WiMax, the New Wireless Standard - WiFi Too?
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If we look, we will see that WiMax, while not being a direct competitor to 3G , will not only affect 3G users but will also render WiFi "obsolete" since it is actually an improvement upon it. It will affect current mobile users since, with more widespread Internet connectivity options, VoIP will increase as there will be true mobility for high speed Internet connectivity within networks.
Why WiMax
For United States telecommunications carriers who are seeking to give their subscribers both voice and non-voice connections (especially over long distances), and who desire to avoid being at the mercy of the incumbent operators and their high access costs, WiMax will prove to be a lower cost option to wire services. With the costs of connection being approximately $80 per subscriber by 2008, initial roll out costs may be as high as $240 per subscriber. (That's because newer the technology means higher cost). Also, customer turnover is expected to be lower due to increased customer satisfaction resulting from a faster and more centralized deployment of their services.
End user device manufacturers are already embedding WiMax into PDAs, and with Intel already manufacturing chips to support the technology, it will soon become a standard feature in notebooks too.
Intel Rolls out WiMax Chips
In 2005, Intel's PRO/Wireless 5116 broadband interface device was being developed to ensure that end user OEM manufacturers and telecommunications carriers would be able to develop compatible products and services. The product, originally codenamed "Rosedale" during research and development, is an optimized system-on-chip product with a programmable architecture that made it easier for OEMs to add applications to the Intel solution. The unit may now be placed in residences to receive and transmit wireless broadband signals. Intel has already started intensely rolling out this low cost product.
Then, in October of this year, Intel started rolling out their next generation WiMax chipset with support for mobile devices. Hardware manufacturers Nokia, Motorola, and Samsung have started embedding the chipset into their next generation of mobile devices set to roll out in 2007.
Scott Richardson, the general manager of Intel's Broadband Wireless Division, was quoted as saying that "as a standards-based, high-speed Internet access solution, WiMax can provide the platform for the next generation of Internet expansion, connecting the next billion Internet users. In addition to delivering the first flexible, highly-integrated WiMax system-on-chip, Intel has worked with a number of parties including carriers and equipment manufacturers to prepare the industry for the next wave of wireless technology."
Next: Samsung Unveils WiMax Enabled Device >>
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