Will 802.16 complement or compete with 802.11

Will 802.16 complement or compete with 802.11

Hi Lisa,
Do you foresee 802.16 to complement or compete with 802.11s when OFDM will allow for critical mass penetration within both the building and outside?
Thanks! Adlane

    Requires Free Membership to View

    SearchMobileComputing.com members gain immediate and unlimited access to expert guides for mobile deployment, management and security, industry trends, and more-- all at no cost. Join me on SearchMobileComputing.com today!

    Kate Gerwig, Editorial Director

    By submitting your registration information to SearchMobileComputing.com you agree to receive email communications from TechTarget and TechTarget partners. We encourage you to read our Privacy Policy which contains important disclosures about how we collect and use your registration and other information. If you reside outside of the United States, by submitting this registration information you consent to having your personal data transferred to and processed in the United States. Your use of SearchMobileComputing.com is governed by our Terms of Use. You may contact us at webmaster@TechTarget.com.

Metropolitan Area Networks based on 802.16 fixed broadband wireless provide high-bandwidth "last mile" connectivity between carrier networks and subscriber networks. Even if OFDM modulation is used in both technologies, I see 802.16 WMANs as being complementary to 802.11 WLANs. 802.16 will excel at providing site-to-site backbone connectivity, while 802.11 will continue to focus on host-to-workgroup LAN connectivity. There may be some overlap - for example, 802.11 point-to-point outdoor bridges. But I believe there are many more situations in which these technologies cater to different applications as a result of differences in distance, data rate, frequency band, protocol encapsulation, connection-oriented v. connectionless, QoS management, cost of terminating equipment, etc.

This was first published in October 2002