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We once dreamed of free municipal WiFi. Now, we'll settle for cheap WiMax, the new standard that will offer WiFi-like speeds but with about ten times the range, which cuts down on the number of towers needed in a coverage area. Tech website Ars Technica was on the Chicago River earlier this week for Sprint's demonstration of its new XOHM WiMax service. The testers were given laptops with XOHM plug-in cards and Motorola cell phones hooked up to the network.
Sprint put up four towers (map and locations) that cover 0.8 miles of the Chicago river. As the journalists, marketing people, execs, and analysts got cozy on the S.S. Summer of George, they tested streaming video, streaming audio, web pages, and VOIP. Speeds were reported as double that of Verizon’s current wireless technology, and it seems that it was comparable to a home cable or DSL connection (3229Kbps down and 1500Kbps up with a 70ms ping...now readjust your pocket protector).
If the speeds hold true when the Chicago network is fully deployed around March or April 2008, it should make the city's plan for municipal WiFi obsolete and give users another option in the home service provider market. So start learning how to pronounce XOHM (like "home," with a Z).
Image via WallyG
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This is a bigger deal than it sounds like. Your bluetooth phone will be a modem for your laptop and your home computer. One bill for truly broadband interent wherever you are. Forget hunting around for a crappy WiFi signal. As a bonus, Sprint isn't going to tie users into contracts with its WiMax service. They've said they're going with month-to-month service.
This is cool stuff.
I agree that this is going to be huge. Motorola showed off some routers, that will pull down the signal for home use.
If they can demonstrate consistent high speeds across the city, I would be more than happy to leave Comcast. Granted you will need WiMax enabled devices.
WiMax iPhone for the win!