WiMAX technology is entering a rapid growth phase, as service providers are now able to buy WiMAX Forum-certified equipment, reports In-Stat. Worldwide subscribers are estimated to reach 222,000 in 2006 and are forecasted to grow to 19.7 million by the end of 2010, the high-tech market research firm says.
Most of those subscribers are in the Asia/Pacific region. Almost all subscribers are using a fixed service today, with the exception of those in South Korea.
'While WiMAX faces many challenges, the biggest challenge still comes from competing technologies and services,' says 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.'
The report also said with US carrier Sprint being the exception, In-Stat does not believe most 3G carriers will deploy WiMAX in the near term.
It added that Alvarion had the largest share of WiMAX equipment revenue during the first half of 2006.
The research report also said In-Stat expects sales in 802.16e equipment to quickly overtake those in 802.16d.
Further, regulatory uncertainty and spectrum availability continue to hamper the growth of WiMAX, the research report added."”cellular-news.com