What is WiMax? - WiMax vs. Cell Phones

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I know a few people that thought this new technology was going to fight against the cell phone. It's easy to see where people might get such an idea. Skype, the most popular VoIP company, uses wireless Internet to connect to the rest of the phones in the world.  Quite a few Smartphones have wifi and the ability to connect to the Skype network through it. 

WiMax is basically a cell phone signal on steroids, but won't replace the cell phone any time soon. It is a potential friend of cell phone providers, not an enemy. WiMax is more of an upgrade to existing networks than a great new revolution. 

I'm surprised that only Sprint has really begun to start planning the roll out of this technology. WiMax is geared to roll out in 4G, or fourth generation mobile communication. Most of Europe and Japan are well developed in 3G, and the US is still trying to get the hang of it. 

At this point it's best for the US to ditch 3G and focus on 4G and hopefully catch up with the rest of the world soon.  AT&T and Verizon have that new 700 MHz spectrum they now own, so they might steer away from WiMax and use something that will work with that frequency. 

Conclusion

WiMax seems to be in the news every day, and people are just started to figure out what WiMax is.  Many people still don't have a clue, but I hope that today's article has helped to explain what WiMax is, how it works, and how it can be implemented. WiMax is still in the initial roll out stage, and may face many changes and revisions along the way. 

The technology looks like a great step forward for mobile communication and has lots of positives. Devices built for WiMax are already being announced and it shouldn't be too long before we see them in the retail market. 

Many people are getting confused about the implementation of WiMax. Remember, this technology isn't in competition with cell phones; it's a upgrade to the cell phone backbone. It will offer greater distance and faster speeds. 

Many cell phone providers are investing in this new technology, as well as some other companies such as Google and Comcast.  Their involvement seems to be a little strange, unless you consider the possibility of cashing in a few years down the road. I'm sure you will be hearing about WiMax in the news just about every week, and this probably won't be the last article you read about WiMax here at DevHardware.

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