Broadband wireless access with WiMax/802.16: current performance benchmarks and future potential

The IEEE 802.16 family of standards and its associated industry consortium, WiMax, promise to deliver high data rates over large areas to a large number of users in the near future. This exciting addition to current broadband options such as DSL, cable, and WiFi promises to rapidly provide broadband access to locations in the world's rural and developing areas where broadband is currently unavailable, as well as competing for urban market share. WiMax's competitiveness in the marketplace largely depends on the actual data rates and ranges that are achieved, but this has been difficult to judge due to the large number of possible options and competing marketing claims. This article first provides a tutorial…