The technology may not be familiar to many, but Intel wants to put it firmly on the global broadband map. For developing nations, with poor fixed communication infrastructure, Wimax could offer a vital link to the digital world. Providing the silicon for Wimax modems is an important first step in its journey from pipe-dream to reality.Wimax (Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access) has, on paper, a lot going for it. Theoretically it can provide data rates of up to 70 mbps over distances of up to 50 km, although its actual range is dictated by many variables, including topography, environmental conditions and network capacity.
Hyped by many as a successor to wi-fi, it also has a vital role to play alongside the fixed broadband technologies of DSL and cable.
This role is best summed up as a hole-filler, plugging gaps left by DSL and cable, providing a lifeline to those in rural areas and countries with poor fixed communications infrastructure and opening up the net to a whole new generation of users.
BT will eventually offer Wimax in the form of an off-the-shelf self-install modem, similar to its plug-and-play DSL service which helped kick-start broadband take-up when it was launched in 2002.
Wimax is being envisaged as working hand-in-hand with 3G and other high-speed technologies to provide a "personal broadband" possibly in the form of a pocket modem that can connect a multitude of devices wherever the user happens to be.
Extracted from BBC News
