Hi Max

Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access. Many of you may have no idea what this is, but that will change. I believe that Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access or Wi-Max as it is also known will join the ranks of Text Messaging, Voice IP, and broadband Internet connections. Initially, people were unfamiliar with them, but in no time they carved a unique and sought after niche in our technology lives.
Wi-Max is the mature version of Wi-Fi. Wi-Fi allows homes and businesses across this country to share information and to connect to the Internet without the need to run cables everywhere. A few months ago I wrote an article calling for Tucson to start developing Wi-Fi hotspots where people could connect to the Internet free of charge. Soon after, I heard that such a project was underway for the downtown area. Providing a few blocks of free Internet access is a good beginning, but it is only just a beginning.
Where Wi-Fi hotspots provide Internet access over a few blocks, Wi-Max can provide a blanket of Internet access for all of Tucson. Wi-Fi networks send signals out roughly 30 to 300 feet in every direct. Wi-Max networks send information out roughly 11-31 miles in each direction. A good salesman never sells you the product; he sells you how you can benefit from the product. The benefits from Wi-Max are numerous. To begin to see them, we must take a macro view of the issue. The dead spots that you have in your house, where you loose Internet connection from your wireless network, should be a thing of the past. Mobile phones and home telephones are being designed to use the Voice IP technology or use the Internet to make and receive phone calls. This means that you can take your phone throughout the city and have a lower rate for phone service. A parent can perform errands around town while their child is researching online for a paper that they have to write. Employing a Wi-Max network also can provide a citywide standard for Internet speed. This means that more citizens could benefit from broadband Internet connections, and there are still more than few people who still use dial-up connections. With the dropping price of new and used computers, Wi-Max could be the impetus that allows nearly every student to have access to the Internet at home.
Needless to say, this probably won’t go over well with the local Internet Service Providers. As I stated in previous articles, this could be an opportunity for them to up their game by diversifying their products and services. I believe that Wi-Max networks will become the norm for major cities in 2-3 years and other cities within 3-5 years. Undoubtedly, technology will not end with Wi-Max networks, but they could be the standard for a time to come. If and when Tucson incorporates a Wi-Max network, it will truly begin to live up to it’s moniker as the digital desert.