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Unit 9: The Wireless Revolution

“WiMAX is not a technology, but rather a certification mark, or ‘stamp of approval’ given to Notes
equipment that meets certain conformity and interoperability tests for the IEEE 802.16 family of
standards. A similar confusion surrounds the term Wi-Fi, which like WiMAX, is a certification
mark for equipment based on a different set of IEEE standards from the 802.11 working group
for wireless local area networks (WLAN). Neither WiMAX, nor Wi-Fi is a technology but their
names have been adopted in popular usage to denote the technologies behind them. This is
likely due to the difficulty of using terms like ‘IEEE 802.16’ in common speech and writing.”
The bandwidth and reach of WiMAX make it suitable for the following potential applications:
1. Connecting Wi-Fi hotspots with each other and to other parts of the Internet.
2. Providing a wireless alternative to cable and DSL for last mile (last km) broadband access.

3. Providing high-speed mobile data and telecommunications services (4G).
4. Providing a diverse source of Internet connectivity as part of a business continuity plan.
That is, if a business has a fixed and a wireless internet connection they are unlikely to be
affected by the same service outage.
5. Providing Nomadic connectivity.

Did u know? Full form of WiMAX
Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access

9.3.1 Broadband Access

Many companies are closely examining WiMAX for “last mile” connectivity at high data rates.
This could result in lower pricing for both home and business customers as competition lowers
prices.
In areas without pre-existing physical cable or telephone networks, WiMAX will, it appears, be
a viable alternative for broadband access that has been economically unavailable. Prior to
WiMax, many operators have been using proprietary fixed wireless technologies for broadband
services.
WiMAX subscriber units are available in both indoor and outdoor versions from several
manufacturers. Self install indoor units are convenient, but the subscriber must be significantly
closer to the WiMAX base station than with professionally installed units. As such, indoor
installed units require a much higher infrastructure investment as well as operational cost (site
lease, backhaul, maintenance) due to the high number of base stations required to cover a given
area. Indoor units are comparable in size to a cable modem or DSL modem. Outdoor units allow
for the subscriber to be much further away from the WiMAX base station, but usually require
professional installation. Outdoor units are roughly the size of a textbook, and their installation
is comparable to a residential satellite dish.

9.3.2 Limitations

A commonly held misconception is that WiMAX will deliver 70 Mbit/s, over 70 miles (112.6
kilometers). Each of these is true individually, given ideal circumstances, but they are not
simultaneously true. In practice this means that in Line of sight environments you could deliver
symmetrical speeds of 10Mbps at 10Km but in Urban Environments it is more likely that 30% of
installations may be Non Line of sight and therefore Users may only receive 10Mbps over 2 Km.
WiMAX has some similarities to DSL in this respect, where one can either have high bandwidth

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