All,
The title is kind of misleading as this is a Clearwire press release
more than what techies think of Wimax.
Regards,
Dawn DiPietro
Techies like WiMAX's promise
Saturday, December 02, 2006
By Jim Harger
The Grand Rapids Press
GRAND RAPIDS -- Local techies say they're geeked about Clearwire LLC's
decision to set up a high-speed wireless network that will blanket the city.
Clearwire's "WiMAX" technology may not be as familiar as the more common
"Wi-Fi" technology, but it's the next big thing, said Josh Leng, an
account executive with Robert Half Technology, an information technology
consulting firm.
"Wi-Fi will be the technology of the past and WiMAX is what the next
technology will be," said Leng, who said he's familiar with Clearwire's
operations in other cities. "This is a great move by the city."
City officials announced Friday the Kirkland, Wash.-based firm will
build a wireless network to blanket the city with high-speed access.
City officials will provide Clearwire with tower locations in exchange
for access for police and fire departments.
Clearwire officials could not be reached for comment. The contract is to
be approved by the City Commission on Tuesday. City officials said
Clearwire has told them the system could be operating as soon as next
summer.
While the city chose Clearwire because it offers faster and more stable
wireless communications for its police and fire departments, consumers
may find the service less accessible.
Clearwire has not said how much it will charge its customers for access
to the network. It has promised city officials that the computer cards
and hardware needed to upgrade computers will be available when the
network is installed.
Consumers who already use Wi-Fi connections at work may be reluctant to
switch to the new format or use the WiMAX format at home, said Steve
Goulet, a board member with glimaWest, a local technology users group.
A lot will depend on how Clearwire prices its service and the cost of
the necessary hardware, said Goulet, president of Blue Sphere Inc., an
Ada technology firm.
"I don't see a problem with the actual technology," Goulet said. "It
does have really good speed and penetration."
Laurie Cirivello, executive director of the Community Media Center, said
she's pleased Clearwire will make its service available to low-income
households for $9.95.
The company also has promised to set up limited Internet access at some
free Wi-Fi "hot spots."
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