4G WiMAX - The Future of Internet

Imagine a world where wireless Internet wasexpensive service plans. Of course, DSL and
literally everywhere. You could work - and play -Cable can't offer the ability to use wireless
anywhere you wanted. You could open up yourInternet anywhere in your city. The hardware
laptop and answer a few urgent emails whilerequired to make use of 4G WiMAX is also often
having your car's oil changed.You could even go toless expensive. Laptops which are already WiMAX
the park and watch an episode of your favoriteenabled will not require additional hardware, and all
TV show while also enjoying a nice spring day.other computers can use a WiMAX USB adapter
In the past these scenarios were pure fantasy.to access the Internet. Purchasing this adapter is
While there are many businesses which offerusually less expensive than purchasing the modem
WiFi, there are also many businesses which doand router which would be required to enable
not. Even when downtown in a city like Sanwireless Internet in your home.
Francisco or Miami you'll have difficulty finding aNote that some residential implementations in rural
WiFi signal which is usable. And even if you do findareas are an exception to this, as the long
a usable signal you have to worry about security.distances involved require that a large direction
Logging into your online bank account over publicdish be mounted outside the home.
WiFi is a great way to have your identity stolen.WiMAX Coverage
However, there is now a way to make theseWiMAX is an exciting new technology. This means
fantasies a reality. A new technology known asthat availability is still rather limited, but there are
4G WiMAX promises to bring WiFi to entire cities,many cities which have WiMAX coverage available.
letting you access wireless Internet fromThe largest provider of WiMAX coverage in the
anywhere.United States is Clear, a company which focuses
What is 4G WiMAX?exclusively on WiMAX Internet. Clear originally
Traditional WiFi does the job it was meant to do.launched in Portland, Oregon and has been
That job, however, only extends to a radius of agradually introducing the service to new markets.
few hundred feet in perfect conditions. It is aCities now covered by Clear include Seattle, Las
standard of wireless connectivity built with theVegas, Houston, Dallas, Atlanta, Chicago,
intention of providing Internet access to a smallPhiladelphia and many others. Clear is constantly
area, not to an entire city. While some smallerlaunching new 4G WiMAX service areas and
cities have successfully implemented wirelesshopes to offer service to every major city in the
Internet access using chains of WiFi routers andcountry within the next few years. Clear offers
range extenders, larger cities need a different4G WiMAX service for as little as $40 per month.
technology.While Clear is the largest player in the United
That is where WiMAX comes in. WiMAX is anStates market, it is far from alone. Regional
acronym for Worldwide Interoperability forWiMAX Internet services are provided by
Microwave Access. It is a standard which allows allnumerous organizations. For example, AT&T
WiMAX enabled devices to speak with each other.Alaska offers a WiMAX network which covers
WiMAX is fundamentally different from WiFiAnchorage and Juneau, and the University of
because it is designed to transmit signals acrossNorthern Michigan has set up a WiMAX network
distances measured in kilometers rather thanwhich covers Marquette, Michigan. These are just
meters. Information is sent to and received fromtwo examples. There are numerous WiMAX
large transmitting devices which are operated byservices across the country and new ones are
a WiMAX service provider instead of routersarriving monthly.
which are owned by individuals or businesses.It isn't just cities which are receiving WiMAX. The
The term 4G, which is often applied to WiMAXlargest planned implementations of WiMAX
solutions, stands for fourth generation. It is not anetworks usually involve rural areas. For example,
technical term in that it does not stand for aKansas Broadband has already set up a WiMAX
specific technology. Instead, it is used to informnetwork for Saline Country and currently has
consumers of a substantial improvement in speedplans to set up a rural WiMAX network which will
over previous technology.cover 18 counties - 12,000 square miles in total.
4G WiMAX Compared to DSL and CableThe Future of WiMAX
Current 4G WiMAX implementations are capableWhile WiMAX is still in its infancy it is a technology
of average download speeds of 3 to 6 Mbps andwhich will undoubtedly become popular. The ability
upload speeds of up to 1Mbps. Peak downloadto purchase an Internet plan and use it from
speeds may be as high as 10 Mbps depending onanywhere in your city, rather than being
the service being used.restricted to your home, is a major benefit which
This is competitive with more traditionalwill surely attractive many customers to these
broadband services, such as DSL and Cable. Basicservices.
DSL plans usually start at a speed of 1.5 MbpsWiMAX will also bring broadband Internet to
through companies such as Qwest and Earthlink,people who previously had few or no broadband
while cable Internet providers such as Comcastoptions. In rural areas the infrastructure costs of
offer cable broadband with speeds starting at 1 totraditional broadband service can be very high, but
3 Mbps, depending on your location.WiMAX can cover large distances with little
Current WiMAX technology can't match theinfrastructure. This is a win-win technology which
highest possible DSL and Cable speeds, whichbenefits everyone involved.
usually peak at around 20Mbps on the most