How WiMAX works ?

In practical terms, WiMAX would operate similar to WiFi but at higher speeds, over greater distances and for a greater number of users. WiMAX could potentially erase the suburban and rural blackout areas that currently have no broadband Internet accessbecause phone and cable companies have not yet run the necessary wires to those remote locations.WiMAX is designed to support high speed broadband services. It has two parts:
  WiMAX base station:      WiMAX base station is similar to a cellular network base station which consists of a  WiMAX tower and indoor electronics. Base station performs the MAC and PHY  features. It also handles the signaling and user scheduling. It is also responsible for uplink and downlink bandwidth management on a real time basis and frequency reuse.  
  WiMAX receiver: WiMAX receiver could be a WiMAX enabled computer, PCMCIA card, WiMAX modem, mobile internet devices or a standalone box. It works like a Wi-Fi network but in a broader coverage area.
            A WiMAX tower station can connect directly to the Internet using a high-bandwidth wired connection. It can also connect to another WiMAX tower using a line-of-sight, microwave link. This connection to a backhaul, along with the ability of a single tower to cover up to 3,000 square miles, is what allows WiMAX to provide coverage to remote rural areas. WiMAX actually can provide two forms of wireless service:There is the non-line-of-sight, where a small antenna on your computer connects to the tower. In this mode, WiMAX uses a lower frequency range 2 GHz to 11 GHz.Lower-wavelength transmissions are not as easily disrupted by physical obstructions,they are better able to diffract, or bend, around obstacles.
There is line-of-sight service, where a fixed dish antenna points straight at the WiMAX tower from a rooftop or pole. The line-of-sight connection is stronger and more stable, so it's able to send a lot of data with fewer errors. Line-of-sight transmissions use higher frequencies, with ranges reaching a possible 66 GHz. At higher frequencies, there is less interference and lots more bandwidth. WiFi-style access will be limited to a4-to-6 mile radius. Through the stronger line-of- sight antennas, the WiMAX transmitting station would send data to WiMAX enabled computers or routers set up within the transmitter's 30-mile radius. The fastest WiMAX handles up to 70 megabits per second, which, according to WiMAX proponents, is enough bandwidth to simultaneously support more than 60 businesses with T1-type connectivity and well over a thousand homes at 1Mbit/s DSL-level connectivity