IMAX Review provides broadband wireless access technology related news and resources to industry professionals and wireless decision makers. WiMAX is defined as Worldwide Inter-operability for Microwave Access by the WiMAX Forum, formed in June 2001 to promote conformance and inter-operability of the IEEE 802.16 standard, officially known as WirelessMAN. The Forum describes WiMAX as "a standards-based technology enabling the delivery of last mile wireless broadband access as an alternative to cable and DSL".
WiMAX is the term used to describe the IEEE 802.16 standard, in a similar way that the term Wi-Fi describes the IEEE 802.11 Wireless LAN standard. However, WiMAX is very different from Wi-Fi in the way it works.
The WiMAX specification provides symmetrical bandwidth over many miles and range with stronger encryption (TDES or AES) and typically less interference. Wi-Fi is short range (hundreds of feet) has WEP or WPA encryption and suffers from interference as in metropolitan areas where there are many users. Wi-Fi Hotspots are typically backhauled over ADSL in most coffee shops therefore Wi-Fi access is typically highly contended and has poor upload speeds between the router and the internet. It provides connectivity between network endpoints without the need for direct line of sight.
WiMAX Review provides continuously updated WiMAX related news articles, WiMAX event and conference information, as well as access to numerous WiMAX resources including books, research papers, and reports.