There are a number of ways you can analyze traditional wired broadband connections, but in the end speed is going to be the most significant attribute. The same line of reasoning doesn’t necessarily apply to wireless solutions though. For example, a wireless provider could offer high transfer rates but if their service isn’t available in your area then that won’t matter all that much. A similar thing can be said about Wimax too. Although it could have a number of excellent features going for it, the coverage present in your area is what really matters most.
That doesn’t mean you should completely ignore the other features it has though. It’s just that you should defer looking at those in favor of finding out whether or not you’re going to receive a high quality signal where you live first. You should also look at how coverage is in other areas where you’d want to use the internet too. For example, you might want to see whether you’d get a strong signal at the local park or at a restaurant on the other side of town. In order to ensure that you’d be able to get the most out of your Wimax connection, you need to study a good coverage map online before buying.
Once you know that you’ll get signal where it matters, then you can start looking at other features. Naturally, you’re first going to want to look at whether or not speed will be an issue. Most people think that wireless connections necessarily have to be slower than their wired counterparts, but the reality is the next generation of cell phone connectivity changes everything. While many cable and DSL connections offer speeds between 3 and 5 megabits per second, you could get access to a 6 megabit per second connection should you switch to Wimax. Most of the time the connection will operate between 3 and 6 megabits, but people often times experience burst speeds that go up to 10 megabits per second. The bottom line is that speed will not be a problem in the least.
Two other topics people like to criticize about wireless connections are their security and reliability. Because early versions of wireless home networking products were prone to having both security and reliability issues, many consumers believe that cellular technologies will have those same problems too. The truth of the matter is Wimax is as safe and secure as any wired broadband connection out there, if not more so. The reason is that all of its data is encrypted when sent over the air, so hackers won’t be able to read any information you transfer to and from the web. If you make use of a Wifi connection at home with cable or DSL though, you could end up becoming a victim of fraud should your router not be configured correctly.
Even though all of the other points are important, they’re all pointless to analyze if you don’t have coverage in your area. Before considering all the merits of Wimax, have a look at a coverage map online first.