HAMPSHIRE, England—Mobile WiMAX is set to outpace fixed WiMAX technology, according to a new report from Juniper Research, which claims that mobile WiMAX will grow from 1.7 million subscribers in 2007 to 21.3 million by 2012.
Juniper released its WiMAX report as the initial wave of mobile WiMAX Forum-certified products begin shipping. Senior Analyst Aditya Kaul said he anticipates that, “although fixed and mobile WiMAX were developed with a complimentary eye to serving different markets, the services they offer will inevitably become intertwined, creating complimentary as well as competing solutions—depending on the user environment.”
Aditya credits third-generation vendors like Nokia Corp., L.M. Ericsson, Nortel Networks Ltd. and Siemens A.G. with driving the mobile WiMAX market by treating the technology as being complimentary to 3G.
In addition, Aditya stated that WiMAX was designed as a less-expensive alternative to 3G, and therefore, “it is unsurprising that the global market for mobile WiMAX equipment, including base stations and CPE equipment, is set to reach $2.53 billion by 2012.”
Services based on fixed pre-WiMAX technology are currently available in several BellSouth Corp. markets with additional launches scheduled during the third quarter. BellSouth said it hopes to attract rural, high-speed-Internet-access-deprived customers and explained that traditional phone lines will not be needed to use its wireless broadband service, which will offer Internet access speeds of 1.5 megabits per second. The system transmits signals between local radio towers and a small non-line-of-sight desktop subscriber modem, utilizing the company’s licensed 2.3 GHz spectrum, BellSouth said.
But, as Juniper’s report suggests, BellSouth also has mobile WiMAX on its mind, as evidenced with its announcement in late June that it would begin lab trials of Alcatel Inc.’s 802.16e-based Evolium mobile WiMAX portfolio.
BellSouth did not specify when and where it might deploy 802.16e-based WiMAX technology, but Alcatel pointed out that its solution offers carriers a strategic value, supporting fixed, nomadic and mobile usage.
