WiMAX: 3M strong and growing

WiMAX networks counted more than 3 million customers worldwide at the end of the second quarter, according to a report from ABI Research. The firm noted that the 4G technology’s two variations, 802.16d and 802.16e, posted a 74% growth rate during the quarter and that the technology could prove a stubborn competitor for LTE.
“WiMAX achieved a whopping 74% growth compared to the previous quarter,” says Jake Saunders, VP for forecasting at ABI Research. “The installed base of WiMAX stood at a little over 3 million subscriptions, but it is a sign that the battle for the 4G market is not an automatic victory for LTE.”
As for LTE, ABI said the recent decision by NTT DoCoMo Inc. to delay commercial network deployments until 2010 could postpone consumer uptake of the technology with growth beginning to “trickle in during the second or third quarter of 2010.”