What is Wimax?
The term Wimax corresponds to the abbreviation of the expression “Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access”.
Used as a commercial label, Wimax designates a wireless communication standard which is based on a set of rules: the IEEE 802.16 standards. These standards contain all the specifications necessary for the work of manufacturers who develop the equipment and networks necessary for high-speed data transmission over the air.
Unlike Wifi which is intended for local use, Wimax must cover much larger areas. Its radius can reach 10 to 50 kilometers on average, depending on the nature of the territory concerned and of course, the obstacles encountered by the waves. On paper, Wimax should allow a high data rate of up to 75 Mbit / s. In fact, its speed rarely exceeds 20 Mbit / s although the technology is doomed to evolve and therefore to improve over time.
The principle of Wimax
The objective of Wimax is to allow a connection between a base station, the Base Transceiver Station (generally abbreviated “BTS”) and thousands of users without having to use a direct line.
In this context, the BTS has the particularity of being linked by optical fiber to the infrastructure of the Internet service provider. To receive these waves and use the network, subscribers located in the radius install an antenna on their roof. This is called a point-to-multipoint link.
Wimax mobile (IEEE 802.16e standard) provided for the connection of mobile clients to the Internet. In this context, we would then have spoken of “mobile telephony over IP” but this standard was finally left aside in favor of the LTE standard and the 4G networks that we currently know.
Deploying the network: the constraints
The deployment of a Wimax network is subject to various constraints:
Obtaining a license To develop a Wimax network, you must have a license. However, the number of licenses is limited on French territory. There are two per region, the latter in addition to the national license held by the Iliad group.
Having an elevated point and a line of sight Being elevated provides better coverage.
When the transmitter and receiver are in a line of sight, the coverage of a Wimax network can go up to 15 kilometers on average. When the line of sight is broken, high speed transmission is still possible but the speed drops inexorably.
Wimax: advantages and disadvantages
Benefits
Wimax is particularly useful in sparsely populated rural areas. It can indeed provide broadband coverage to areas that had hitherto been neglected by ADSL or optical fiber, two technologies that limit the areas of eligibility.
Thanks to Wimax, it would then be possible to eliminate the gray or white areas for which the flow is reciprocally low and non-existent.
The disadvantages: a flow subject to topography and user sharing
In fact, Wimax technology unfortunately offers much less interesting coverage than in the estimates.
Indeed, if the waves can go beyond trees or even houses, they lose considerably in power when they are in front of numerous buildings or in front of mountains. The presence of these natural or artificial obstacles has a direct impact on the actual throughput which may therefore not exceed 20 Mbit / s. We invite you to test your fixed internet speed to find the solution that best suits your situation.
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