21-12-2009, 01:18 PM
ABSTRACT!!!!
Abstract. The term WIMAX (Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access) has become synonymous with the IEEE 802.16 Wireless Metropolitan Area Network (MAN) air interface standard. Filling the gap between Wireless LANs and wide area networks, WIMAX-compliant systems will provide a cost-effective fixed wireless alternative to conventional wire-line DSL and cable in areas where those technologies are readily available. The WIMAX technology can provide a cost-effective broadband access solution in areas beyond the reach of DSL and cable.
The ongoing evolution of IEEE 802.16 will expand the standard to address mobile applications thus enabling broadband access directly to WIMAX-enabled portable devices ranging from smart phones and PDAs to notebook and laptop computers. Thus WIMAX is going to be a revolution in the world of communications. First of all, it will suppose an explosion of the wireless data networks, being not a substitute but a complement to Wi-Fi, and if technology advances enough to get a good intercity wireless link, these networks could be comparable to the internet. It will mean also revolution in the world of mobile communications, being a serious competitor with UMTS. WIMAX Forum Certified products will extend the range of Wi-Fi networks from the local area to the metropolitan area and beyond. These products will be based upon the 802.16 standard and will support distances of up to 50 kilometers “ far longer distances than supported by Wi-Fi products.
Itâ„¢s hard to buy a laptop computer today that doesnâ„¢t come with a Wi-Fi chip: a built-in radio that lets users surf the Web wirelessly from the boardroom, the bedroom, or the coffee bar. People love Wi-Fi because a single base station - a box with a wired connection to the Internet, such as a DSL, cable, or T1 line can broadcast to multiple users across distances as great as 100 meters indoors and 400 meters out-doors. But thereâ„¢s a new technology on the way that will make Wi-Fi look feeble. ITâ„¢S CALLED WiMAX.
AND WiMAX provides wireless broadband Internet connections at speeds similar to Wi-Fi - but over distances of up to 50 kilometers from a central tower. Metropolitan area wireless networking at broadband speeds isnâ„¢t new, but the specialized equipment that receives the broadband signals has typically been too expensive for everyone but large businesses. Now that U.S. computing and communications firms are gradually reaching consensus on the details of the WiMAX standard, however, those prices could come down significantly. Industry agreement on details such as how to encrypt WiMAX signals, which frequencies to use, and how to provide multiple users with access to those frequencies will finally allow companies like Intel to manufacture mass quantities of WiMAX-enabled chips for use in broadband wireless equipment. And thatâ„¢s expected to eventually bring WiMAX receivers into the $50 to $100 price range of todayâ„¢s DSL and cable modems, meaning that millions of users could eventually drop their current Internet
Service Providers - often local phone or cable companies - and simply access the Internet over rooftop antennas at the other end of town.
ABOUT WIMAX
WHAT IS WIMAX?
WiMAX is a wireless metropolitan-area network technology that provides interoperable broadband wireless connectivity to fixed, portable and nomadic users. It provides up to 50- kilometers of service area, allows users to get broadband connectivity without the need of direct line-of-sight to the base station, and provides total data rates up to 75 Mbps†enough bandwidth to simultaneously support hundreds of businesses and homes with a single base station. This white paper discusses wireless metro-access technologies: Wi-Fi with high gain antennas, Wi-Fi meshed networks and WiMAX. It explores how the technologies differ and how they can be combined to provide a total last-mile access solution now and in the future.
WiMAX is the moniker used for the IEEE 802.16 wireless interface specifications promoted by the industry trade organization ˜Forum for Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access™. Members of the WiMAX Forum„¢ include leading operators, equipment and component makers. The WiMAX Forum ratified the new standard for wireless broadband access at the beginning of 2003. WiMAX continues to be one of the most talked about technologies.
WiMAX is a standard-based technology which will serve as a wireless extension or alternative to cable and DSL for broadband access. Particularly for end users in rural, sparsely populated areas or in areas where laying cable is difficult or uneconomical, WiMAX will provide a new broadband access path to the internet. But companies and communities along with ownerâ„¢s notebooks will benefit from WiMAX as well if they require mobile networks that cover a larger area than Wi-Fi. As an industry standard, 802.16 enables equipment suppliers to build solutions that can interoperate with each other, leading to lower cost and investment risk. WiMAX is going to bring scale to the market and, ideally, create a larger market along the way. Since wireless technologies are easier to install than wire-based infrastructures, providers can use WiMAX to provide broadband access in previously under-supplied areas quickly and cost-effectively. WiMAX is not a new technology, but rather a more innovative and commercially viable adaptation of a proven technology that is delivering broadband services around the globe today. In fact, wireless broadband access systems from WiMAX Forum members are already deployed in more than 125 countries around the world. These leading equipment providers are on a migration path to WiMAX.