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Topic: Good news for RV internet users (Read 3 times) previous topic - next topic
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Good news for RV internet users
Yahoo Message Number: 88120
Looks like a new technology is evolving that will make fast internet available for RV owners.

Intel: WiMAX to Take Off -
 SDEROT, Israel (Reuters) - An emerging long-range, high-speed wireless technology is expected to spread quickly and be available globally within two years, a key backer of the so-called WiMax technology said on Tuesday.

Read the rest of the story at the link below:
 http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2704,2246797,00.asp
Re: WiMax - good news for RV internet users?
Reply #1 –
Yahoo Message Number: 88127
WiMax may turn out to be useful in the long run, but note what the Intel promoter said: "In a year or two, we will see it *in many metro zones and areas of heavy demand*". And remember--he's pushing the technology, so this is the most optimistic possible estimate.
 From an RVer's point of view, WiMax is roughly comparable to EVDO cell phone internet access, except that it's where EVDO was four years ago: about to be rolled out in big cities, but not available anytime soon here in the boonies where the good scenery is. ;-)
 EVDO is still not usable in most places I've stayed, and my best guess is that it'll be at least two or three more years before it's available everywhere you can get a cell signal. (Which itself is far from universal, as you know.) So you can figure that in about six to eight years WiMax may be widely enough installed--*if* its backers' fond hopes are realized!--to be useful to RVers. in short, it's worth keeping an eye on, but don't hold your breath... and don't believe the hype. :-)

Andy Baird http://www.andybaird.com/travels/
Andy Baird
2021 Ford Ranger towing 2019 Airstream 19CB
Previously: 1985 LD Twin/King "Gertie"; 2003 LD Midbath "Skylark"
Re: Philosphizing about wireless internet connections
Reply #2 –
Yahoo Message Number: 88128
Thinking about WiMax and EVDO led me to take a step back and look at the state of the art in wireless internet connections. Here are a few thoughts that occurred to me...
 Any wireless internet technology that has a range of only a few miles is going to take a very long time to become widespread--in fact, it's almost mathematically certain that it never will be truly ubiquitous.

Take WiMax. It can cover a *maximum* of about a hundred square miles--far less if there are more than a few users per access point.
Now, the US has three and a half million square miles, so it would take *thirty five thousand* WiMax access points to provide minimum coverage to the whole country. You can imagine how long it would take to install that many.

And remember, you can't just plop down a WiMax box in the middle of the wilderness. Each of those access points must have its own ultra-high-speed connection to the internet. All that WiMax (or EVDO or Wi-Fi) does is pass along that connection wirelessly, sharing it among many users.

So of course ubiquitous WiMax coverage will never happen. Heck, we still don't have cell phone coverage in plenty of places, and it's been a quarter of a century! Instead, you'll probably see ten WiMax nodes in downtown Manhattan alone, but only one in the entire state of Wyoming. ;-)

Meanwhile, HughesNet and StarBand offer high-speed internet service that does work literally everywhere, because it comes from a satellite high in the sky. In two and a half years of daily use, traveling from forests to mountains to deserts, there've only been two times when I couldn't get online due to obstructions.
 In short, satellite internet already has the ubiquity that land-based systems like WiMax and EVDO cell phone access will never achieve. It's not without drawbacks, though: high initial cost, bulky equipment, and the need to set up when you want to use it (unless you buy an even more expensive Motosat automatic dish).
 But here's a key point: unlike land-based wireless internet systems, where a technology upgrade requires installing tens of thousands of pieces of hardware across the country, satellite internet could be upgraded simply by replacing the satellite. Not a cheap thing to do, admittedly, but a one comsat with higher-powered transponders would mean all users could get by with smaller, cheaper dishes (think 12" to 18" instead of the current 24" x 36") that would be less finicky about aiming. Initial cost, system bulk, and ease of use would all decrease dramatically.
 Now, I don't have any way of knowing when or even if this will happen.
But a single-satellite upgrade seems more likely to happen in the foreseeable future than a nationwide rollout of land-based WiMax or EVDO technology that requires tens of thousands of expensive access points. And again, land-based technologies will probably never be usable in most of the scenic spots where I like to camp. That's why I put up with my big HughesNet dish: I know it will reliably get me online no matter where I am. :-)

Andy Baird http://www.andybaird.com/travels/
Andy Baird
2021 Ford Ranger towing 2019 Airstream 19CB
Previously: 1985 LD Twin/King "Gertie"; 2003 LD Midbath "Skylark"
Re: Good news for RV internet users
Reply #3 –
Yahoo Message Number: 88140
Quote
Looks like a new technology is evolving that will make fast internet
available for RV owners.

Quote
Intel: WiMAX to Take Off -

SDEROT, Israel (Reuters) - An emerging long-range, high-speed
wireless technology is expected to spread quickly and be available globally within two years, a key backer of the so-called WiMax technology said on Tuesday.

Quote
Read the rest of the story at the link below:
 http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2704,2246797,00.asp
Right on...everyone who camps in NYC, Chicago or LA will have great available high-speed internet service.  Jack in cloudy Reno