How close is WiMAX? Well, I'm using an early version from Clearwire to make this post. I still have a contract with an 802.11-based WISP here in town also (my house is beyond the range of wired broadband) and, even though throttled down from its theoretical capability, downstream speed is comparable with the older WISP when the latter is working properly and much better than the older WISP upstream. Clearwire was extremely easy to set up and, unlike the 802.11 WISP, doesn't require an external antenna on my house. Oh, and I'm five miles from the transmitter.
Nate Anderson at Ars Technica and Robert X. Cringely at PBS are offering good analyses of WiMAX's prospects. --Dennis
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