Lucky, lucky Milton Keynes looks like it's going to become the first British town to get high-speed wireless network internet access based on WiMAX technology. This will be quite a bump up for Milton Keynes: from limited availability of high-speed broadband to high-speed net access via WiMAX.

Unlike WiFi, WiMAX (Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access) offers high-speed net access at multi-megabit speeds over vast areas, instead of just a few meters. WiMAX is seen to be a tough competition for WiFi, as it's already being used in thousands of hotspots around the world and has far more extensive wireless coverage than WiFi.

However, as compared to WiFi, WiMAX still remains widely unused. This is due to the need for expensive hardware and the specifications needed to use it in conjunction with wireless roaming plus other wireless technologies are still yet incomplete. In the US, Sprint Nextel announced its plans to build a national WiMAX network that will cost the company $3 billion.


Net connection firm Pipex will be responsible for administering a trial run of a Wimax network, which will be used to take broadband access to the townsfolk that could not get internet connection. If things go well, Pipex said that the Wimax system should be up and running by the end of this year and hopefully deployed in eight UK towns by 2008. A detailed outline of Pipex's plans is not available yet, not for at least four weeks.

Korea, always a leader in the tech industry, has spawned yet another innovative product. Known as the IM-H100, this USB device grants users access to 3G HSDPA networks (like the one run by Cingular in the US).

Currently, there are precious few solutions that provide access to the newest generation of wireless broadband  networks. As we've mentioned here before, Verizon offers a competing flavor of wireless broadband service known as EV-DO as does Sprint (US only).

The HSDPA 3G USB Card from SK is small enough to be carried in your laptop case and is designed with flexibility in mind. The USB cord can be twisted and maneuvered into a position that keeps it out of your way and in the best spot to receive a clear signal.

With one big red dial for controls, the IM-H100 looks to be easy enough to use. However, without a port for an external antenna users will miss out on some locations because of signal attenuation that could easily be countered with an antenna.

Sometimes referred to 3.5G, HSDPA is descended from the W-CDMA standard. Speeds achieved by HSDPA are currently similar to EV-DO's top speeds. HSDPA tops out at around 1Mbit per second in bursts, with sustained download speeds between 400 and 700 KB per second.

Verizon and Sprint both have EV-DO networks currently up and running. In fact, Verizon is in the process of upgrading its network to the next generation of its EV-DO technology called revision A.

Cingular is playing catch up with its network, which is scheduled to be in most major cities by the end of this year. Similar to EV-DO, HSDPA is also an evolutionary technology.

UMTS universal mobile telecommunications system is the basis for the HSDPA technology and since the technology is backwards compatible, upgrade costs are lower and handsets and modems are compatible with each generation of the standard.