WiMAX operator says it will shift to LTE

Russian WiMAX operator Yota said it will now deploy LTE technology as it continues its wireless broadband rollout. The operator had been an early WiMAX proponent and recently rolled out WiMAX service in Nicaragua and Peru.
“Scartel’s Yota announcement that it will drop WiMAX in favor of deployment of LTE demonstrates the monumental shift we had forecast in the Clearwire and Verizon and LTE market reports”, stated Robert Syputa, senior strategic analyst and advisor at Maravedis.
“The decline of growth in WiMAX and shift to tier 1 suppliers who are prepared for a transition to LTE as it becomes widely available now signals a rapid deterioration in WiMAX and its chances of achieving mainstream market momentum.” Said Robert Syputa. “The exit of Yota among leading WiMAX operators, suppliers including Cisco, and shift to development of LTE infrastructure among others is dramatic. It remains to be seen if WiMAX momentum will continue in India and North America. We now forecast that Clearwire will shift at least part of their deployments to LTE by the end of 2011,” Syputa said.