Wireless Showdowns That Compare Apples And Oranges

from the better-than-what-now? dept

WiMax has been having some troubles lately, but there's still a half decent chance it will eventually be useful. However, with some suggesting that recent WiMax tests show it's better than the competition (via Broadband Reports), it's worth digging into the details a little bit. The actual report (pdf) doesn't seem to compare it to very much "competition." It merely compares it to WiFi -- which is not and was never meant to be a competitor to WiMax. WiFi is a local area solution. WiMax is a wide-area solution. They're very, very different. It would be a shock if anyone ever discovered that in a wide-area wireless offering that WiFi performed better than WiMax, because that would mean WiMax was in serious trouble. Also, this is how WiMax performed under special circumstances, on a small scale, with a special permit from the FCC. Besides, the issue has never been about getting a WiMax access point to work. The real problem that people are having with WiMax is getting it deployed and working on a wide-scale in a cost effective manner that people will use -- none of which this particular test dealt with. So, we have a small-scale deployment that basically works better than a technology that wasn't even meant to compete in the space. It's like comparing a Ford Pinto to a skateboard and announcing that the Pinto is better for driving across the state. That's true, but it hardly means the press should declare the Pinto as the best solution out there.
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

Filed Under: ball state university, wifi, wimax


Reader Comments

Subscribe: RSS

View by: Time | Thread


  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 5 Dec 2007 @ 5:41am

    Well, I'm convinced. Where can I buy WiMax internet tubes?

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Anarchy_Creator, 5 Dec 2007 @ 5:50am

    Yeah...

    But the question on everybody's mind in which one will allow you to download teh pr0n faster?

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Freedom, 5 Dec 2007 @ 6:01am

    Why WiMax?

    If I can get Internet from my cell phone provider via a PC Card, etc., why do we need WiMax? Isn't this essentially WiMax?

    Sure, right now it's expensive but competition will bring that down and as they improve their networks for a "data world" the speeds will get better as well.

    Maybe I'm just missing something, but to me it seems like we already have "WiMax Solutions" from Verizon, Sprint, etc.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    alaric, 5 Dec 2007 @ 6:09am

    PC Community Lacks Wireless Knowledge

    This is one of the main problems here. Much of the WiMAX hype has been directed to what is ultimately the PC community and its supporting industries (like broadband).

    These analysts and reporters lack knowledge in wireless and they don't realize things like Intel's 30 mile range is dependent on many many conditions or that many wireless techs can do the same.

    Thus Intel's hype has gone on unabated until recently but honest technical assessment of the technology has yet to reach most journalists/analysts.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Blanton Fortson, 5 Dec 2007 @ 9:29am

    WIMAX/Clearwire

    WIMAX works, sort of, in communities where it's been deployed by vendors like Clearwire, as here in Anchorage at my gf's home, though the speeds never seem to test as advertised, depending on one's distance from a tower, etc.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 5 Dec 2007 @ 9:31am

    I've enevr understood why people have such trouble comparing apples and oranges. One's red, one's orange, one is kinda sweet and one is kinda tarty-soury. Oranges have thick inedible skin, apples have thin edible skin. I don't see what's so tough about that.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward #2, 5 Dec 2007 @ 3:10pm

    More like... WhyMax?

    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.