Will WiMax finally put the Broadband over Power Line dog to bed?
by
Charlie Bess
Now that the spectrum auctions are looming in the US and elsewhere, it looks like WiMAX is finally starting to get some momentum. Sprint is already talking about a 4G network for mobile devices based on WiMAX. It makes me wonder about the future of Broadband over PowerLines.
BPL has a tiny marketshare (0.008% ??) of US Internet access and appears to be declining. WiMax appears to be on the rise. It is aimed at creating Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WIMAX). A technology aimed at providing wireless data over long distances.
It allows a user to browse the Internet on a laptop computer over a wide geographic range, without physically connecting the laptop to a wall jack (a last mile technology). The name WiMAX was created by the WiMAX Forum, which was formed in June 2001 to promote conformance and interoperability of the standard (IEEE 802.16). The WiMAX Forum now lists over 350 WiMAX trials and deployments.
Although WiMAX may not be applicable to all areas, it has a wide coverage area (covering many kilometers) when compared to other wireless technologies (Wi-Fi). This wide coverage and reduced infrastructure requirement will significantly reduce the market for BPL. In fixed applications (using directional antennas, if allowed by the FCC), its range could be quite extensive. WiMAX also does not suffer from the HF spectrum noise problems that some of the BPL installations have caused.
