Dirty cheap WiMAX

I have bought into the WiMAX hype. I’m a true believer.
When Nortel, Motorola, Alvarion and other WiMAX vendors gush over all the great things WiMAX will do-level the playing field for carriers, speed up data rates and, most importantly, lower prices for consumers-I get all gush-y too. WiMAX is the greatest thing since sliced bread, and I’m ready to invest. Where do I sign?
My attitude toward WiMAX pits me against some of my colleagues in this office (most notably my arch-nemesis, Dan Meyer). But that’s OK. I respect their opinions, as wrongheaded and beef-witted as they may be. I’m putting my bets on WiMAX, and I’m confident I’ve made the right choice.
Why? Well, mainly it’s because I think WiMAX is going to save me some money, and if there’s one thing that really gets me excited, it’s saving money. See, I’m pretty sure that WiMAX Internet access is going to be cheaper and more useful than wired Internet access. It makes sense when you think about it: WiMAX will be available everywhere, and it’ll cost less because you won’t have to pay for wiring into your house.
Clearwire is already using a pre-WiMAX technology to offer stationary, wireless Internet connections for around $36 per month. That’s about what I’m paying now for a DSL connection. (It’s not what I’m actually paying; after taxes it’s like $150. Stupid taxes).
But Clearwire is just the beginning. Imagine in a few years when Sprint Nextel, Clearwire and AT&T (the other big WiMAX spectrum holder) get tangled up in a WiMAX pricing war. Pretty soon we’ll have free night and weekend surfing and unlimited WiMAX roaming. Pretty soon it’ll be a better deal than DSL or cable.
Now, this is the part where the crazies (read: Dan Meyer) start talking about CDMA EV-DO Rev. A and HSDPA and LTE and those other “Super 3G” technologies, and how they’ll trump WiMAX. I’m sure the connections on these networks will be speedy, but I suspect Internet connections will always play second string to voice calling.
And that’s why I’m excited about WiMAX-I’m hoping it will be designed primarily for data connections. Cheap data connections, specifically. And that’s good, because I’m dirty cheap.