Waiting for WiMax? You may have a long wait...

There has been a lot of "buzz" in the internet community for some time now about service coming in the near future that could enable Internet Providers to use high powered WIFI (termed 802.16) to provide high speed internet over a 30 mile radius in the best conditions. This approach would eliminate latency, which has dogged the growth of satellite internet (the mainstay for access to rural America) for years.
The bad news is it is very expensive to build out infrastructure....very expensive!
I don't believe it will become universally available for many years. There will be efforts to install 802.16 in densly populated, but underserved, areas and that will be about it - for a good while.
If you have been "holding off" until wimax comes, it might be time to investigate some of the new satellite offerings which we should see in 2005: Ka band internet, Surfbeam Ku band internet, the new Direcway 7000 series modems/gateways and the iDirect platform are the best bets for the next three years or so.
More information about these solutions at http://www.vsatus.com