| With a number of commercials for mobile | | | | of coverage of a WiMax tower, it will likely be an |
| telephone service, cell phone manufacturers, and | | | | alternative for DSL and cable for "last mile" |
| internet service providers advertising the arrival of | | | | broadband access, which refers to the delivery of |
| 4G wireless service, a number of terms | | | | broadband access to areas not physically wired |
| previously the sole domain of information | | | | for it, as referenced above. Last mile applications |
| technology officers are entering the vocabulary of | | | | have already been utilized in emergency response |
| the general public. One of the most often | | | | situations, such as the December 2004 tsunami |
| repeated such term is WiMax, an odd looking, yet | | | | that struck Indonesia, wherein WiMax restored |
| memorable word with an intriguing combination of | | | | communications after much of the rural |
| upper and lower case letters. The context in | | | | communications infrastructure was destroyed, and |
| which WiMax is used seems to indicate that it will | | | | in Hurricane Katrina, where it was used in the |
| allow cell phones to surf the internet with | | | | same manner. |
| exceptional speeds, but this does not answer a | | | | The provision of data and telecommunications |
| very basic question: what is WiMax? | | | | services, as evidenced by the large number of |
| WiMax stands for Worldwide Interoperability for | | | | cellular phone-related advertisements touting |
| Microwave Access, the name given to a | | | | WiMax, is another application of the technology, |
| communications technology that provides | | | | and one that is also becoming amongst the first |
| broadband-speed data transmission without the | | | | applications utilized. Also of note is the use of |
| need for cables. The technology was developed | | | | WiMax for internet connectivity and |
| as a way to deliver widespread wireless | | | | communications services as part of a business |
| broadband access as an alternative to DSL in | | | | continuity plan. For example, businesses with |
| cable, especially to places unlikely to be wired for | | | | serious concerns regarding continuity in the event |
| DSL or cable in the near future, such as rural, | | | | of a disaster may utilize both WiMax and a fixed |
| sparsely populated, or economically poor areas of | | | | internet connection, so that in the event that one |
| the Earth. | | | | type of connection is disrupted, the other will allow |
| While the term WiMax is most often seen and | | | | business communications to continue. |
| heard in relation to cellular phone service and | | | | Lastly, due to the fact that WiMax technology |
| wireless internet access, it has a variety of | | | | allows for high-speed data transmission while |
| applications. The first of these potential | | | | senders and receivers move at a high rate of |
| applications is the connection of Wi-Fi hotspots to | | | | speed, it is ideal for providing portable connectivity. |
| the internet. Due to the fact that a WiMax tower | | | | This is an area wherein WiMax represents a |
| covers a substantially larger geographic area than | | | | significant improvement over currently utilized |
| does current Wi-Fi technology, this will likely be | | | | communications, as anyone who has tried to |
| the first, and one of the most significant | | | | access the internet with a cellular phone while |
| applications of WiMax. Likewise, due to the area | | | | traveling in a car or train can attest. |