WiMax HIGH SPEED WIRELESS INTERNET - STALLED IN CHICAGO - Likely Here by End of 2009!
NEW SERVICE WILL OFFER HIGHER-SPEED WIRELESS SERVICE THROUGHOUT THE CITY, WITHOUT NEED FOR LOCAL HOT SPOTS!
The future is coming, but it has been delayed!
WiMax, a wider-reaching, wireless Internet service that can deliver data over the entire Chicago area far faster than that offered in WiFi Hot Spots in local retailers, and offer coverage in such far-flung locations as city parks, or boats on Lake Michigan. Using signals emanating from cell towers similar to those which offer phone and data service, the infrastructure is already in place, but the system is not yet ready to go online.
According to Eric Benderoff in yesterday's Chicago Tribune, and Todd Rowley, Vice President for telecommunication provider Sprint and their WiMax Network, the company hopes to have the service available locally by the end of this year.
Sprint's new "4G" Service is already available in Baltimore MD, and will be introduced soon in Portland OR. Before launching Chicago, the company wanted to check performance in areas with hilly terrain, a central harbor, and many older buildings with thick masonry walls. Also, Baltimore has a smaller central core than Chicago, making testing there easier.
Sprint feels its WiMax System has the speed to directly compete with land-based broadband Internet Service Providers, including Comcast and AT & T here in Chicago. The Sprint system also is a part of their Cellular Phone and Data Network, and will be available indoors or out - even in moving cars!
When WiMax bowed in September in Baltimore, Sprint promoted average data transmit speeds of up to 4 Megabits per second. By comparison, Comcast service in Chicago touts speeds of up to 12 Megabits per second, while AT & T DSL offers a choice of speeds, depending on available Internet Broadband Packages, as fast as 6 Megabits per second. Indeed, WiMax will not initially top these land-line ISP's, but will be far faster than currently-available wireless data transmission speeds, including those of traditional WiFi Networks.
The most common way of accessing the WiMax Network will be through a laptop access card. Another Sprint device will offer a choice of faster WiMax, or somewhat slower Wireless 3G Internet, in one laptop card.. They also have plans to offer at least one cellular phone with the ability to access the faster WiMax Network by the end of 2009.
According to Intel executive and member of industry group WiMax Forum Ron Resnick, also quoted in Benderoff's Tribune article, nearly 500 WiMax- capable electronic devices are currently in development. Many will be introduced at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas NV this week.
Current access costs in Baltimore are $80/month. Although the cost seems high, WiMax could replace the need for land-line ISP service. Most users in the test area are single, and reside in apartments rather than single-family houses. And, as is the case with all technology, costs could tumble, as it did for cell phone air time and text messaging services, as mass acceptance increases.
DEAN MOSS & DEAN'S TEAM CHICAGO
