An Exploration on Wi-Fi/802.11b and WiMAX/802.16 Networks with Performance Enhancements

The present scenario in wireless network is changing rapidly owing to several factors like high data rate, mobility, and range being some of them. Wireless Networks has huge diversity ranging from Wi-Fi (802.11) covering small areas to WiMAX (802.16) that covers several miles. WIRELESS world became more diverse with the introduction of IEEE 802.16 (known as WiMAX) technologies several years ago. The idea was to cover the gap in the metropolitan areas, which was left between Wireless Local Area Networks Wi-Fi (such as IEEE 802.11) as well as mobile cellular networks (such as 3G and beyond). This was a revolution in the wireless world in the first decade of the 21st century. The IEEE 802.16 WiMAX (World Wide Interoperability for Microwave Access) standard is based on global interoperability and is an emerging technology that delivers high speed wireless broadband at a much lower cost than the cellular services while covering large distances than Wi-Fi. It has been designed to be a cost-effective way to deliver broadband over a wide area. It is intended to handle high quality voice, data and video services while offering a high Quality of Service in wireless networks. This paper does an exploration on Wi-Fi and WiMAX networks with possible performance enhancements.