Wireless

• Wireless transmission mediums are normally used when cabling cannot be accomplished or is too expensive.

  • An example of this is Internet connectivity for ships and planes; other examples are remote locations in mountainous terrains.
• Some services are exclusively delivered via wireless.
• Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) is a connectivity technology similar to Wi-Fi in respect to delivering Internet over wireless. It is defined by the IEEE as 802.16 and operates on 2 GHz to 11 GHz and 10 GHz to 66 GHz.

  • It can be used line of sight or non-line of sight when there are obstructions such as trees.
  • The service provider will mount a WiMAX radio on a tower, similar in concept to cellular communications.
• The WiMAX tower can cover areas as large as 3,000 square miles (a 30-mile radius).

  • This allow rural areas, where running dedicated lines is impossible, to have Internet connectivity.
• Subscribers need either a WiMAX card in their computer or a WiMAX router to connect to the tower.
• When WiMAX originally launched, it was capable of delivering speeds of 40 Mbps; it can now deliver speeds up ot 1 Gbps.
• It is commonly used by many cellular providers to backhaul cellular traffic from remote cell towers.