The Next Step in Wireless

Business and technology gurus have long hailed the coming of WiMax, a new kind of far-reaching, high-speed wireless Internet technology that might make some futuristic visions a reality. For instance, appliances such as your refrigerator will be able to automatically download the latest software to make it more efficient, or communicate to the manufacturer that it is about to malfunction and will need service.

WiMax, short for Worldwide Interoper-ability for Microwave Access, is being deployed this spring in Washington, D.C., Baltimore, Chicago and San Diego. My good friend, who provided some of the information for this article, is the enterprise account representative with Sprint in D.C. He is currently talking with Baltimore Power about putting a WiMax chip in every one of its meters, which would enable them to instantly download usage information in a whole area code.

The most basic WiMax use would be high-speed Internet access at home, work and on the go with your laptop computer or cell phone. Intel plans to have WiMax-friendly chips built into new laptops and different appliances for Internet access.

We’ll soon learn if WiMax meets initial expectations. Personally, I have doubts about its promise in Southwest Florida, where many of our businesses don’t have any form of wireless Internet yet. Still, our business community should get ready for the hype.

How it Works
Sprint, Clearwire, Motorola and Intel are the major players deploying the technology, and each company provides a different piece of the operational puzzle.

Sprint and Clearwire own most of the spectrum for WiMax. (Spectrum is the wavelength that the signal operates in. Rights to use it were sold to various private companies by the government.)

Sprint will also provide the cellular network over which the technology will be deployed to the public. In fact, the company has created a group called Xohm that will focus directly on the development and deployment of WiMax.

Motorola, which is the third-largest owner of the WiMax spectrum, will provide the equipment that will be used on the cellular towers, and Intel makes the chips that go in the appliances that will access the network.

Current wireless technology isn’t what the industry initially had hoped it would be. Original bandwidth downloads in mobile environments were estimated at 30 to 45 megabits per second in a 30-mile radius. In practice, the numbers are more like two to five megabits in a six-mile radius. WiMax would speed things up dramatically.

Can it fly?
There is speculation that Sprint spun off the local phone side of the company (Embarq) because WiMax would eventually replace the traditional local loop (the copper or fiber connection) to the home or business. I have my doubts.

The local phone network was paid for many years ago, and we have seen how low prices can go with the competition of cable. Sprint, by some estimates, has committed $5 billion to $10 billion so far to the deployment of WiMax. It is hard for me to believe that there is a case for practically giving it away to compete with $14.95 per month for DSL service in these smaller markets.

In the best-case scenario, WiMax would come to Southwest Florida in about 18 months. Once WiMax-enabled Internet access arrives, perhaps we could see a replacement of the current wire-line network. FPL might deploy it in their meters so they wouldn’t have to send trucks out for meter readings, and your thermostat might have a WiMax chip so you can change the temperature in your home or business over the Internet.

Very cool stuff, indeed.