- In full:
- worldwide interoperability for microwave access
- Related Topics:
- wireless communications
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What is WiMax?
WiMax is a 4G wireless communication technology that delivers high-speed internet service to large areas. It has a signal radius of about 50 km, far exceeding the 30-meter range of Wi-Fi. A single WiMax tower can cover approximately 8,000 square km and connect to other towers via microwave to broaden coverage.
WiMax uses radio waves and a tower-receiver model. It can provide data-transfer rates of up to 75 Mbps under ideal conditions, but the bandwidth is typically split among users, which lowers speeds.
Despite early hopes and investments, WiMax was largely replaced by Long Term Evolution (LTE) in 4G communications because LTE only required enhancing existing 3G technology rather than building new networks.
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What does WiMax stand for and what is it used for?
WiMax stands for Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access. It is a communication technology that delivers high-speed, wireless internet service across large areas.
WiMax is a fourth generation (4G) wireless communication technology that far exceeds the wireless range of conventional Wi-Fi. A single WiMax tower can provide coverage over approximately 8,000 square kilometers (3,000 square miles) and connect to other towers via microwave link to broaden coverage. WiMax has data-transfer rates of up to 75 megabits per second (Mbps), superior to cable-modem connections; however, bandwidth yields lower speeds in practice because it must be split among users.
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How does WiMax provide wireless internet access?
WiMax delivers high-speed internet wirelessly across large areas using radio waves on a tower-receiver model. A WiMax tower can cover approximately 8,000 square kilometers and connect to other towers via microwave links to expand coverage.
WiMax allows roof-mounted antenna dishes to receive information at fast data-transfer rates. Internal receiver chips in computers, mobile phones, or other devices can communicate at lower speeds without needing a direct line of sight. WiMax can achieve data-transfer rates of up to 75 megabits per second (Mbps) under ideal conditions, but the bandwidth is split among users, which lowers speeds in practice.
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How is WiMax different from Wi-Fi?
WiMax and Wi-Fi are both wireless technologies for data transfer, but they serve different purposes and operate over different ranges. WiMax is a 4G wireless communication technology designed to deliver high-speed internet service over large geographical areas, with a signal radius of about 50 km. It operates on a tower-receiver model, with a single tower covering approximately 8,000 square km.
Wi-Fi, on the other hand, is a networking technology for high-speed data transfer over short distances using radio waves. Wi-Fi allows local area networks to operate without cables and is commonly used in homes, businesses, and public hotspots. While WiMax aimed to cover metropolitan areas and potentially larger regions, Wi-Fi is designed for local connectivity.
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What are the advantages of using WiMax?
WiMax is a communication technology created to wirelessly provide high-speed internet service across large areas. As a 4G wireless communication technology, WiMax exceeds the range of a conventional Wi-Fi network, covering a metropolitan area with a signal radius of about 50 km.
A single WiMax tower can cover approximately 8,000 square km and connect to other towers via microwave to expand coverage. WiMax offers data-transfer rates of up to 75 Mbps, surpassing cable-modem and DSL connections. However, bandwidth is split among users, reducing speeds in practice.
Despite early promise, WiMax was largely replaced by Long Term Evolution (LTE) in 4G communications because LTE only required enhancements to existing 3G technology, rather than building new networks.
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In what situations or locations is WiMax most useful?
WiMax is a wireless communication technology that delivers high-speed internet service to large areas, surpassing the range of conventional Wi-Fi networks. A single WiMax tower can provide coverage over approximately 8,000 square kilometers and connect to other towers via microwave links to broaden coverage.
WiMax was expected to establish a global area network, reaching rural and suburban areas without land-based broadband cables. Under optimal conditions, WiMax can transfer data at rates of up to 75 Mbps, faster than cable-modem and DSL connections, though bandwidth is split among users, lowering speeds. WiMax was largely supplanted by Long Term Evolution (LTE) in 4G communications because LTE required enhancing existing 3G technology rather than building new WiMax networks.
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WiMax, communication technology for wirelessly delivering high-speed Internet service to large geographical areas.
Part of fourth generation (4G) wireless-communication technology, WiMax far surpassed the 30-metre (100-foot) wireless range of a conventional Wi-Fi local area network (LAN), offering a metropolitan area network with a signal radius of about 50 km (30 miles). In the early 2000s, WiMax proponents hoped to establish a global area network in which signals could reach, for instance, the entire continental United States, including the many rural and suburban areas to which land-based broadband providers did not run cable.
WiMax operates over radio waves on a tower-receiver model. A single WiMax tower can provide coverage over about 8,000 square km (3,000 square miles) and also connect to other towers via a line-of-sight microwave link to broaden coverage further. A roof-mounted antenna dish can receive information at the fastest data-transfer rates, or an internal receiver chip in a personal computer, mobile telephone, or other device can communicate without a line of sight at lower speeds. Under optimal conditions, WiMax offers data-transfer rates of up to 75 megabits per second (Mbps), which is superior to conventional cable-modem and DSL connections. However, the bandwidth must be split among multiple users and thus yields lower speeds in practice.
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The development of WiMax began in the early 21st century. The American integrated circuit manufacturer Intel Corporation invested substantially in creating receiver chipsets and was a vocal proponent of the technology. Technical hurdles to achieving optimal speed and coverage, combined with competition from rival schemes, hampered the development of early networks. In 2008 American wireless service providers Sprint Nextel Corporation and Clearwire Corporation—both early WiMax adopters—completed an agreement to merge their WiMax efforts, with a goal of spreading their 4G coverage throughout the United States in the following few years. However, WiMax was largely supplanted by Long Term Evolution (LTE) in 4G communications, because LTE merely required extending and enhancing existing third-generation (3G) technology rather than building new WiMax networks.