Report: WiMax won’t take off soon
This report from News.com puts a damper on WiMax enthusiasum. Although WiMax holds promise to rural broadband, the big gap, according to C|Net is that the hardware won't be available until 2006. This is a shame, but with the large amount of interest in WiMax, hopefully the time will get cut down significantly.
Despite a lot of recent attention, the wireless broadband technology WiMax is years away from wide use–and will take root in Europe and Asia before spreading to U.S. shores, according to a report.
WiMax has recently pulled ahead of competing wireless broadband technologies-in-development. The standard for fixed WiMax, 802.16-2004, was approved by an industry body late last month, which should spur development and sales of lower-cost equipment. However, testing and certifying that gear will take time. High-volume shipments of those products are not expected until 2006.
Another WiMax standard, 802.16e, is in development. It will allow mobile devices to send and receive data, promising unwired broadband connections beyond the home or office desktop.