What is WiMax?

Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave

Access.
Long Range Wireless Networking Standard.
WiMax is WMAN Technology that will
connect 802.11(WiFi) hotspots to the internet &
provide a wireless extension to cable & DSL
last mile broad band access.

WiMax Forum
WiMax Industry Group (Forum) has been
formed to promote the IEEE 802.16
standards & to develop interoperability
specifications.

WiMAX Services
Non Line Of Sight Service
User within 3-5 miles of the base station is
required to establish using a NLOS with
data rate as high as 75 MBps.
WiMax uses radio waves in the range from
2 to 11 GHz.
Partially penetrate buildings, bend and
reflect around obstacles to some extent.
.

WiMAX Services
Non Line Of Sight Service
So the BS and client antennas do not need
a clear line of sight between them, which
is much more practical in an urban
environment.
But there is also another significant
consequence due to the nature of
spectrum regulation

Line Of Sight Service

Line Of Sight Service where a fixed dish antenna
points straight at the WiMAX tower .
Users up to 30 miles away from the base station
with LOS may have data rate 280 Mbps.
Frequency Range 66 GHZ
Less Interference
More stronger.
More Data Rate.
Back haul

Why is WiMax Unique?

Wi-Fi Vs WiMAX
Range
Wi-Fi 100 ft , Wi Max up to 30 miles
Coverage
Wi-Fi suitable for Indoor Applications, Wi-MAX NLOS
performance standard support outdoor
Data Rate
Wi-Fi 54 Mbps, WiMAX 70-250 Mbps
Mobility
Wi-Fi No, But WiMax Yes
Scalability
Wi-Fi No, But WiMax Flexible use of spectrum

A WiMax network has a number of base stations and

associated antennas communicating by wireless to a
much larger number of client devices (or subscriber
stations) a point-to-multipoint configuration. Base
stations are either directly wired to the Internet or use
WiMax links to other base stations that are so
connected. Client devices initially are generally small,
building-mounted antenna/transceiver systems to which
in-building LANs (such as WLANs) are connected. But
future clients depending on the frequency bands used
will often be integrated into end-user devices, such as
notebook PCs and, eventually, mobile devices, such as
PDAs and smartphones.

Each base station provides wireless coverage

over an area called a cell. Although the maximum
radius of a cell is theoretically 50 km (depending
on the frequency band chosen), typical
deployments use cells of radii from 3 to 10 km. As
with conventional cellular mobile networks, the
base-station antennas can be omnidirectional,
giving a circular cell shape, or directional to give a
range of linear or sectoral shapes for point-to-point
use or for increasing the networks capacity by
effectively dividing large cells into several smaller
sectoral areas.

A further bonus of WiMax is that it supports

mesh networks. This means that WiMax-enabled
devices can act as relays, passing signals from
one device to another until they reach a WiMax
base station from which they can enter the wired
Internet. Relaying like this greatly extends the
potential range of an access point, and allows
networks to grow in an organic fashion.