WiMAX: what it is and how it works

We are going to explain to you what WiMAX technology is and how this alternative to rural fiber or ADSL connections works, but it is especially useful in rural environments where these cables do not reach. It is therefore a method to get Internet without an installation that reaches your home, which in some areas can be interesting.


We are going to divide the article into two parts. In the first we will explain what exactly this technology is, mentioning its main advantages and its great disadvantage. Then, we will explain a little how it works and the type of installation you would need to be able to use this alternative to satellite Internet.


What exactly is WiMAX?


The acronym WiMAX stands for Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access, which in Spanish could be translated as Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access. It is a method of transmitting data through radio waves, and it uses frequencies from 2.5 to 5.8 GHz.


So that you understand it in a simple way, we can refer to WiMAX as an alternative to cable when it comes to bringing Internet to your home through a wireless connection based on IEEE 802.16 communication standards, and that allows you to bring Internet with a range that can reach at 70 kilometers.


So, in concept it is something that can be very reminiscent of WiFi, since the connection reaches you through the air, but it offers a service that replaces the wiring that brings the connection to your home. This makes it an alternative to consider for rural environments and those areas where there are no cable installations with which to bring Internet to the house where you live.


Therefore, the technology has advantages such as not having to pay for installation and being able to offer a fast and fluid connection with low latencies. It is also scalable, and if you have contracted a certain speed with a company, it is very possible that they also have rates with which to increase it without having to do anything else.


Its other great advantage is that you do not need to have a telephone installation at home, so if you live in a remote place where landline telephone lines have not even reached, you will still be able to try to contract WiMAX. There will even be companies that, with the installation of this technology, will allow you to make VoIP calls.




How WiMAX works


The operation of WiMAX is simple, since it is simply the repeater of the company you hire it from, emitting the microwave signals that reach the antenna you have in your home. Therefore, the first thing you need is to contact a company that offers these services and that has a repeater near your house to be able to send you the signal.


Then, you have to put a small antenna on the facade of your house. This antenna will have to point directly to the repeater of the company that is going to give you the service, or else to an intermediate connection point that is used to overcome obstacles that come between your antenna and its repeater. The installation will be done by the company itself.


Then, from the antenna a cable will come down that will reach your house, and that will connect directly to your computer or a router with which you can manage the connection as if it were a conventional fiber or cable network, being able to create your own WiFi. domestic.


WiMAX connections can reach speeds of up to 1Gbps at fixed points, for example a home, and 365Mbps at mobile points. Even so, it will always depend on what the company you hire the service from offers you, and with 4G so widespread and the imminent arrival of 5G, the mobile alternative may not be as attractive.


Generally, when you contract a WiMAX connection you will get asymmetric speeds, which means that the download speed will be much higher than the upload speed. Additionally, stability could be more easily affected during times of congestion. Despite this, they are still generally faster than rural ADSL at a very similar monthly price