PROBLEMS SOLVED BY WIMAX

WiMAX is all about delivering broadband wireless access to the masses. It represents an inexpensive alternative to digital subscriber lines (DSL) and cable broadband access. The installation costs for a wireless infrastructure based on 802.16 is far less than today's wired solutions, which often require laying cables and ripping up buildings and streets. For this reason, WiMAX makes an attractive solution for providing the last mile connection in wireless metropolitan area networks.
In parts of the WORLD lacking well developed infrastructure, 802.16 offers a practical way to extend service to many different parts of a country, such as China or India. WiMAX could bring broadband access into the homes and businesses of millions of people in rural and developing markets.
WiMAX can also solve the problem of how to keep wireless notebooks and other mobile devices connected between 802.11 hotspots. An 802.16e amendment will add mobility to 802.16. As early as 2006, 802.16 could be incorporated into end-user devices like notebooks and PDAs, enabling the delivery of wireless broadband directly to the end-user on the move.

WiMAX is not a new technology. It is a more innovative and commercially viable adaptation of a technology already used to deliver broadband wireless services in proprietary installations around the globe. Wireless broadband access systems are already deployed in more than 125 countries.

What differentiates 802.16 from earlier broadband wireless access (BWA) iterations is standardization. In these earlier solutions, the chipsets were custom-built for each broadband wireless access vendor, requiring a great deal of time and cost. Intel, Fujitsu and others would like to bring economies of scale to broadband wireless-cost savings that would go a long way toward creating a better technological enviorment