Two vendors, one American and the other Japanese, said they have plays to deploy a citywide WiMAX wireless broadband network in Tokyo.

This is the second announcement of widespread wireless broadband coverage in Japan this week. Japanese telecom operator NTT said earlier in the week that it plans to deploy metro-scale Wi-Fi networks in a number of locations.

How Do Wi-Fi and WiMAX Relate?
Wi-Fi and WiMAX are actually complementary technologies. As WiMAX is a "last mile" technology, meaning that it connects businesses and homes to the high-speed Internet. Wi-Fi provides the wireless LAN connectivity within a building or a home. In the notebook computer of the future, you may have both WiMAX and Wi-Fi technology to make connections to the broadband Internet. These two technologies have been architected as close cousins, and will work together to provide the best connection for your needs.