Wireless Master

Do you want to know about WiMAX? In this article, we shall give you some details. Well, WiMAX gives you the ability to connect anywhere within your service provider’s wide coverage area, and also gives you efficient and fast speeds, and also a familiar Broadband speed. Usually, WiMAX is divided into two sub-standards – one is for fixed wireless data transmission (called fixed WiMAX, based on 802.16d), and the other one is mobile WiMAX, which is based on 802.16e. So how are they different? Well, mobile WiMAX has some notable improvements over fixed WiMAX, and also supports mobility features.

So now the question is – what exactly is WiMAX? To put it simply, it is an enhanced Broadband standard that has mobile features. This enables continuous connectivity, and one also gets widespread coverage. WiMAX is expected to co-exist with Wi-Fi initially, and to be used in those areas where it is more effective than Wi-Fi. Basically, WiMAX is a Broadband wireless technology which can be used as an alternative choice to DSL and Cable as a last mile Broadband access, this is especially true for the rural areas which lack a wired structure.

How does WiMAX work? Well, the network makes use of an approach that is very similar to that of cell phones. Basically, a user sends data from a subscriber device to a base station that is mounted on top of a tower or even a tall building, this broadcasts the wireless signal in a channel called an uplink, and then the base station transmits to the very same or other user in a channel called a downlink. The base station is not like the user, who has limited resourced (limited transmission power, limited number of antennas, and limited computation abilities), because it can use higher transmission power, more antennas, and also enhanced computation algorithms.

The WiMAX service providers deploy a network of towers which give access over many miles, and the WiMAX Broadband service can be available basically anywhere within the area of coverage. The coverage for a certain geographical area is divided into a series of overlapping areas, which are termed cells. When the user goes from one cell to another, the wireless connection is also transferred.

So what are the features of WiMAX? Well, it gives a user increased coverage, spectral efficiency (beginning at 3.7 bits/sector/Hz), user bandwidth, system stability, etc. Plus, there is also the advantage of reduced costs. It can be observed that WiMAX a s a leading Broadband technology is making waves in the market. Towards the end of 2007, there were a staggering number of 1,650,000 WiMAX subscribers, and now there are an estimated number of 1.9 million WiMAX subscribers – the figures speak for themselves. Operators are competing with DSL in rural and suburban areas.

Basically, what WiMAX does is combine the best of everything – it gives you the throughputs of fixed Broadband technologies like DSL and Cable / DOCSIS with the mobility support of cellular technologies like GSM or CDMA. It is simple and efficient.