The dawn of WiMax.

The article informs that when available, WiMax will offer fixed, nomadic and mobile wireless broadband connectivity, without needing direct line-of-sight access to a base station. In typical configurations, WiMax could deliver per-channel capacities up to 40M bps for fixed and nomadic access and 5- to 10M-bps capacity for cell deployments, depending on spectrum allocation, network loading and terrain. The fixed wireless implementation, which is based on the 802.16a standard, will be the first to market, with equipment from vendors available as early as this year. Intended for lastmile broadband access, 802.16a will be considered an alternative to cable, DSL and T-1 lines. Deployments of the mobile wireless version of WiMax will come late next year or early in 2007. This implementation, based on the 802.16e standard, will support nomadic applications and will primarily contend with the 2.5G and 3G wireless technologies that are available from licensed mobile operators.