Okay, so what's up with WiMax?
posted February 23rd 2005 2:03PM
Don't get us wrong, we're all about it, but we'd be lying if we called WiMax's (802.16 for all you IEEE-nerds) performance to date in the market-adoption sense anthing but an impossibly slow, lumbering disappointment. It's become notorious for missing dates, pumping out some seriously distracting hype, and now, apparently their previously scheduled first round of official product testing and certification will be delayed by another half year—that means the first generation WiMax products won't be around until late 2005; knowing WiMax, we'll guesstimate Spring 2006, at least. What it all means for the long-distance high-speed wireless standard is that even with the all the WiMax-Forum's serious efforts to rally people behind their technology, if they can't deliver in a timely manner they're going to find themselves properly ignored. And despite our better judgement as for its greater intended purpose, it could actually wind up finding its niche as a backhaul medium like many are predicting, which could possibly kill WiMax; because of the way Intel is positioning the technology, if it doesn't get picked up by a broad consumer base we can totally see it getting discarded to the heap of failed standards of yore, backhaul or not. Not to mention facing off against ever broadening and cheapening 2.5 and 3G data networks in America, and HSDPA should be a reminder that every second counts in next-gen wireless, and WiMax is wasting precious time.
Wow. What kind of title is that? What's UP with WiMax? I'll tell you what's up.. there's just something wrong with that 'i' in the WiMax logo.
My county was supposed to become a prototype site for a county-wide WiMax network. As you can see, the project hasn't met since last June, and there's nothing on the upcoming calendar.
http://www.wirelesshoustoncounty.org/default.aspx
Even though I don't know a whole lot about the path WiMax was supposed to take in regards to providing service to a home, or even a laptop... I have WiMax right now. And it requires line-of-sight to my provider's PoP, a 12"-square thick antenna, and a routing unit the size of a hefty cable modem. 3Mbps costs me $975/month. Frankly, no wonder it's taking forever: while I like the service, it serves my entire building and users fantastically, it's a replacement for a T1 or t# line, NOT a DSL line or anything else. At least, that's my view...
WiMax is another dream that will be outdated before it's implemented. Nobody is going to be paying that kind of money for that limited of service. It sucks up too much of the 'Cellular' bandwidth to make cost effective. At best it will be for the high end business traveler (not the moderate business traveler like myself who uses WiFi in most Airports around the world.)
The issue is it's over CELLULAR networks and you're using about the same bandwidth as ~100 GSM/CDMA/CDMA2K/3GPP (whatever standard your using today) voice channels.
WiFi on the other had is using some existing wired broadband infrastructure (T1, DSL, DOCSIS Cable Modem, ..) and just uses a WiFi router to broadcast it locally (if not intellegently several of my neighbors are apparently bonehead and never heard of WEP and not broadcasting your Network ID)
Many College Campuses already provide WiFi across the campuses. Works provide WiFi inside them. Hotels Provide WiFi. Borders/Starbuck/Kinkos/... provides WiFi. Stupid Neighbors provide WiFi if you want to trust them as an ISP :D. Soon Airlines will be providing WiFi. Hell even truck stops are providing WiFi.
WiMAX will never even reach the status of WiFi in deployment (not to say WiFi an all encomposing wireless solution - it isn't) It's because the infrastructure cost is too high to drive mass market customer demands and only the very wealthy will be able to afford it's cost. It will go the way of Satellite Phones which have been tossed in the trash while the satelites fall from orbit because the company could not even afford to keep them up in the air.
We in Africa have been waiting anxiously since last year for the real Wimax, low cost enough CPE for mass deployment not pre-wimax.
We need this ASAP to leap frog ahead since we have little or no ADSL just Satellite Internet that we are paying $3500 for Equipment and $500 to $1000 for monthly access
All right. I have WiMax here in Malaysia. The transmitting station is near the Petronas Twin Towers (tallest buildings in the world before Taipei 101), and I'm 5 km away.
I signed up for 512kbps, at USD26.31/month, plus another 13 bucks/month for free, unlimited outgoing calls to any national landline phone.
1Mbps is USD39/month.
Works fantastic, especially for those living in high-rise apartments.
hi there, some brief comments..
we (my company) are working very closely with intel on wimax in the uk and are using it commercially b2b. intel has always had mid 2006 in mind with regards to consumer products. the cost is curently prohibitive.
1. it will be on chip a la centrino
2. it will be quicker than 3g (upto 16Gb/s)
3. it will be longer range than 3g (upto 70 miles)
4. the number of services possible is higher (think TV, telecomms..)
5. security better
6. more simultaneous conections
7. it is non-line of site
8. it will rock
be patient. the only thing that might ruin it is bad marketing and hype that is *far* too early.
imagine if we all complained about not having wifi in '93??
I think it`s one of Intel`s stupid plan. They always wait last second to release new product, i hope someone will make some new similar product and beat them in meantime when they waiting something to release...
Remember expensive Celeron CPU on 300 mhz without cache,what a stupid idea. But good for bussines.. Maybe our children will have good long range wirelles one day!! :-(
ET: You're referring to Jaring My015 right? That isn't running on Wimax... it's running on SOMA which is CDMA or TDMA based.
I stay in India and I have an ISP company in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India. I am waiting from 3 weeks but no response from the companies selling WiMax products & also people at Intel, they say you should contact other companies may be they would reply, is this good sign for their marketing if this will be their attitude i am sure they all are going to drown as business doers would not trust them for future plannings and thus a trash visit for WiMax technology & the WiMax product providing companies & the company which developed this tech. I think we will be telling GOOD BYE WiMax before it reaches people.