Networking is like Drugs

What is Wi-Fi?

Wi-Fi stands for Wireless Fidelity and helps users in connecting internet at fast speed. This technology allows users to build their own Local Area Network and conduct data transmission between different elements of a network. This technology is helping businesses as now they can connect with their customers directly in a close circuit in cheap and easy way. Besides business men, home users can also access internet through Wireless Fidelity in their homes or outdoor.

What is wi-max?

In contrast to Wi-Fi, term wimax is used to describe worldwide interoperability for microwave access. This telecommunication technology is popularly used for transmission of data over multi point modes and this network is based on IEEE 802.16 standards. A wimax tower station is the base which helps in connecting internet using a microwave link. Quality of service mechanism used in wimax network is better than Wi-Fi.

Standards and Range covered by Wi-Fi and wimax:

Wi-Fi works on IEEE 802.11 standard and is suitable to use with LAN networks, while on the other hand wimax is based on IEEE 802.16 which make it ideal to use for broader range. According to standard used with a Wi-Fi network range varies, but typically it falls between hundred feet with speed of 54 Mbps. On the other hand wimax antenna provides wider range than Wireless Fidelity and can easily cover the area of 40 miles with speed of 70 to 100 Mbps.

Cost of Wi-Fi and wimax:

When a comparison is made to check effectiveness and cost of both the technologies, wimax took higher position as this technology is still costlier. Wi-Fi is an end-user technology due to which expense of using it is lesser, this reason is making this technology popular to use among small businesses and home users. On the other hand wimax is still expensive, although it provides better quality but its use is still limited. Large scale businesses prefer to use wimax over Wi-Fi and DSL’s.

Scalability and bit rate:

As we discussed earlier Wireless Fidelity is a LAN application technology and is best to use for limited area therefore user scale used with this technology is small. For each subscriber of this technology one device is assigned in fixed channel size so that proper transmission of data over internet can be made possible. While wimax is designed in a way to support hundreds of user at a time and for this purpose Consumer premises equipments (CPE)’s used with this technology. Just because of CPE unlimited subscribers can enjoy fast speed internet without any hindrance.

Although both technologies are popularly used today at different levels but still is huge difference between both like difference in bit rate. With WiFi user can work at bit rate of 2.7bps/Hz and can boost up to 54 Mbps in 20 MHz channel. On the other hand with wimax user can work at 5bps/Hz and can boost up to 100 Mbps in a 20 MHz channel.

Deployment of Wi-Fi and wimax:

Wireless and portable technologies are gaining popularity day by day including Wireless Fidelity and wimax. These two technologies ease users to work with fast speed internet but still the area covered by these two is limited. Wimax work from a central communication point therefore it can cover more are then Wireless Fidelity but still after a certain range it cannot generate signals.

Although wimax is stronger than Wireless Fidelity but still Wireless Fidelity has edge at wimax due to some factors like it can survive in an environment where multiple micro waves are present while wimax is designed to work in licensed spectrum only.

Mubashir Shafi is trying to explain the hippie between WiMax and WiFi. After reading a lot of articles about WiFi TV and Wimax routers i am sharing what i have in my mind.