Fixed Wireless vs WiMax
Posted by Nathaniel on December 19, 2005
What is the difference between the two? What are the pros and cons of each?
This is not an apples-to-apples comparison, as WiMax—from a standards perspective—has both fixed and mobility versions. In addition to WiMax, “fixed wireless” can include other technologies such as microwave. It is usually point-to-point but can include point-to-multipoint varieties. For this discussion, we will focus on the differences between the fixed versus mobility versions of WiMax. In general, the differences revolve around range, bandwidth or channel size and market timing.
The WiMax 2004 standard (802.16-2004) is commercially available and deployable. This WiMax can be used in either point-to-point up to 50 kilometers or point-to-multipoint cell configurations from 7-10 km. The bandwidth is up to 75 Mbps per channel dependent on spectrum used and distance.
The WiMax 802.16e standard and is designed for mobility purposes. It is new as of the end of 2005, and therefore products are not yet widely available. In this standard, the bandwidth is up to 15 Mbps per channel (again dependent on the same factors) and the range is from 2-5 km.
In terms of the pros and cons of each, this is all relative to your specific application needs and requirements for bandwidth, range and mobility as described above.
