None of us can do away with our Mobile phones. Almost everything we need in our day to day life could be accomplished with a Mobile in our hands. And that makes it all the very important for us to know, how the future of this device will be.
In this blog, We would acquaint you with the future of mobile network technology i.e. WiMAX which stands for Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access. As, the technology is still in development stage, we would not be going over on the details of its success and when it would be in the full-fledged working stage.
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Definition
WiMAX short for Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access, is a wireless industry coalition dedicated to the advancement of IEEE 802.16 standards for broadband wireless access (BWA) networks. It is a 4G or the “Fourth Generation” of wireless Internet technology which allows users to connect to Internet without wires.
The WiMAX technology network operates similar to a Wi-Fi connection, but with a few major differences. Unlike Wi-Fi which might not be able to cover a whole building or city block, WiMAX can help to cover you vast distances and can provide comparably high-speed Internet access.
The face of the wireless internet till date has been known through
- Broadband Access
- Wi-Fi
- Dial-up Connection. Broadband
The main problem with all broadband is that it is expensive and restricted in the reach areas. The problem with Wi-Fi access is that hot spots are very small and coverage is sparse. And the problem with Dial-up Connection is just slow and outdated.
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Working
The system has two main components –
1. A WiMAX Base Station / WiMAX Tower –
As it is understood by the name of the component, it is the place where WiMAX Signals are broadcasted. It consists of electronic devices and WiMAX Tower. The working of the tower is similar to the other mobile networks. The coverage area of WiMAX tower is around 10KM radius. If we go by theory then the potential of these networks could be scaled up to 30 miles radius.
2. A WiMAX Receiver –
It is the device or devices which receives the signals from WiMAX base station and connects your computer with the WiMAX networks. The receiver antenna could be like a small box or a PCMCIA card, or they laptop manufacturers could built this in the laptop circuitry like the Wi-Fi is embedded.
A WiMAX tower can also connect to the second tower, and this is how the network provides the long-range wireless service. This connection is done using high speed microwave link which is called as Backhaul. A WiMAX Tower station can also be directly to the Internet using a high-bandwidth, wired connection like T3 Line.
WiMAX support many protocols like ATM, IPv4 Ethernet, VLAN etc. hence, making WiMAX a very good choice for full of services from data to voice.
Some of the principles which are the basis of the WiMAX network are:
- Spectrum – it can be deployed both in licensed and unlicensed spectra
- Topology – Supports different Radio Access Network Technologies.
- Interworking – the independent RAN architecture would enable the seamless integration and interworking with Wi-Fi, 3GPP and 3GPP2 networks and existing IP operator core network.
- IP Connectivity – it supports a mix of IPv4 and IPv6 network interconnects in clients and application services.
- Mobility Management – the fixed access could be extended to mobility and broadband multimedia services delivery.
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Types of WiMAX Services
a. Non-Line-of-Sight –
In this type of service, the computer is equipped with a small antenna which connects to the tower. For this mode WiMAX uses a lower frequency range – 2GHz to 11GHz. This lower wavelength transmissions are not disrupted by the physical obstructions, rather the signal diffract or bend around obstacles.
b. Line-of-Sight –
In this mode of service, WiMAX uses the higher frequencies, with frequency reaching to 6GHz. A dish antenna is fitted on the rooftop or Pole which points straight to the WiMAX tower, hence it has a Line-of-Sight connection. This type of connection is stronger and more stable which helps in huge data transmissions with fewer errors.
WiMAX is being considered as one of the hottest broadband wireless technologies. This technology is developed with a focus to provide the data service to the residential and enterprise customers in an economical way. WiMAX has much higher speed in comparison to Wi-Fi over greater distances and for a great number of users. The biggest advantage of WiMAX is that it can help in servicing the suburban and rural blackout areas that currently have no broadband Internet Access as the service providers have yet not installed there network.