I breathed a sigh of relief, last week Monday, when the Caribbean's leading mobile services provider, Digicel, announced that it will be rolling out residential WiMax, in Jamaica,within the next six (6) months.
WiMax (Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access) is an Intel-based, wireless standard that allows users to access the Internet, at speeds of up to 75 Mbps, wirelessly.
This compares quite favorably with DSL speeds in Jamaica of up to 5 Mbps (from LIME) and cable modem speeds of up to 7 Mbps (from FLOW and other cable providers on island.)
Digicel has been offering WiMax to its business customers since 2006 and these customers seem to be satisfied with the service.
How WiMax Works
According to Article, "How WiMax Works":
WiMax systems consist of two parts:
1) A WiMax Tower (similar in concept to a cellphone tower) which is a transmitter with a coverage of up to 3,000 square miles (8,00 square km).
2) A WiMax receiver and antenna in the user's home. This could be in the form of a small box or PCMCIA card, or they could be built into a laptop the way WiFi access is today.
A WiMAX tower station connects directly to the ISP (or Internet) using a high-bandwidth, wired connection (for example, a T3 line).
It can also connect to another WiMAX tower using a line-of-sight, microwave link. This connection to a second tower (often referred to as a backhaul), along with the ability of a single tower to cover up to 3,000 square miles, allows WiMAX to provide coverage to remote rural areas.
Please see the diagram on How WiMax Works for a graphical description of the above.
Wimax can be offered in two varieties:
1) Via line of sight, wherein which the user's receiver has to be in direct line of sight of the Wimax Tower .
(In this case, the receiver is in the form of a satellite dish on the roof, or on a pole atop the user's home.)
This variety uses a higher frequency of 66 Ghz, is stronger and more stable than the non-line of sight variety and thus has less errors in data transmission.
Or
2) Non-line of sight, whereby which the user can be anywhere within the coverage area, to receive service.
This variety uses a lower-frequency spectrum in the 2-11 GHz range that allows the signal to bend around obstacles like trees and buildings.
All the user needs is a PCMCIA card or a WiMax-enabled laptop or smart-phone.
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Digicel seems to be offering the non-line of sight variety, as it has applied for and received the license to operate nationally, in the 2.6 MHz spectrum. (It was the only bidder for the spectrum and hence won the tender process.)
Benefits of WiMax
1) WiMax eliminates the need to run cable (or telephone lines) from the service provider into the user's home
2) It also eliminates current headaches with cable modems whose throughput (speed) decreases, as more users are added in your neighbourhood.
3) It also allows you to browse the Internet at much greater speeds, when mobile.
The road ahead
Well, I'm sure looking forward to this new service from Digicel.
(My current cable provider does not provide Internet access and the only other service provider that has the license to offer both cable and Internet service in Jamaica, (FLOW), has terrible customer service.)
Sure, LIME has GPRS, but its 36 Kbps pales in comparison to 75 Mbps.
So I'm anxiously awaiting the day when I can get WiMax from Digicel.
If their customer service is anything near that of their ok customer service on the mobile end...I know that many customers will be switching to Digicel WiMax, when it becomes available in their area.
Gillian
Sources Include
1) Article, "Digicel Group Plans Caribbean WiMax launch" Cell Phone News 2.0, January 28,2008
3) Article,"How WiMax Works", by Marshall Brain and Ed Grabianowski, HowStuffWorks.com
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