They say the sequel is never as good as the original but that trope doesn’t apply to tech and the WiMax 2 high-speed wireless technology should become standardized by next year.
WiMax is already delivering up to 10 Mbps download speeds on the go with Sprint’s 4G network but the tech has a lower theoretical limit than its 4G competitor, Long-Term Evolution, which has a theoretical limit of 100 Mbps.
The WiMax 2 standard is supposed to deliver 120 Mbps download speed. While that is a theoretical limit that will likely never be reached outside of labs, real-life speeds should
The WiMax Forum said that the 802.11m standard should be standardized in Novemberl and this technology will be key for WiMax 2 to deliver its high-speed download speeds. It is expected to be finalized in the first quarter of next year and it could be deployed in parts of the United Kingdom.
It’s unclear what other markets this will be deployed to outside of the U.K. Sprint and Verizon are rolling out 4G networks in the United States based on WiMax and LTE, respectively.
The infrastructure for Sprint’s 4G network is provided by Clearwire, which uses WiMax for its mobile data network. It has hinted lately that it could switch to LTE and it is even testing out LTE markets that will provide up to 70 Mbps download speeds.
As for Verizon, it’s not going to be using WiMax 2 because it is in the middle of rolling out its 4G network. We got a hold of its early roadmap and it looks like up to 30 markets could be lit up by the end of the year.