EL SEGUNDO, Calif.-By 2010, less than 5 percent of broadband subscribers will use WiMAX technology as a fixed wireless broadband access solution, said research firm iSuppli Corp.
WiMAX technology will serve primarily niche market applications in the near term, said the company. The technology faces competition from either wireline or wireless technologies in each of its targeted segments, and it must displace existing competition or provide a supplementary solution in order to gain adoption, said iSuppli.
“With WiMAX facing tough competition from entrenched competitors, its usage over the next few years will be limited to broadband access in rural and underserved areas of the developed nations and as a backhaul technology for cell sites and public Wi-Fi hot spots,” said Jagdish Rebello, principal analyst, communication systems and components, for iSuppli.
The largest competitor to WiMAX in the portable broadband access market is likely to be Wi-Fi technology, which will remain the dominant short-range wireless broadband standard for the next few years, said iSuppli. In the longer term, iSuppli predicts the most significant market for WiMAX will be for mobile broadband applications such as access to broadband services while driving.
