Wimax maybe the technology that replaces WiFi as we know it today. Although the standard for Wimax (802.16e) has not yet been approved, it is already promising to be quite a bit better than WiFi.

WiFi currently has a range of about 300 feet, but Wimax may have a range of up to several miles. The speed if Wimax may also be quite a bit faster than WiFi.

A company named NextWeb is trying to take advantage of this new technology before the standard is certified. NextWeb announced today that it
is launching Voice over IP (VoIP) services through a strategic partnership
with CommPartners, the leading nationwide VoIP facilitator for privately-
branded, turnkey VoIP services and IP-to-PSTN interconnection carrier
services. This will be the largest deployment of VoIP services over a
pre-WiMAX network in the US.

The partnership will team NextWeb's extensive pre-WiMAX network with
CommPartner's VoIP solutions, offering enhanced VoIP services and competitive
savings to a potential customer-base of 500,000 small- and medium-sized
businesses throughout California. NextWeb's VoIP service is in the final
stages of beta testing and will be rolled out to NextWeb coverage areas
beginning in May, 2005.

To learn more about Wimax or NextWeb, see the links below.