ABI: WiMAX Gains Serious Momentum as Trials Lead to Deployments
December 8, 2007 // Published as a news service by IHS
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The global telecommunications industry is on the cusp of major change, according to ABI Research.
Operators are approaching critical decisions about their fourth generation (4G) strategies, as mobile worldwide interoperability for microwave access (WiMAX) - known as IEEE 802.16e - starts to move from trials and pilots to the first real world WiMAX network deployments.
Mobile operators and other service providers are planning mobile WiMAX networks all over the world, analysts said, mainly in the 2.5 GHz and 3.5 GHz bands.
"The mobile wireless industry is in a state of major change as mobile operators decide which IP [Internet protocol]-OFDMA [orthogonal frequency division multiple access] path they will take for their 4G networks," said ABI Research Principal Mobile Broadband Analyst Philip Solis.
"The new and unproven (on a large commercial scale) mobile WiMAX has positioned itself against the potential Goliath that LTE [long-term evolution] is expected to become."
Analysts said forecasts show substantial numbers of WiMAX subscribers worldwide: more than 95 million using customer premises equipment (CPE) devices by 2012, and almost 200 million using mobile devices, with some overlap between the two groups.
Solis said that while WiMAX equipment interoperability certification timelines have slipped somewhat, and LTE benefits from having evolved out of the widely-deployed global system for mobile communication (GSM) technology, WiMAX has at least a two-year head start in reaching the market.
The major semiconductor and equipment makers, with the exception of Qualcomm and Ericsson, are staking out their positions for this emerging sector, while operators' enthusiasm, led by Sprint's and Clearwire's firm commitments in the U.S., is rising sharply.
Analysts said Vodafone is looking to WiMAX for some of its newer markets, such as the Middle East and Eastern Europe; BT and Telecom Italia Mobile are also showing interest. And another, as yet unnamed, major European mobile operator is seriously considering WiMAX.
Meanwhile, amid this increasing momentum, analysts said chipset companies are positioning themselves to support a wide variety of device types beyond the traditional handsets and laptops, including ultra mobile PCs (UMPCs), mobile Internet devices and consumer electronics products, such as portable game devices, portable media players and imaging devices.
Source: ABI Research.