGE/GPRS/EVDO skipping the much talked 3G. The National Internet Back Born of India-BSNL is offering limited WiMax connectivity across selected places but unfortunately not economical.