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The emerging standard 802.16 defines a network of wireless broadband at speeds capable of delivering triple play access to voice, data, and multimedia internet services. As a disruptive technology, WiMAX stands to compete with cable companies, the Telcos, and the 3G cellular networks. Thanks to the IEEE standards committee and the WiMAX Forum, the fledgling technology that got serious in 2004 is now being deployed in regions around the world.

Companies like Intel with their World Ahead program have formed partnerships for WiMAX deployments in Asia, Africa, and Europe, in an all out effort to bridge the digital divide. The cost effectiveness and ease of a WiMAX deployment is significant compared to implementing a wireline infrastructure, making the technology a natural choice for underdeveloped townships and hard to reach localities.

As it stands today, most of the deployments are of Fixed WiMAX, offering VoIP and data transfers through line of site and non line of site antennae, with a fiber optic, satellite, or WiMAX backhaul, i.e. Internet connection.

In 2008, the 802.16e standard known as Mobile WiMAX is expected to come of age. Mobile WiMAX will provide for faster handoffs and will be able to compete with the cellular 3G networks. As a technology based on open standards, WiMAX is considered to be future proof, in that upgrades to emerging standards should be easily accomplished.

In the United States, FCC Chairman Kevin Martin recently stated that broadband access is a top priority for the FCC, and that the upcoming auction of frequencies in the 700MHz spectrum provides an opportunity for wireless internet access to become a third choice for consumers.

Today, most of the WiMAX 2.5 GHz spectrum is owned by Sprint Nextel and Clearwire Communications. Martin says the FCC is auctioning off some of the spectrum in smaller blocks to give smaller companies a chance to compete, and to bolster overall competition in the industry.

The 700 MHz ban would be especially well suited for Mobile WiMAX, delivering large amounts of data at low power. The spectrum is being made available because of the analog to digital television transition. Another advantage of this range is its ability to penetrate deep into dense structures, potentially making the dropped call phenomenon so typical of todays cell phones a thing of the past.

WiMAX is a robust technology, capable of delivering large amounts of data at high speeds over an area of daisy chained base stations. But what will be the Killer App in a WiMAX network? The one application that gains widespread acceptance, makes the most money, and fosters development and competition.

Some think the killer app could be TV over WiMAX. The company MobiTV is working with the WiMAX Forum to do just that. They already bring over 50 channels to your phone or PC, and also offer TV over WiFi.

For municipalities and those concerned with homeland security, surveillance could be the ultimate app. Cities could easily and cheaply cover all departments with a single T1 backhaul, police would have instant access to data, mug shots etc, and wireless cameras could be deployed to monitor security sensitive areas. Crime could potentially cease to exist with big brother on constant wireless alert!

Probably the biggest money maker for a WiMAX network would be Internet telephony. VoIP has already been deployed on WiMAX networks throughout the world, and the very concept of cheap phone calls globally has led consumers to VoIP pure plays like Vonage or Packet8, and the cable companies are also getting into the act.

For the underdeveloped populations most effected by the digital divide, cheap, reliable phone service could open up a whole brave new world.

Author Michael Talbert is a certified systems engineer and web designer with over 7 years experience in the industry. For more information on WiMAX, read the series of articles at http://voip-facts.net/wimax.php. For more on VoIP, visit the website http://VoIP-Facts.net.

As recently as a year or two ago, the number of people who could reliably use online video services was small. Now, video services such as youtube.com are among the most popular sites on the internet. This is all thanks to Broadband Internet services. Downloading video is just not practical using a dial-up connection. With a broadband connection, however, downloading video or other bandwidth intensive content from the Internet is practical.

Broadband Internet
Broadband Internet is commonly used to describe high-speed Internet access, which means any Internet access service that is faster than 256 kbit/s, or at least four times faster than a user would get using a dial-up connection over a digital phone line.

What are the Different Types of Broadband?
There are two main methods of providing broadband Internet access: via a a cable modem , and via a Digital Subscriber Line, or DSL modem.

A cable modem allows users to get a high-speed connection to the Internet over their cable television connection. Because the cable television infrastructure is already designed to carry large amounts of traffic quickly, you can potentially get a very good Internet connection using a cable modem.

While a cable modem connection uses your existing television cable connection, a DSL modem uses a standard telephone line. What makes a DSL connection so useful is that it sends signals over the telephone line at such a high frequency that it does not disturb the normal operation of the phone line. This means that you can get fast access to the Internet and use your phone line at the same time.

What does the Future hold for Broadband?
A number of new services will be widely available in North America within the next few years that will offer an even faster connection than cable or DSL modems. One system, that is already being used in East Asia is VDSL, or Very high data rate Digital Subscriber Line. Another exciting technology is power-line Internet, or Broadband over power lines (BPL). BPL lets you get a broadband Internet connection over high-voltage power lines. While this technology is exciting in terms of its potential reach, its very hard to find a location that is not serviced by a power line, there are still some concerns over signal strength that need to be addressed before BPL can be used widely.

Getting the Best Broadband Connection
Cable modem connections are generally faster than DSL modem connections. However, this does not always mean you should always get a cable modem. If there are going to be a lot of people on the same network, a DSL modem will handle the crowd better than the cable modem. Also, you have to consider the total package; because existing cable companies often provide cable modems, you often have to subscribe to cable packages just to get an Internet connection. This may make cable modems more expensive than DSL modems for comparable services.

Steve Dolan in a veteran IT professional of over 25 years who could not live without his broadband connection. Find out how you can get the best broadband at http://www.fwbroadband.com

The days of 56kb internet dial up are rapidly disappearing, If you have not yet joined in with most of the world and had broadband installed you really are missing out!

I feel sorry for those who are still spending tedious hours waiting for downloads to complete and pages to load! Broadband is ground-breaking, most people are put off because they feel the cost of broadband is too high however you will find that the cost involved is not much different to dial up.

The installation of broadband is simple and usually involves one visit from an Internet Service Provider. The existing line can more often than not be used, the only addition you will need to purchase is a cable modem these are normally supplied by the internet service provider upon installation if not they are cheap and easy to purchase online or from your local electrical store

Broadband is essential for people who work from home, when sending documents and downloading files your work time will decrease substantially if the files and documents are sent and received over broadband

If you decide to have broadband installed you need to firstly check that it is available in your area. Once you know the answer to this you are only a phone call away from installation.
Most companies offer an online check where you enter your postcode and they will tell you if the service is available in your area, if it is new to your area you may find a waiting list.

Once you have made your call you will need to consider which broadband speed you would like obviously the faster the speed the more expensive it becomes. Broadband speed will persist to rise as technology moves forward.
If you are unsure what speed you require or if you are ready for broadband always check to see if your service provider offers any sort of free trial, they will, they know once you have tried it you simply can’t go back!

Speak to friends and family about broadband they will not have a bad word to say, the only real problem is you get used to it and forget how slow dial up was, and as the speeds increase you just have to flow with it and get faster too
Even if you opt for the minimum package with the lower speed you will still be impressed with what broadband has to offer.

Having broadband can save you so much money, think of all the times you have left the house to look at something in a shop because it just takes too long to load up the pages via the internet, not any more!

Broadband will change how you shop and how you spend your recreational time.

Vicki Churchill is the owner of http://www.internet-logic.com a site that specializes The internet Including Working from home, Affiliates, Internet Business & Optimization

The days of dial-up are a long distant memory for many, although it’s surprising to know that some people are still waiting for those strange whirring noises as they sit and connect to the internet through their standard phone line. And it’s even more surprising when you consider that you can get broadband for roughly the same price as dial-up and it’s so much faster, and of course doesn’t tie up your phone line.

Around nine million households in the UK have now turned to broadband and are enjoying high speed internet access with rich graphic details and quick downloading of files. Some would even argue that you haven’t really access the internet until you have used broadband and this could be why nearly 70,000 homes a week are signing up to broadband making it one of the fastest growing consumer products on the market.

But it’s not just the promise of high-speeds and access to exclusive content that is causing so many people to switch to broadband, it is also the highly competitive market where speeds are increasing and prices are dropping, and even scrapped by some companies offering “free broadband”.

The main reason for this increased competition in the market came last year when BT, which largely controls access to the internet via its copper wire telephone network, was told by Ofcom to open up its infrastructure to the competition, in the same way that it did so a few years back with home phone service providing. This meant that other companies could control the wire that runs from your telephone socket to the pole on your street, and on to the local exchange. The telecom term for this is “local loop unbundling”, or LLU, and it sparked a process that has resulted in this summer’s broadband price war.

The first company to make the first move in the broadband war was TalkTalk, part of the Carphone Warehouse, Britain’s biggest mobile phone retailer, who had in recent years started to focus on home phone provision too. Not only did TalkTalk make the first move, but they also made the biggest and boldest, one that would change the provision of broadband for the foreseeable future – they offered “free broadband”. Previously customers had been charged seperately for line rental, home phone calls and broadband. TalkTalk set out to change that and offered customers who signed up to their Talk3 package (which included line rental and calls) broadband for “free”. Although it was not technically free as you had to buy something else to get it, you were in fact getting broadband for no extra cost.

The service was launched in April of this year with the company predicting around 170,000 new customers. However, these predictions were way out with actual demand nearing 340,000 within two months. The demand was too much and TalkTalk had to admit that they had underestimated the amount of new customers who wanted to take advantage of the package as their website crashed, their call centres couldn’t cope with the amount of calls they were receiving and customers faced long delays to get their broadband connection.

The next company to enter the broadband price war was the mobile phone operator Orange. They started offering broadband packages after taking over Wanadoo but offered “free” broadband to mobile phone customers who spent a certain amount on their monthly phone bill. Again this was another free offer which required another product to be paid for in order to qualify but nonetheless was another bold step in the world of “free” broadband.

Finally, earlier this summer, the last of the “free” broadband contests was entered by Sky, the digital TV provider. They decided to offer “free” broadband to customers who subscribed to their satellite digital TV packages with the option to pay more to upgrade your connection speed and usage limit.

Although no other broadband providers, current or new, have yet to join the “free” broadband war, there has been a series of price cuts and service upgrades as each company seeks to retain current customers and attract new ones. As the prices drop and the service improves the market will become even more competitive and more and more people will not only connect to the internet to broadband, but existing users will become more likely to switch their supplier.

Guide2Broadband discusses broadband options for residential customers, primarily for the UK market. Find out more about getting the best broadband option for your home at http://www.guide2broadband.com