Wireless Innovation and the Future of File Sharing

There’s a whole lot of commotion right now about the arrival of 4G. There plenty of varied opinions and predictions being voiced on the matter, and it’s hard to find an unbiased take on it. But the most important question in all of this is the simplest one: will it really change the internet?

Well, yes and no. The thing is, if WiMAX replaces Wi-Fi and 3G as the dominant wireless standard, we will still be visiting the same internet. Doubtless, it will inspire web innovations, and will thereby change the face of the internet indirectly. But it will still be the same internet. We will still be connected to the same thing. The difference will simply be that we’re better connected. Now, rather than delving into the specifics of how greater mobility, bandwidth, and range will change the internet on the whole, let’s take a look at how it could affect something that’s long been a source of contention the world over: file sharing.

Some people frown at this very term, deeming it a misnomer or a euphemism. These are the people who would call illegally downloading copyrighted material stealing. Now I’m not here to pass judgment, or even to weigh in one way or another on the subject. What interests me is how the advancement in wireless technology, and the continued growth in upload and download speed will impact file sharing on the whole.

Whether you’d call it optimistic or pessimistic, it seems beyond a doubt that with increased speed and ease of use, file sharing will only increase with the popularity of WiMAX. Even if we were to ignore the advancements on the part of the software engineers and web developers who’ve brought us from the days of Napster to the age of the torrent, if the software remains the same, the massive speed increase will still likely prove attractive enough to rope in a few newcomers and up the traffic.

Finding the media you want online, copyrighted or not, at the moment, is child’s play. And it wouldn’t be too much of a leap of faith to assume that it will continue to get easier (if that’s even possible). But when you add wireless speed reported by service providers at close to four times the speed of Wi-Fi connections, 4G could be what really opens the floodgates.

Maybe the question then, is what will be the limiting factor? What will it be that finally sees file sharing growth rates level off? Certainly as the world grows more and more connected, those with no qualms about the ethics of file sharing will continue to jump onboard as long as technology continues to make it easier. It seems likely that the only way the growth of the p2p community will level off is when they’re all already sharing.

There seems little doubt that in time WiMAX will replace Wi-Fi as the preferred mode of connection. And judging by the recording industry’s past record in battling file sharing, to stem the illegal flow of copyrighted material they will have to be as innovative as their opposition. And that could prove difficult.
To get a better idea of what’s around the bend in wireless technology, check www.ClearwireWimax4g.com. And for those who are salivating at the very thought of all that speed, you can look here for CLEAR WIMAX offers.