28th November 2006

WiMAX Poised For Growth

WiMAX technology is entering a rapid growth phase, as service providers are now able to buy WiMAX Forum-certified equipment, says In-Stat’s new report*. Subscribers worldwide will reach 222,000 in 2006 and should grow to 19.7 m YE 2010.

“While WiMAX faces many challenges, the biggest challenge still comes from competing technologies and services," said Daryl Schoolar, In-Stat analyst. "WiMAX will have difficulty competing in areas that already have established broadband services. WiMAX will need to provide a demonstratively superior service to win customers from the incumbent provider. Much of WiMAX’s early success will come from under-developed regions of the globe."

With Sprint being the exception, In-Stat does not believe most 3G carriers will deploy WiMAX in the near term.

In-Stat expects sales in 802.16e equipment to quickly overtake those in 802.16d. Regulatory uncertainty and spectrum availability continue to hamper the growth of WiMAX.

Web: www.in-stat.com