Windows Phone Thoughts: Will WiFi Weaken WiMax?

"The Federal Communications Commission on Thursday said it was willing to create additional unlicensed spectrum so wireless broadband service providers can more quickly spread high-speed Internet connections into rural areas. The commission...voted to begin a months-long process of rewriting FCC rules to let unlicensed wireless devices operate in a patch of spectrum now used by satellite operators, and at power levels much higher than usually allowed. Expressing interest in using the spectrum are manufacturers of a new high-speed wireless standard called WiMax, which has a range of up to about 30 miles and data transfer speeds of up to 70 megabits per second."

While it's true that spewing broadband over the air is cheaper than laying cable in trenches, the price may be irreversible interference from existing wireless devices. "Some participants in the debate have expressed concerns about interference if the spectrum becomes crowded with devices like Wi-Fi wireless networking products built to use the spectrum before licensed operators were allowed to use it as well. The resulting interference would be "virtually impossible" to fix, Sprint wrote in comment to the FCC."

It sounds like WiFi may be to WiMax what 2.4 GHz phones and microwaves are to WiFi. :mrgreen: How do you think wireless broadband will be delivered in the future? WiMax? WiFi "clouds"? Something else?