Telecom carriers show strong interest in mobile WiMax

According to a survey by Infonetics Research, two thirds of the service providers surveyed intend to use WiMax for mobility based services by 2012, and over 90 per cent expect to offer VoIP over WiMax by then.
The survey however, also points out the challenges that need to be addressed. A limited range of WiMax enabled mobile devices, and the difficulty of building low ARPU (average revenue per user) pricing models for developing countries are some of the biggest challenges.
"The WiMax industry is up against the clock to address these challenges if it is to fulfill its undoubted potential as a long term broadband technology,” notes Richard Webb, directing analyst for WiMax, microwave and mobile devices at Infonetics Research.
Other top commercial challenges include marketing and positioning WiMax services, building retail and distribution channels, providing service level agreements for enterprise customers, and defining a pricing model for the low ARPU market.
According to the survey, there is continued demand for a broadband access wireless DSL solution in most regions worldwide.
Even in developed countries such as the USA there are portions of the geography that remain under served, and that are a ripe opportunity for WiMax.
Sixty four per cent of service provider respondents plan to offer full mobility by 2012, up from 24 per cent in Infonetics' 2010 survey. The survey says that full mobility is likely to be smartphone oriented, combining data, mobility and voice, though initially, USB dongles will be the device of choice for nomadic, or mobile services

The survey is based on the responses of 25 WiMax only operators, fixed line incumbents, competitive fixed line providers, and mobile operators.
Worldwide, WiMax equipment and device revenue saw a moderate decline of 2 per cent in the first quarter of 2010. This decline is attributed to a seasonally slower first quarter. The total market size for WiMax equipment was pegged at $303 million.
"The recent defection from WiMax to LTE by Russian operator Yota is undoubtedly a blow, but this is currently just one WiMAX operator out of nearly six hundred, so it is not yet certain whether this is the thin end of a wedge for WiMAX, notes Richard Webb, Infonetics Research's principal directing analyst for WiMax.
"The WiMax Forum's Open Retail Initiative, and the announcements made regarding the acceleration of the WiMax 2.0 standard (802.16m), should help ensure that there is a technology roadmap and device ecosystem to support the WiMax market in the long term. Of course, the WiMax community needs to see these initiatives bear fruit if it is to continue to be a credible broadband solution," Webb adds.
The USA, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and Asia Pacific are the hotbeds for WiMax activity; and Russia, the Middle East, Africa, Japan, Pakistan, and India are the engines of growth in their respective regions.
According to Infonetics Research, major WiMax operators will likely still migrate to LTE as their 4G solution, even though having an "offload" network based on either WiMax or WiFi is becoming an increasingly valuable auxiliary component of long term mobile broadband offerings.