WiFi vs WiMax

WiFi and WiMax are competing wireless broadband technologies that are considered useful for VoIP. What are the pros and cons?

The basic standard for this technology is WiFi. WiFi is primarily used to create a Local Area Network (LAN), which allows users within the network to connect wirelessly. The commonest use is primarily in Internet connectivity, but WiFi is also used for closed-circuit business networking and for connecting consumer electronics, such as TVs and DVD players. WiFi makes connecting to the Internet within a home or business cheap and easy, and it also allows commercial and service venues to provide wireless access to customers and the greater public, within a relatively small service area.

WiMax serves several functions in wireless connectivity, but it was largely created to provide “last-mile” broadband connection to homes and businesses. Instead of using fixed lines like cable or telephone line to bring Internet access into a building, WiMax uses transmitters, like cell-phone towers, to carry its signal. WiMax technology does not require line-of-sight to the user, so several subscribers can connect to a tower, even if it is blocked by trees or other buildings. This makes WiMax particularly useful and cost-effective for rural homes and other locations set in a geography that would make laying a traditional hardwire difficult and expensive.

In short, WiMax technology promises a future of more powerful and more accessible wireless Internet access. For the meantime, however, WiFi will be the mainstay.