Why Wi-Max will succeed Wi-Fi

Science: For more than a decade, Wi-Fi has been the most popular short range wireless standard for computers. With an indoor range of 10 to 50 m, depending on data rates and obstacles, one Wi-Fi base station can serve users throughout a small building. Larger areas can be supported via multiple base stations, and even seamless roaming is feasible for those with the motor skills to walk and surf at the same time. The latest version of Wi-Fi equipment, based on the draft version of the IEEE 802.11n standard, promises to deliver raw data rates as high as 600 megabits per second (Mb/s), which is sufficient to carry several simultaneous high-definition television signals. Efforts to expand the useful range of Wi-Fi even farther have run into obstacles of cost and interference from other radio-frequency devices. These difficulties have been addressed with a new standard, WiMAX, which operates in the licensed radio band at higher transmit power.