Earthlink Offering Not WiMax

from the but-it-ain't-WiMax dept

Earthlink is no stranger to experimenting with alternative forms of broadband. Last year they started experimenting with letting their customers connect wirelessly over a 1xRTT network (the data network Sprint and most of Verizon Wireless offer for dataspeeds that usually are slightly better than dialup). Earlier this year they started trials with broadband over powerlines, and now they're announcing that they're going to offer wireless broadband in a few northern California cities - offering speeds from 384 kilobits per second or up to 1 megabit per second with pricing between $21.95 a month or $29.95 a month. Seems like a pretty good deal, though, depending on the specific technology, wireless broadband has had a spotty history so far. Of course, the reporter on the article claims that this is WiMax - which is impossible, since WiMax doesn't actually exist yet (it's amazing how confused the press is about WiMax). In this case, the reporter mistakenly believes that all wireless broadband is "WiMax" and it's not a specific standard that still hasn't been approved. Either way, it should be interesting to see how far these trials go, as most major broadband providers haven't done much publicly concerning wireless broadband offerings.
Hide this

Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.

Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.

While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.

–The Techdirt Team


Reader Comments

Subscribe: RSS

View by: Time | Thread


  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 19 May 2004 @ 8:48am

    No Subject Given

    I believe the people in charge of Wimax have started transmitting certain radiowaves that cause people to think too much about a technology that won't be out for years.....even when they don't mean to.

    This is only a theory.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Ananymous Coward, 19 May 2004 @ 11:54am

    Maybe It IS WiMAX

    You'll note that the service is vaporware, so it's quite possible that it is planned to be rolled out as 802.16 rather than 802.11.

    link to this | view in chronology ]


Follow Techdirt
Essential Reading
Techdirt Deals
Report this ad  |  Hide Techdirt ads
Techdirt Insider Discord

The latest chatter on the Techdirt Insider Discord channel...

Loading...
Recent Stories

This site, like most other sites on the web, uses cookies. For more information, see our privacy policy. Got it
Close

Email This

This feature is only available to registered users. Register or sign in to use it.