Data services over digital cellular networks have become commonplace, with even the most basic cellphones offering limited Web-browsing and e-mail functions. There is talk of building the radios to support these networks into notebook computers the way Wi-Fi is built in today.
Meanwhile Wi-Fi, while still not available in as many places as we would like and still not priced to encourage casual use, shows promise. Efforts like Toronto Hydro Telecom’s plan to turn the city’s downtown core into a Wi-Fi zone and VIA Rail’s decision to extend on-board wireless access to the mere mortals outside first class are encouraging.
And then there’s WiMAX, the wider-range, licensed-spectrum version of Wi-Fi. New competitors or even existing wireless carriers could use WiMAX to offer wireless data services over much wider areas.
So are the 802.11 wireless technologies (Wi-Fi and WiMAX) on a collision course with the digital cellular data offerings?
Not exactly. If you want to use an analogy involving vehicles, think not of a collision but of two cars hurtling side by side down an expressway. They’re both headed in the same direction, they’re both drifting into each other’s lanes and they’ll probably sideswipe each other a few times but keep going.
Jeff Orr, director of marketing for the WiMAX Forum, the group responsible for certifying products’ compliance with the standard, acknowledges that WiMAX overlaps the functions of cellular data services. Some new competitors may choose WiMAX to compete with the EV-DO and TK services of established carriers, he says. Some established carriers might even overlay WiMAX in some service areas to take some of the data load off their cellular networks.
“I think in some places you’ll find it complementary and in other places you’ll find it competing,” Orr says.
Getting better
There’s no question Wi-Fi competes with cellular data and will be a formidable competitor with wider deployment and faster hardwarespeeds. I’ve complained before about bad experiences with Wi-Fi, but must admit that when I bought a new notebook recently, I was astounded at the difference between built-in Intel Centrino technology and the add-on PC Card I had before. Some hotspots seemed to work fairly well with the old setup, which is why I didn’t blame it for the problems. But those services work much better now and many that didn’t work at all before, do now.
Deployment still leaves something to be desired — take Toronto’s Pearson International Airport, which offers public access in very few areas — but it’s getting better. WiFi is much faster than EV-DO or EDGE and it’s pretty much standard with new notebook computers. The cellular standards on the other hand are standard with cellphones, but not notebooks. So the choice of network is partly determined by your choice of device — especially since, judging from my experience with Wi-Fi, these things work better when they’re built in than when they’re added on.
It’s also partly a matter of where you are. Wi-Fi will never be as ubiquitous as cellular. Then again, most times when you want broadband you’re probably in or near one of the places where Wi-Fi is likely to appear.
Ideally, portable devices should support both. Then we’ll get more competition, which should pressure everyone to offer better pricing plans, roaming and convenience.