WiMAX Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access ) is a communication technology for wirelessly delivering high-speed Internet service to large geographical areas. The 2005 WiMAX revision provided bit rates up to 40 Mbit/s with the 2011 update up to 1 Gbit/s for fixed stations. It is a part of a -fourth generation,- or 4G, of wireless-communication technology, WiMax far surpasses the 30-metre (100-foot) wireless range of a conventional Wi-Fi local area network (LAN), offering a metropolitan area network with a signal radius of about 50 km (30 miles). The name "WiMAX" was created by the WiMAX Forum , which was formed in June 2001 to promote conformity and interoperability of the standard. The forum describes WiMAX as "a standards-based technology enabling the delivery of last mile wireless broadband access as an alternative to cable and DSL". WiMax offers data-transfer rates of up to 75 Mbit/s, which is superior to conventional cable-modem and DSL connections. However, the bandwidth must be split among multiple users and thus yields lower speeds in practice. |