Caroline Telford asked:


Broadband continually is being changed and altered in order to better it on many fronts. Improved speed, improved convenience, and improved price rates are the three areas that see constant activity as various technological leaps and brilliant marketing plans alter the way in which we view our broadband.

What is wireless broadband?

As we move into a ‘wireless age’, it seems fitting that wireless broadband is on the horizon even now. One type of this wireless broadband is mobile broadband, which utilises mobile phone towers as access points. However this particular type of broadband is plagued by various disadvantages that pose serious problems for many users.

Under the umbrella of wireless broadband can fall many technologies that have been attempted, and mostly, discarded.  First of these was the Wireless Internet Service Providers (WISPs) that serviced rural areas that did not have coverage through ADSL. Customers that used said WISPs would have to mount a dish on the roof of their houses in order to receive a signal that was usually transmitted from somewhere high up within the area. Using the dish meant that there had to be a constant line of sight between the dish and the signal transmitter.

Since then, wireless broadband has moved forward by leaps and bounds, although it is still not quite as complete as would be desired. One of the latest, and most widely used, developments is that of WiMAX, or Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access. Thus far this technology seems to be the most promising form of wireless broadband yet, and is used extensively throughout Europe and some of Asia.

When can it be expected to replace ADSL?

Truth be told, whether or not WiMAX or other wireless broadband alternatives ever replace ADSL as the ideal connection for homes and offices remains to be seen. For all the advantages that a wireless connection would offer in terms of convenience, a certain amount of stability, reliability and security of these connections would have to be established too.

On top of that, by using ADSL connections in conjunction with wireless routers, practically the same affect is achieved on a local (i.e. within a home or office) basis. So even if some sort of dependable wireless broadband system to be put in place, it would have to offer something more than ADSL currently does in terms of speed, and pricing too, in order to be able to compete against it.

Currently there are various efforts under development involving wireless broadband as the next frontier of broadband internet. It seems only a matter of time before at least one of these efforts is realised and who knows what would come after. Recently MIT unveiled what they claimed was a wireless power source, and used it to power a light bulb.

Perhaps in a decade or so wires themselves will be obsolete, and then we will truly be in the wireless age with wireless electricity supply, wireless mobile phones, and of course, wireless broadband internet. Imagine the complete lack of clutter that that world would have.