SOMEWHAT FRANK

WiMAX Launches In Baltimore

It has been three years since I first discussed WiMAX technology and at that time it seemed to be generating quite the buzz. So I am pleased to have experienced WiMAX technology first hand today for the first time as Intel, Xohm and Sprint all teamed up to sponsor the WiMAX Baltimore launch event. The event consisted of a preview presentation and then offered a number of hands-on WiMAX experiences which included WiMAX on a boat, in a house and in an automobile. In case WiMAX is something new to you, it is simply wireless Internet with the speed of a broadband or DSL connection.

Somewhat Frank del.icio.us Bookmarks (11.13.05)

del.icio.us bookmarks for 11-13-2005 by Somewhat Frank (a.k.a)  Frank Gruber

10 Most Powerful Women in Blogging : Jack of All Blogs

Top woman bloggers ... congrats to all!

Warren Buffett, Unplugged : WSJ.com

A wonderful article highlighting Warren Buffett  and his "hands-off" approach. Also gives 5 investing tips worth reading.

10 Best Entrepreneur Blogs : Lifehacker

Entrepreneurs cannot miss these blogs.

Jesus Juice Label : Doc Searls Weblog

A couple of winemakers are trying to make it big off of the king of pop and his sick and twisted world.

WiMAX Won’t Catch 3G? : Blogola

Interesting study results on WiMAX adoption.

Regulating Search Conference @ Yale : SEO Book.com

This might be worth attending at Yale.

Google expands Wi-Fi Coverage : googlecrumbs

Google's wi-fi bubble growing larger in California.

Companies Have Four Choices : by Josh Hallett

This is something all businesses should read, understand and act on!

What's All The Buzz About WiMax?

WiMax has been in the news a lot recently and I wanted to address the buzz since it appears WiMax is on it's way.

What is WiMax? According to Intel's website:

"WiMAX is a standards-based wireless technology that provides high-throughput broadband connections over long distances."   

This new wireless technology adheres to the IEEE 802.16 standards and will be able support many different applications and networks much like a "final mile" broadband connection does now. Some of these applications include, On-Demand video, "final mile" broadband, and other cellular connections. So WiMax can act like your home Wi-Fi network but on a much larger scale. While a home Wi-Fi network usually has a range of a few hundred feet with speeds of up to 54 megabits per second, a single WiMax antenna is expected to range of up to 40 miles with speeds of 70 megabits per second or more. This could be an excellent solution for rural areas that have not been offered broadband or DSL services due to there location. For example, some of my relatives live in a  home surrounded by trees and in a rural area outside of a small city. They cannot get Yahoo DSL or any type of broadband so they have had to get satellite Internet for the last several years which is extremely expensive in comparison but offers a faster solution then dial-up.  WiMax could be just what they need to offer them the "final mile" connection to support their own home Wi-Fi network.

So when can we expect to see WiMax? Well it seems that it could be very soon. Sprint Nextel as is currently said to be testing a WiMax network as reporter here. While Verizon is reported herehere.

What is EVDO? EVDO  to also experimenting with WiMax service. Additionally, an Argentine school was reported to be testing WiMax technology is a wireless radio broadband data protocol being adopted by many CDMA mobile phone providers in Japan, Korea, the United States and Canada. Verizon also recently struck a deal with Dell Computers to start placing a Verizon Wireless EVDOpost. While this is not WiMax is it wireless broadband offering data services at 2M bit/sec EV-DO and the 14.4M bit/sec High-Speed Downlink Packet Access with pricing starting around $80 per month.
cards in next years Dell laptops as stated in this 

So the wireless revolution continues and it is only a matter of time before we see cellular broadband services like EV-DO and WiMax competing for users as adoption rates increase much like cable services and DSL do today. This blog post further describes what we can expect from WiMax and EV-DO. While this post on WiDATblog discusses the most recent WiMax happenings. Finally, check out the WiMax Forum here.