WiMAX for development

This paper discusses WiMAX (Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access), an emergent broadband wireless technology, and examines its suitability to developing countries. Previous technologies have not fulfilled the promise of increasing connectivity in developing countries, largely due to the high-cost of the technologies and the unsuitability of the technologies to local conditions. WiMAX has emerged as a genuine contender to fill the connectivity gap in developing countries. In this paper we discuss the characteristics of the technology, outline how it can be used to enhance community connectivity and identify some of the issues surrounding WiMAX deployments. We also discuss the implications of WiMAX for ICT for development research.

[1]  E. Murelli.  Breaking The Digital Divide: Implications For Developing Countries , 2002 .

[2]  Sandra C. Lee.  WiMAX in Africa: A New Frontier , 2007 .

[3]  Francisco J. Proenza.  The Road to Broadband Development in Developing Countries Is through Competition Driven by Wireless and Internet Telephony , 2007 .

[4]  S. Dhawan.  Analogy of Promising Wireless Technologies on Different Frequencies: Bluetooth, WiFi, and WiMAX , 2007, The 2nd International Conference on Wireless Broadband and Ultra Wideband Communications (AusWireless 2007).

[5]  Eliamani Sedoyeka,et al.  WiMAX Mesh networks for underserved areas , 2008, 2008 IEEE/ACS International Conference on Computer Systems and Applications.

[6]  J. Morris Chang,et al.  WiMax: The Emergence of Wireless Broadband , 2006, IT Professional.

[7]  Jeffrey G. Andrews,et al.  Fundamentals of WiMAX: Understanding Broadband Wireless Networking , 2007 .

[8]  Kamran Etemad,et al.  Overview of mobile WiMAX technology and evolution , 2008, IEEE Communications Magazine.

[9]  Loutfi Nuaymi,et al.  Wimax Technology for Broadband Wireless Access , 2007 .

[10]  Hernan Galperin,et al.  Wireless Networks and Rural Development: Opportunities for Latin America , 2005 .

[11]  Susana Sargento,et al.  Novel WiMAX Scenarios for Future Broadband Wireless Access Networks , 2009 .

[12]  Jeffrey G. Andrews,et al.  Fundamentals of WiMAX: Understanding Broadband Wireless Networking (Prentice Hall Communications Engineering and Emerging Technologies Series) , 2007 .

[13]  Daniel Castro,et al.  The Need for Speed: The Importance of Next-Generation Broadband Networks , 2009 .

[14]  Stephen Burgess,et al.  Tourism and internet adoption: a developing world perspective. , 2008 .

[15]  R. Bharat Rao,et al.  Wireless commons perils in the common good , 2006, CACM.