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What differentiates WiMAX from earlier broadband wireless access (BWA) iterations is standardization. Chipsets are currently custom-built for each broadband wireless access vendor, adding time and cost to the process.
Its equivalent or competitor in Europe is HIPERMAN.
WiMAX does not conflict with WiFi but actually complements it.
WiMAX is a wireless metropolitan area network ( MAN) technology that will connect IEEE 802.11(WiFi) hotspots to the Internet and provide a wireless extension to cable and DSL for last mile (last km) broadband access. IEEE 802.16 provides up to 50 km (31 miles) of linear service area range and allows users connectivity without a direct line of sight to a base station. The technology also provides shared data rates up to 70 Mbit/s, which, according to WiMAX proponents, is enough bandwidth to simultaneously support more than 60 businesses with T1-type connectivity and well over a thousand homes at 1Mbit/s DSL-level connectivity.
An important aspect of the IEEE 802.16 is that it defines a MAC layer that supports multiple physical layer (PHY) specifications. This is crucial to allow equipment makers to differentiate their offerings.
WiMAX is referred to as " WiFi on steroids". It has the potential to enable even more millions to access the InternetThis article is about the Internet the extensive, worldwide computer network available to the public. An internet is a more general term for a set of interconnected computer networks that are connected by internetworking''. WWW information network structu wirelessly, cheaply and easily. The WiMAX wireless coverage is measured in square kilometers (miles) while that of WiFi is measured in square meters (yards). A WiMAX base station would beam high-speed Internet connections to homes and businesses in a radius of up to 50 km (30 miles); these base stations will eventually cover an entire metropolitan area, making that area into a WMAN and allowing true wireless mobility within it, as opposed to hot-spot hopping required by WiFi. The proponents are hoping that the technology will eventually be used in notebook computers and PDAs. True roaming cell-like wireless broadband, however, is IEEE standard 802.20IEEE 802. 20 or Mobile Broadband Wireless Access (MBWA) Working Group the establishment of which was approved by IEEE Standards Board on December 11, 2002, aims to prepare a formal specification for a packet-based air interface designed for IP-based servi, which is compatible with WiMAX.
A further benefit of the WiMAX standard is that it relies mainly on 2 to 11 GHz bandsA band is a small spectrum of radio communication frequencies, usually used for the same purpose. Examples: Aircraft band (108~136 MHz) FM broadcast band (88~108 MHz) upper VHF TV band (174~216 MHz in the Americas) L band (1452~1492 MHz) for digital radio, as opposed to the overcrowded 2.4 GHz band used by WiFi. The specifications of WiMAX avoided many of the mistakes that went into the WiFi standard, allowing longer reach, no reliance on line of sightSee also: line of sight in gaming, referring to visibility of units. When viewing a scene, as in optics, photography, or even hunting, the line of sight is the straight line between the observer and the target. In astronomy, when the distance between the (referred to as Non Line Of Sight, or NLOS), greater bandwith, and better encryption. The 50 Km radius should be taken with a grain of salt, it would most probably only apply to a true line of sight point to point connection under ideal atmospheric circumstances.