WiMAX has seen a substantial amount of progression in the past few years, with many cities and towns witnessing the emergence of municipal WiMAX. However, many city governments are having trouble integrating business models with different service providers. The city of Chicago recently abandoned its municipal WiMAX efforts, with even the city government itself not willing to participate in the program. This has led many in the industry to sing the praises of Mobile WiMAX as an alternative.

WiMAX's licensed spectrum allows it to have greater indoor coverage at faster speeds, but it still faces challenges. Most laptops produced today are not compliant with WiMAX technology, leaving service providers to come up with pricing strategies for USB dongles and ExpressCards. This could be a crucial moment - with most municipal WiMAX systems on hold, if consumers can find a decent price for a city-wide internet access plan, it could be really attractive for those looking to check their email during a commute on a ferry or on an afternoon coffee break.

WiMAX backers positioning 801.62E as an alternative

Labels: Web Technologies, Wireless