Editing Internet access (section)

====Fixed wireless====
[[Fixed wireless]] internet connections that do not use a satellite nor are designed to support moving equipment such as smartphones due to the use of, for example, [[customer premises equipment]] such as antennas that can't be moved over a significant geographical area without losing the signal from the ISP, unlike smartphones. Microwave wireless broadband or [[5G]] may be used for fixed wireless.

=====WiMAX=====
Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access ([[WiMAX]]) is a set of interoperable implementations of the [[IEEE 802.16]] family of wireless-network standards certified by the [[WiMAX Forum]]. It enables "the delivery of [[Last mile (telecommunications)|last mile]] wireless broadband access as an alternative to cable and DSL".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wimaxforum.org/technology/ |title=WiMax Forum – Technology |access-date=2008-07-22 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080722062158/http://www.wimaxforum.org/technology/ |archive-date=2008-07-22 }}</ref> The original IEEE 802.16 standard, now called "Fixed WiMAX", was published in 2001 and provided 30 to 40 megabit-per-second data rates.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.itbusinessedge.com/cm/community/features/interviews/blog/speeding-up-wimax/?cs=40726 |title= Speeding Up WiMax |author= Carl Weinschenk |date= 16 April 2010 |work= IT Business Edge |quote= Today the initial WiMax system is designed to provide 30 to 40 megabit-per-second data rates. |access-date= 31 August 2011 |url-status= live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110905081903/http://www.itbusinessedge.com/cm/community/features/interviews/blog/speeding-up-wimax/?cs=40726 |archive-date= 5 September 2011 }}</ref> Mobility support was added in 2005. A 2011 update provides data rates up to 1&nbsp;Gbit/s for fixed stations. WiMax offers a metropolitan area network with a signal radius of about 50&nbsp;km (30 miles), far surpassing the 30-metre (100-foot) wireless range of a conventional Wi-Fi LAN. WiMAX signals also penetrate building walls much more effectively than Wi-Fi. WiMAX is most often used as a fixed wireless standard.

=====Wireless ISP=====
[[File:Wi-Fi Logo.svg|thumb|150px|Wi-Fi logo]]
[[Wireless Internet service provider]]s (WISPs) operate independently of [[mobile phone operator]]s. WISPs typically employ low-cost IEEE 802.11 Wi-Fi radio systems to link up remote locations over great distances ([[Long-range Wi-Fi]]), but may use other higher-power radio communications systems as well, such as microwave and WiMAX.
[[File:WI-FI Range Diagram.svg|thumb|Wi-Fi range diagram]]
Traditional 802.11a/b/g/n/ac is an unlicensed omnidirectional service designed to span between 100 and 150&nbsp;m (300 to 500&nbsp;ft). By focusing the radio signal using a [[directional antenna]] (where allowed by regulations), 802.11 can operate reliably over a distance of many km(miles), although the technology's line-of-sight requirements hamper connectivity in areas with hilly or heavily foliated terrain. In addition, compared to hard-wired connectivity, there are security risks (unless robust security protocols are enabled); data rates are usually slower (2 to 50 times slower); and the network can be less stable, due to interference from other wireless devices and networks, weather and line-of-sight problems.<ref>{{cite book|title=Certified Wireless Network Administrator Official Study Guide|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QnMunBGVDuMC&q=cwna+official+study+guide|author=Joshua Bardwell|author2=Devin Akin|page=418|publisher=[[McGraw-Hill]]|year=2005|edition=Third|isbn=978-0-07-225538-6|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170109135240/https://books.google.com/books?id=QnMunBGVDuMC&printsec=frontcover&dq=cwna+official+study+guide&hl=en&ei=EJaXTpSaFMPSiALTu4HCDQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CDAQ6AEwAA|archive-date=2017-01-09}}</ref>

With the increasing popularity of unrelated consumer devices operating on the same 2.4&nbsp;GHz band, many providers have migrated to the [[List of WLAN channels#5 GHz (802.11a/h/j/n/ac/ax)|5GHz ISM band]]. If the service provider holds the necessary spectrum license, it could also reconfigure various brands of off the shelf Wi-Fi hardware to operate on its own band instead of the crowded unlicensed ones. Using higher frequencies carries various advantages:
* usually regulatory bodies allow for more power and using (better-) directional antennae,
* there exists much more bandwidth to share, allowing both better throughput and improved coexistence,
* there are fewer consumer devices that operate over 5&nbsp;GHz than over 2.4&nbsp;GHz, hence fewer interferers are present,
* the shorter wavelengths don't propagate as well through walls and other structures, so much less interference leaks outside of the homes of consumers.

Proprietary technologies like [[Motorola Canopy]] & Expedience can be used by a WISP to offer wireless access to rural and other markets that are hard to reach using Wi-Fi or WiMAX. There are a number of companies that provide this service.<ref>[http://www.wispa.org/directories/member-directory "Member Directory"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170220031021/http://www.wispa.org/Directories/Member-Directory |date=2017-02-20 }}, Wireless Internet Service Providers’ Association (WISPA), accessed 5 May 2012</ref>

=====Local Multipoint Distribution Service=====
[[Local Multipoint Distribution Service]] (LMDS) is a broadband wireless access technology that uses microwave signals operating between 26&nbsp;GHz and 29&nbsp;GHz.<ref>[http://www.cse.wustl.edu/~jain/cis788-99/ftp/lmds/index.html "Local Multipoint Distribution Service (LDMS)"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121010031040/http://www.cse.wustl.edu/~jain/cis788-99/ftp/lmds/index.html |date=2012-10-10 }}, Vinod Tipparaju, November 23, 1999</ref> Originally designed for digital television transmission (DTV), it is conceived as a fixed wireless, point-to-multipoint technology for utilization in the last mile. Data rates range from 64&nbsp;kbit/s to 155&nbsp;Mbit/s.<ref>[https://www.angelfire.com/nd/ramdinchacha/DEC00.html "LMDS: Broadband Out of Thin Air "], Niraj K Gupta, from My Cell, Voice & Data, December 2000</ref> Distance is typically limited to about {{convert|1.5|mi|km}}, but links of up to {{convert|5|mi|km|sigfig=1}} from the base station are possible in some circumstances.<ref>{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20120530205217/http://www.ijest.info/docs/IJEST09-01-01.pdf "Review and Analysis of Local Multipoint Distribution System (LMDS) to Deliver Voice, Data, Internet, and Video Services"]}}, S.S. Riaz Ahamed, International Journal of Engineering Science and Technology, Vol. 1(1), October 2009, pp. 1–7</ref>

LMDS has been surpassed in both technological and commercial potential by the LTE and WiMAX standards.