Tuesday, November 13, 2007

Sprint, Clearwire Break Up; WiMax dies

Over the weekend, Sprint and Clearwire called off their deal (see a story here). [I reported on it at the WISPA.org site, not here. I write about wireless stuff there usually.] Now the media is aghast over the future of WiMax. [see here].

I wish the media would stop saying WiMax. Anything wireless is associated with WiMax in the news, because reporters have to dumb it down for their editors and the reader. WiMax is not 700 MHz nor 2.x GHz. WiMax is not mobile wireless.

According to Intel, "WiMAX is an open, worldwide standard that covers both fixed and mobile deployments."

The WiMax Forum states, "WiMAX is a standards-based technology enabling the delivery of last mile wireless broadband access as an alternative to wired broadband like cable and DSL. WiMAX provides fixed , nomadic, portable and, soon, mobile wireless broadband connectivity without the need for direct line-of-sight with a base station. In a typical cell radius deployment of three to ten kilometers, WiMAX Forum Certified™ systems can be expected to deliver capacity of up to 40 Mbps per channel, for fixed and portable access applications."

Wikipedia claims, "WiMAX, the Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access, is a telecommunications technology aimed at providing wireless data over long distances in a variety of ways, from point-to-point links to full mobile cellular type access. It is based on the IEEE 802.16 standard, which is also called WirelessMAN." WiMax is a standard used in technology, not a technology. It will survive because the media doesn't know what it is! (How could it die? They'll just label the next wireless whatever as the new WiMax).

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