Just today you may have noticed an ad about some sort of revolutionary broadband to be introduced in 10.10.9 or October 10, 2009 Saturday. Is this a new ISP wanting to make a mark in the Philippine market? The signs may actually point something much more familiar: hold on to your saddles, its Smart deploying Wimax soon.
The biggest clue pointing to this would be the complete acquisition by the wireless telecom giant of the lesser known but pioneeing telco named Primeworld Digital Systems Inc. (PDSI). This was reported as early as October 5, 2009. What's interesting about the deal is that PDSI holds the rights to the 30 MHz frequency encompassing the 2300-2400 spectrum range. The 2.3 GHz spectrum is part of the range allocated by the NTC for broadband wireless access use. This means Smart will now be able to roll its Wimax services.
WIMAX stands for Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access, a wireless technology with more similarities to Wifi than 3G. It is able to deliver connections up 3 to 6 Mbps over very long distances. This means that though it may not be as fast as 802.11g, it will have a similar range to 3g or 3.5g but is capable of faster internet.
Whether this can stand in conflict to the current mobile broadband services of Smart (Smart Bro, using 3G and HSDPA) is still too far to be seen. At this point, home subscribers using the canopy and the 3G router have been satisfied with the stable speeds they have been getting. Their USB dongles are also providing reliable connections. They have even treated their home users to a lovely 1 Mbps speed bump lately.
Rival Globe has demonstrated that Wimax and 3G tech also can coexist. They have actually Smart to be first to roll out Wimax plans in key cities. Unfortunately for them, reports have been hazy to say the least. In fact their current plans make you want to think twice when a similar offer from Smart (Bro) gives the same results on paper and actually delivers it. Still Smart may end up with the same model where Wimax becomes the solution for fixed wireless internet while HSDPA takes care of internet on the go.
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