On paper, Wi-MAX is a promising technology. The new Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers 802.16a standard theoretically can support a maximum 50-kilometer connection at frequencies in the 2 and 11 GHz range, with data rates reaching 280 megabits per second per base station. Unlike previous broadband wireless last-mile technologies, it would be standards based, opening the door for lower cost consumer devices and service offerings.

WI-MAX FORUM To get the technology off the ground, a coalition of 40 equipment vendors and service providers have formed the Wi-MAX Forum to oversee product marketing and interoperability. With silicon expected in the second half of 2004 and interoperable gear shortly after, Wi-MAX products likely will reach deployment stage in late 2004 into 2005.

Fujitsu Microelectronics America has been working on 802.16 technology for more than two years and is an active member of the Wi-MAX Forum. That interest stems from the success it saw in Wi-Fi networks and the realization "that there is actually a need for ranges which are more than that," says Aditya Agrawal, Fujitsu Microelectronics America Inc.'s senior marketing manager for wireless products. "Wireless LAN basically paved the way for this technology to be believed in, in a sense."

In its first generation, 802.16a is geared for fixed broadband wireless applications. Companies including Alvarion Ltd. see it as a perfect fit for cable and telco operators looking for a last-mile wireless alternative in areas where their wired broadband networks can't reach.

Under that scenario, a phone company installer would arrive at a new broadband customer's house with a digital subscriber line modem and a Wi-MAX modem.

"If he can get out there and hook up the DSL modem, then fine," says Carlton O'Neal, Alvarion's vice president of marketing. "But if he can't, then he can just mount this small antenna on the side of your house and then he could hook you up that way."

FOLLOW-UP SPEC Plans also are in the works to extend 802.16's capabilities to allow mobile applications. To that end, the IEEE is cooking up 802.16e, a follow-up specification that would allow limited mobility and roaming between these wider networks.

"The fixed access is the first goal," Agrawal says. "And then, using that same infrastructure that has already been deployed for fixed access–the same base stations and the same frequency infrastructure–essentially provide subscriber stations that are mobile and fit into the existing infrastructure. So the incremental cost of deploying portable, nomadic mobile solutions will be much lower at that point."

Still, the track record for last-mile broadband wireless services isn't exactly stellar. Facing fierce competition from telcos and cable operators, traditional fixed wireless multichannel multi-point distribution service ventures have struggled or disappeared. On the mobile side, Aerie Networks' attempt to revive the Metricom Inc. Ricochet broadband service has not expanded beyond Denver and San Diego.

That experience, and the developing 2.5 and 3G networks, raise questions as to whether Wi-MAX can get off the ground quickly enough to gain any market traction. "My feeling is if you are looking for faster bandwidth technology, you are going to see some of the commercial operators with licensed spectrum provide that faster than you are going to see Wi-MAX," says Tole Hart, senior analyst at Gartner Dataquest. "You are more likely to see 1X EVDO on a nationwide basis than you are going to see a full deployment of Wi-MAX."

COMPETITION There is even competition from within the 802 standards family. San Francisco-based Vivato Inc. has come up with a smart antenna scheme to extend existing 802.11b technology to cover up to four kilometers for outdoor applications and up to one kilometer for systems that beam into indoor spaces. Vivato customers are using the technology to fuel Wi-Fi hot zones, including a project in Rhode Island to provide connectivity to a marina district.

While there is plenty of buzz around Wi-MAX, "it is still a few years before you get to the economic situation where we are with Wi-Fi, where you have a lot of products on the market, there is interoperability and prices are declining to the point where you are going to see a big penetration," says Phil Belanger, Vivato's vice president of marketing.

Agrawal, meanwhile, acknowledges that playing for a wider area wireless network is not exactly a new idea, but he sees promise in that.

"It's been tried many times before and one has to think, why has it been tried so many times? Because there is a need for it…people realize that if we succeed in this, this is a big deal," he says.

Acronym for High Speed Downlink Packet Access.

High Speed Downlink Packet Access, or HSDPA, is a packet based data service feature of the in WCDMA standard which provides a downlink with data transmission up to 8-10 Mbps (and 20 Mbps for MIMO systems) over a 5MHz bandwidth in WCDMA downlink. The high speeds of HSDPA is achieved through techniques including; 16 Quadrature Amplitude Modulation, variable error coding, and incremental redundancy. HSDPA is a technology upgrade to current UMTS networks.

MIMO : Acronym for multiple-in, multiple-out.

MIMO takes advantage of multiplexing to increase wireless bandwidth and range. MIMO algorithms send information out over two or more antennas and the information is received via multiple antennas as well.  On normal radio, multiplexing would cause interference, but MIMO uses the additional pathways to transmit more information and then recombines the signal on the receiving end. MIMO systems provide a significant capacity gain over conventional single antenna systems, along with more reliable communication. The benefits of MIMO lead many to believe it is the most promising of emerging wireless technologies.

We've taken down the link to "Geekcorps" since discovering this project information :

Organisation : Geekcorps
URL : http://www.geekcorps.org
Total budget in US$ : $750,000/18 months
Country of activity: Ghana [GH]
Are there any partners involved : yes
What is partners role?: Partner Ghanaian businesses provide a wired working environment for Geekcorps volunteers, and a dedicated Ghanaian counterpart. Geekcorps partner businesses are committed to community involvement and are asked to implement a socially responsible local project in return for the services of a Geekcorps volunteer.

There had been this odd idea that you didn't have to be a recipient of 'aid' in order to have the use of a volunteer.

 Nothing is changed.... Different kinds of experiences lead to different brain structures    "Forward now!" to freedom from 'aid'.