+ Wi-MAX: Missing the Point

There is a lot of discussion these days about the application of Wi-MAX in the US and today in particular, as a major breakdown occurred between Clearwater and Spint.

There is not much discussion on the *international* use of Wi-MAX.

I happen to follow it because like video, I believe it’s one of the most progressive technologies for bringing people around the world together. In particular, Wi-MAX has a very progressive potential to bring second and third world countries online.

If you do not know what Wi-MAX is, its very similar to Wi-FI but it can span much greater distances. Depending on the environment, you can cover an entire town with just one antenna.

While it’s costly for one company to outfit an entire country like the US, it’s possible for a small business to erect a Wi-MAX tower in a small village in a second or third world country. Upon erecting the tower, the business has suddenly created a demand for Wi-MAX cards, Wi-MAX phones, laptops (or dataplans if there was a more established marketplace or the business “needed to”).

I say “needed to” because there is another major advantage of not being Spint in this case: a small company can do business with the mission of helping to bring the community online as the driving principle behind their methods and activity while still making enough to sustain and even profit.

The technology also has the potential to fair well in regions that major telcos do not care about.