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Monday, June 04, 2007

Sulabh Puri

WiMAX is the popular name for the new 802.16 wireless metropolitan area network standard that's currently being developed. Unlike regular wireless networking, WiMAX has a range of up to 48 Kms, and is primarily aimed at making broadband network access widely available without the expense of jumbled wires (as in cable-accessible broadband) or with the distance limitations of Digital Subscriber Line (DSL). In a sense, it works just like Wi-Fi in your homes or offices but over a much, much wider area.

Pune will be the first city in India to get WiMAX-enabled soon. Once it's done, you'll be able to use WiMAX by just logging in with your username and password (given by the service provider). The best thing about this deal is that there are no wires involved. You just need a wireless enabled laptop (or a Wi-Fi card if you want to use it with a desktop) and you can get connected instantly.

Pune will be the first city in India to get WiMAX-enabled soon. Once it's done, you'll be able to use WiMAX by just logging in with your username and password (given by the service provider)

So what are the benefits of WiMAX? Why not buy a regular data card that connects via EDGE or CDMA?

1. WiMAX can provide shared data rates of up to 70 Mbps and will also reduce latency issues, which means low pings and faster browsing of the Net which is not possible with data cards.
2. It will cater to a wide area, so much so that it can cover a whole city easily.
3. The cost incurred in WiMAX is low as no wires are involved. Browsing and data rates can be lower than data cards since the providers will be able o recover costs easily. This will make broadband Internet access more widely available.
4. WiMAX will do away with the wires even in the homes. No more tangled up wires running through the living room to the computer.
5. Good news for online gamers. As the latency will be low and much more stable, this will give an enhanced and lag-free online gaming experience.
6. Various mobile devices with WLAN can be easily connected with minimal fuss, such as notebooks or PDAs and phones with Wi-Fi.

But it's not all good. There are a couple of drawbacks:

1. The cost of subscribing to the network will initially be much higher than a wired broadband connection. Wireless broadband is still at a premium.
2. People might be hesitant to switch over to a new technology, as even the broadband is in a nascent stage in India.
3. Most PC users don't have Wi-Fi cards in their PCs, so they would need to purchase them separately - a costly upgrade.