Prepare Your Company For WiMax

WiMax, the wireless technology that provides broadband connections over long distances, is becoming available in an increasing amount of cities, so it's time to take a look at some of the benefits as well as some of the major thing you need to get your company ready for availability in your area.

When WiMax becomes available locally it can effectively replace a company's T-1 line and provide better connections inside and outside the company, according to Patrick Pfeffer, analyst for Detecon, Inc., Reston, Va., a telecom consulting firm.

He points to these differences between WiMax and other wireless broadband technologies:

• WiMax is a standard. Most carriers and network equipment manufacturers have embraced the standard, part of the highly popular 802 standard family. Also, unlike other access, WiMax was designed from the ground up to support triple play, the combination of voice, wireless and high-speed Internet access that Detecon expects will be crucial to win as competition heats up in the industry.
• WiMax does not require line of sight. Most previous broadband wireless access solutions required line of sight, making ubiquitous deployment a marketing hope, but an insurmountable technical challenge. WiMax allows deployment in cities with trees and buildings. This potentially means no more ugly antennas on top of your building, as well as being able to reach your cell phone and PDA.