If anything is certain it's this: times change and technologies evolve. It is the natural way of things. For example, cars evolved from being clunky and slow to being fast and stream-lined. Computers evolved from being cumbersome and sluggish to being small and amazingly fast. Internet connectivity is no different. At first, only slow and unreliable dial-up connections were widely available. Now, home users can sign up for fast, reliable, and wireless Wimax service.
Wireless technologies weren't always as good as they are now. This can even be seen in the realm of home networking. Previous generations of wireless routers were unreliable, slow, and had limited range. The latest products now offer fast transfer rates that can keep up with wired counterparts as well as vastly increased range of usage.
Wireless internet connectivity has also gone through major changes. Before the current generation of technology, there was 3G. To be fair, 3G was always touted as a cell phone technology, but regardless of its purpose it just never quite measured up to wired counterparts. Although it has a fairly wide area of coverage now, it is just not powerful enough for all that the internet has to offer.
Wimax is a more evolved wireless connection. It too is based on cellular infrastructure, so it can be used in a mobile capacity just like 3G. That means you can take it with you anywhere in the city-wide coverage area just like how you can take your cell phone all around town. All you'll need is a USB modem or PC card and a portable computing device such as a laptop. It would be as simple as plugging in your modem to your device. You'd be able to use the internet at your favorite restaurant, in your backyard, at your friend's place, and even in a moving vehicle. Try using your cable or DSL connection in those capacities.
Most people have reservations about this new service because it is wireless. They tend to think that it will suffer from unreliable performance and slow transfer rates. But thanks to the evolution of technology, those are concerns that you won't have to worry about any longer. Wimax is mature and it will give you renewed faith in wireless technology. It may even go so far as to question your faith in wires because it will outperform many standard installations of cable and DSL.
The only potential worry arises from the fact that there is a coverage area. Your service would be perfectly fine within your city, but if you should happen to stray too far away you could end up losing your signal. Fortunately, many plans out there allow your equipment to switch over to the 3G network in these cases. 3G service will not be nearly as fast but at least you won't be left in the dark. You'd still be able to do some light browsing and emailing. Wimax coverage is expanding all the time so this will probably not be an issue for long.
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