WiMax rides wave of surfing technology

— -- Ultra-hip fashion designer Nanette Lepore, famous for her saucy minis and sky-high platform shoes, has added one more item to her "It" list this fall: a hot new wireless technology.

Her fashion house recently began using an advanced wireless technology called "WiMax" in two Manhattan offices. The service by Towerstream provides fast broadband and Internet phone calling for 110 users.

In fashion terms, the move to WiMax was, well, seamless.

"It's completely transparent to the user," says network manager Jose Cruz. "People don't know they're getting it."

Around the globe, there is growing support for WiMax — short for Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access.

It can be used for "fixed" office solutions, a la Lepore, but what's really building interest is its potential for high-speed data surfing on the go via wireless phones and other WiMax-enabled devices.

The rush to embrace WiMax is being driven by advances in technology, a shifting competitive landscape and consumers' ever-expanding appetite for broadband wherever they are.

Also adding impetus: The Federal Communications Commission is urging companies to deploy WiMax quickly to expand mobile broadband options for consumers.

"It will do for the U.S. consumer what we did for the U.S. consumer 20 years ago when we came out with cellular," Wolff says. By enabling people to surf the Internet anytime, anywhere, on any device, it "will be as game-changing as when you no longer required people to be tethered to a 6-foot cord to make a phone call."

Unlike Wi-Fi, which is unlicensed, more-powerful WiMax uses airwaves that require a government license — the same as cellphone service.