The wireless wave is coming, and before it stabilizes there are going to be some winners, some losers, and a bit of confusion and pain for consumers -- and it's all leveraging on the free spectrum that's open for anyone to use -- the same spectrum that's making
WiFi such a big hit. Right now the BT Group is rolling out a trail of wireless broadband in Ireland, promising speeds equal to those of most wired broadband service, at less cost. (You'd think Ma Bell would be doing that in Canada as well, seeing as how our population density screams for a wireless solution -- but oh no!) Not only does wireless solutions promise broadband for internet use, it also promises massive data transfers between appliances in your home -- think of your computer sending the latest movie download directly to your TV, or your TV sending video signals to your microwave's LCD panel -- or lite data transfers between appliances anywhere in the world into a concept now being called the "Internet of Things" -- which may grow to have a population greater than that of people on the internet. Some of the technologies that are vieing to define the new standards and capture the market are:
ZigBee -- the wireless standard that will allow the communication amongst thousands of tiny sensors.
WiMax -- promising to create hot spots around a central area just as WiFi does, but unlike WiFi's limitation of several hundred feet, WiMax will allow communication at distances of up to 30-miles.
Mobile-Fi -- allowing broadband access while in motion, such as surfing the net while driving your car.
Ultrawideband -- allowing massive data transfers at short distances.
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