dslreports logo
 story category
WiMax Means Lower Music Prices?
Reuters applies mystery economics
WiMax hype has been around for years, with supporters such as Intel suggesting the wireless broadband technology will change the world any day now. While the technology absolutely does have promise, some (such as Ovum in the UK) have suggested it's going to be a niche technology for at least another five years. Still, the miracles that WiMax will achieve continue onward, with Reuters drawing the conclusion that WiMax is going to result in lower music prices:
"This bastard cousin of Wi-Fi and wireless networks has the potential to solve several problems that have plagued the evolution of mobile entertainment. First, it costs much less to transmit data over a WiMAX connection than a traditional cellular network. Cheaper distribution means cheaper prices, which in turn likely means more people buying mobile music."
By that logic, music prices must have dropped as bandwidth prices dropped the last few years?
view:
topics flat nest 
tpac_man
join:2007-02-27
Riverbank, CA

tpac_man

Member

wooo hooo

I'm first!

nixen
Rockin' the Boxen
Premium Member
join:2002-10-04
Alexandria, VA

1 recommendation

nixen

Premium Member

Re: wooo hooo


Here ya go
said by tpac_man:

I'm first!
dmh748
join:2002-03-07
Boston, MA

dmh748

Member

WiMax is for business, not consumer

For a good example of WiMax reality (not hype) see »www.covadwireless.com

Karl Bode
News Guy
join:2000-03-02

Karl Bode

News Guy

Re: WiMax is for business, not consumer

quote:
WiMax is for business, not consumer
You might want to inform Sprint of that...

RadioDoc

join:2000-05-11
La Grange, IL

RadioDoc

Re: WiMax is for business, not consumer

I'll wait to see how their system ends up performing and how good the sales are.

Sprint has a horrible track record when it comes to follow-through.

wimaxisgood
@spcsdns.net

wimaxisgood

Anon

Re: WiMax is for business, not consumer

"Sprint has a horrible track record when it comes to follow-through."

How so? They have the largest EVDO/mobile broadband network than any carrier already.

ION was a miss but WiMAX has too many major backers to fail.

FFH5
Premium Member
join:2002-03-03
Tavistock NJ

FFH5

Premium Member

Another distribution channel not going to lower prices

Adding Wimax to cellphone, cable, & Dsl distribution of music isn't going to change the price structure of downloadable music. The distribution costs are already such a very small percentage of the total costs. The biggest percentage of downloadable music cost is the money paid to the major music companies. Wimax growth, if it EVER comes, will do nothing to change the price structure of music offerings.

wimaxisgood
@spcsdns.net

wimaxisgood

Anon

Sprint WiMAX will create an instant user base

Sprint's EVDO users will create an instant WiMAX user base. While WiMAX phones will likely only attract power users, Sprint has a million+ EVDO card users that will upgrade to WiMAX. They are coming out with EVDO/WiMAX combo cards, so it will make an easy transition and allow using whichever network available.

WiMAX will be for consumers too, not just business. Check out evdoforums.com. Almost all users are consumers, not business users.

I've replaced my cable modem for Sprint EVDO. It's already competitive (for my usage) and WiMAX will be even more competitive with cable/dsl.

tapeloop
Not bad at all, really.
Premium Member
join:2004-06-27
Airstrip One

tapeloop

Premium Member

Wimax--the panacea.

WiMax will become the cure for cancer as well as the cause of it.
Alphy
join:2001-12-31
Troy, MI

Alphy

Member

Re: Wimax--the panacea.

Just wait. Google Wimax network is coming. VZW and ATT; your days are numbered.