Intel commits to 802.16a
Looking forward, and judging that the commercial potential of providing
last-mile solutions to deliver wireless broadband is great and only
growing -- a judgment we share -- Intel today committed itself to developing
chips based on the IEEE 802.16 WMAN (wireless metropolitan area network)
standard ("the most important thing since the Internet itself," Intel
opined). Gear using the new Intel chips will have a range of up to 30 miles
and will transfer voice, data, and video at speeds of up to 70 Mbps. The
802.16a standard, which is alternative to existing last-mile methods such as
cable and DSL, was approved by the IEEE in January, allowing the creation of
fixed broadband wireless access (BWA) which would provide network access
support to buildings at speeds near those offered by high-speed fiber optic
networks, but without much of the digging, tunneling, and construction costs
associated with fiber. The 802.16a technology is promoted by WiMAX, a Wi-Fi
Alliance-like industry consortium formed in April to support and certify
802.16a-based equipment. If 802.16 delivers on its promise, it will bolster
adoption of 802.11-based networks at home and in business and give a real
push to the proliferation of Wi-Fi hot spots.http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=10394 -snip- THE PAST FEW weeks have seen a storm of debate about the economics and return on investment of Wi-Fi hotspots. What almost all the arguments entirely ignore is the standard lurking on the horizon, which will turn current assumptions on their head. This is the 802.16x wireless metropolitan area network (WMan) specification, which is being developed and promoted by the WiMAX industry group, whose most powerful members are Intel and Nokia. -snip- pgp key: http://www.jonbaer.net/jonbaer.asc fingerprint: F438 A47E C45E 8B27 F68C 1F9B 41DB DB8B 9A0C AF47 -- NYCwireless - http://www.nycwireless.net/ Un/Subscribe: http://lists.nycwireless.net/mailman/listinfo/nycwireless/ Archives: http://lists.nycwireless.net/pipermail/nycwireless/
