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WiMAX
While Wi-Fi is a relatively inexpensive proposition, it is not the answer in the long run for the future of wireless connectivity. Due to its limited nature, it very quickly becomes tiresome for a wireless provider to Wi-Fi an entire city after all you have invest a lot in infrastructure for making sure there is an even signal everywhere.This is where WiMAX steps in.
The best way to understand the difference between the two would be to imagine Wi-Fi to be your cordless landline phone and WiMAX as your mobile. While both provide wireless communication, a cordless has limited range and scope. Take it outside your house and the signal is dead. A mobile on the other hand has no such restrictions. It can be taken anywhere within a city and it can even seamlessly roam onto another network when you are out of the city thereby providing you uninterrupted coverage. Now take this same e.g. in the case of internet connectivity.Would it not be wonderful if you had broadband speeds on your laptop with automatic roaming and seamless connectivity?
This is why WiMAX has such importance. WiMAX unlike Wi-Fi is a technology designed to deliver Internet and LAN connectivity over a large area. Its original name was "WirelessMAN" or wireless metropolitan area network. In terms of speeds of speed and coverage it has a wireless range of 50 kilometers and can provides a shared data rate of up to 70Mbps. With its immensely wider coverage area and more consistent speeds it holds in its expansive grasp the future of wireless connectivity. It already has the support from some of the biggest names in the business such as Motorola and Intel. Intel the world’s largest chipset maker is one of the chief promoters of WiMAX so it won’t be too long before we begin to see a new platform from them that have WiMAX embedded.
Currently the WiMAX standard is being managed by the WiMAX forum. This body will ensure that there is interoperability between products that will utilize this technology. For this it has put together a rigorous testing system. Any product that passes the test will be allowed to use the "WiMAX Forum Certified" designation. They will be able to display this mark on their products and market it accordingly.
WiMAX test projects are already underway in several parts of the world. Closer home, WiMAX has attracted the interest of not only the private telecommunications industry but the government as well. There have been plans underway since 2004, to use WiMAX to deliver Internet connectivity in rural areas. Some studies indicate that by 2012, India will not only have full-fledged countrywide WiMAX networks but there will be nearly 20 million subscribers who will be connected to the internet using WiMAX.
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