KINGS PARK, N.Y.-Visant Strategies predicted a $3.4 billion annual market for fixed and portable broadband equipment by 2010. WiMAX will account for half of that amount or $1.7 billion.
Report author Andy Fuertes said he expects much of the activity to occur in the 3.5 GHz spectrum bands.
“The market for cable modem and digital subscriber line replacement is expanding today while WiMAX in the mobile network remains two to four years away,” said Fuertes.
Despite the huge revenue potential, Visant warned that the mobile WiMAX community is faced with “political, technical and competitive challenges” that could impact time to market, “which is paramount since the 802.16e specification is not yet finished.”
“Certified mobile WiMAX equipment will arrive during or after 2007, and mobile carriers typically test new technologies from 12 months to 18 months before implementing them throughout the network,” Fuertes said.
Visant noted that carriers are not likely to commit to additional major upgrades until at least 2009, which will provide the WiMAX community with a bit of a buffer to work on the standard. The reports adds that Flash-OFDM, TD-CDMA and future revisions of 3GPP and 3GPP2 also will play roles in both fixed and mobile markets, with Flash-OFDM singled out as already having “considerable technical and time-to-market advantages over mobile WiMAX.”
