WiMAX? Why not?

If you haven't already, it is time to jump onto the WiMAX bandwagon.

Conventional wisdom among market analysts goes like this: WiMAX (which stands for Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access) will eventually have a role to play in Internet data transmission, but it is currently

The end of the decade isn't that far off. At the risk of adding to the hype, it seems clear that the world would be better off with WiMAX. Mobile technologies based on this broadband access standard need to be widely embraced and adopted—and sooner rather than later.

Given its wired legacy, the United States doesn't need WiMAX anytime soon, but many regions of the globe without vast wireline networks do. These regions have billions of people who would buy cell phones, laptops and handheld devices of all kinds if video, music and other data-heavy content that requires reliable broadband access for Internet delivery were widely available.

Need I add that there would be billions of dollars to be made?

WiMAX is based on the IEEE 802.16 standard; one version already published is for fixed-point-to-multipoint broadcast that allows commercial providers to offer broadband access to the Internet, similar to that of cable or DSL. Another version of the standard, due this year, is for portable capability, similar to what WiFi offers today over much shorter distances.

WiMAX and WiFi have the same roots; they both use Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing Access (OFDMA), a wireless modulation technology initially developed nearly four decades ago. Both use the radio spectrum, but WiFi has been limited to the weaker, unlicensed portions. The WiMAX community intends to use at least two licensed frequencies, which will allow for more powerful broadcast over greater distances. WiMAX has several other technical advantages over WiFi.

The net result is that WiMAX would provide high-throughput broadband Internet connections over distances of several miles, compared to WiFi's few hundred feet. WiMAX could turn entire metropolitan areas into "hot spots" the way WiFi does a coffee shop.

Competing mobile broadband technologies include 3G cell phone services such as W-CDMA, but WiMAX is designed specifically for data whereas the 3G technologies are more suitable to voice. As the demand for data by mobile users increases, cell phone operators are likely to turn to WiMAX for more efficient data transmission while continuing to use existing technologies for voice.

Intel, a key member of the WiMAX Forum industry group, is among the handful of companies already investing heavily in WiMAX. It is helping seed the market the way it did WiFi a few years ago. For example, Intel recently invested in Orascom Telecom WiMAX, a joint venture with Orascom Telecom of Egypt, whose parent, Orascom Telecom Holding SAE, has mobile networks throughout the Middle East.

Even Qualcomm, the citadel of CDMA, has stuck its toe into the WiMAX water, hedging its bets by acquiring Flarion Technologies, an OFDMA technology developer, last year.

The Koreans are rolling out a version of WiMAX called WiBro. China expects to have a WiMAX-based network in time for the 2008 Olympics. The Japanese aren't far behind.

In the U.S., Sprint Nextel is expected to make a decision this summer about whether to devote some of its unused radio spectrum to WiMAX. Let's hope it chooses wisely. Why should we have to shell out $3 on a latte just to connect to WiFi at Starbucks?

Visit Bill's blog at www.eb-mag.com/contrarian