Greg,

Very nice thorough evaluation.  GPS and GIS has made us so much more accurate and effecient in the business world as well as our private lives.  RFID tags have been a tremendous assest to businesses and provide a very efficient tracking system for a businesses supply chain.  It is amazing how technology has improved businesses over the last decade.  With technology expanding and eliminating labor, where do businesses draw the line??  Is too much technology a good thing if it continues to eliminate jobs?

Gregory Joe Wood wrote:

Using WiMax instead of WiFi does offer several security advantages.  Some of these advantages are:

·         Home WiFi connections through wireless routers are only secure if they are set up that way.  For example, most wireless routers are sold with the encryption set to the “off” position.  Users must turn the encryption capabilities on in order to secure the network.  WiMax is set up with encryption functioning at all times.  This protects the integrity of the system and the data.

·         WiFi was designed with “wireless capabilities” in mind.  The issue of security was not really fully explored during the early design and implementation of WiFi.  WiMax, on the other had addressed the issue of security from inception.  At each step of development and implementation, security was addressed and tested.

·         The security protocol used by WiMax is much higher than that used by WiFi.  The layers of encryption and level of security make WiMax systems much more difficult to hack or interrupt.

·         WiFi connections can be made secured, but they operate over an unlicensed spectrum.  Since WiMax is automatically secured and operates over a licensed spectrum, the control of security and access can be more easily controlled.

Business applications can benefit from using WiMax.  The three mentioned in the book are GPS, GIS, and RFID.

·         Business applications that would benefit from using GPS would include:

o   Since GPS tracking devices are already installed on many vehicles and mobile devices (and can be easily retrofitted), keeping track of where company vehicles, cell phones, and other mobile devices would be easy. 

o   Locations, speeds, time left to target destination, and elapsed time can easily be calculated to determine if they fall within expected parameters.

o   Valuable assets shipped via other carriers could be equipped with GPS devices to ensure they are progressing normally and final destination information can be verified upon arrival.

·         Business applications that would benefit from using GIS would include:

o   Geographic Information Systems capture, store, and analyze information that is geographically referenced in the computer database.

§  Unlike GPS which only pinpoints a specific location of the device equipped with GPS technology, GIS can actually be used to plot a course (in other words, GPS is used to pinpoint where something is; GIS uses that information to geographically plot a course for a person, vehicle, or package to take in order to reach its destination.

o   Information gathered from and used by GIS systems is the details displayed by GPS systems.  To my knowledge, all GPS systems use GIS technology and information to enable the plotting of courses to be traveled and already traveled.

o   Like GPS, GIS helps to make sure company vehicles and employees are located where they are supposed to be.  Progress and timeframes can be tracked and updated using GIS.  If someone or something goes off course, the information is available through GIS and inquiries can be made to ensure everything is going as planned.

·         Business applications could benefit from RFID by:

o   For objects that do not have GPS or GIS technology capabilities, RFID can be used.  A small tag can be placed inside or attached to the outside of the shipping container.  RFID can then be used to track and locate the specific item based on its location.

o   Updates can be made on a pre-determined basis.  Every so often (from minutes, to hours, or days), the computer locates the item via RFID and records its location in the database.  This can be especially useful when rare or valuable items are involved.

o   Shipments that must be received in a specific timeframe (in particular valuable or hazardous shipments) can be tracked more frequently to ensure shipment and delivery.

·         WiMax has competitive advantage over LTE.

o   LTE has not been fully tested, proven, or implemented.

o   WiMax is firmly established in the marketplace.  To displace it would require better, faster, safer, and cheaper alternatives.  LTE has not, thus far, demonstrated it will be able to achieve these goals.

o   Many manufacturers have embraced WiMax to the point of pre-installing them in their devices (such as laptop computers and other mobile devices).  The more pervasive this becomes, the harder it will be for LTE to displace WiMax.