Despite the fact that WiMAX is losing it’s “cool” to 4G LTE, it continues to thrive across Africa and the Middle East.
Alvarion, WiMAX’s most faithful provider with an extensive customer base and over 250 commercial deployments worldwide, has announced that their long term customer, ETI, an internet provider in Africa, will use the 4Motion 802.16e WiMAX gear in order to expand its 2.5 GHz broadband network from the capital city, Conakry, to the entire country of Guinea.
Earlier this month, Alvarion had announced a $2 million contract with the Internet Technologies Group (ITG) of Africa. ITG Namibia replaced an older 802.16d network with Alvarion’s 4Motion equipment in the 2.5 GHz band, providing service for the capital city of Windhoek as well as Oshakati and Namibia’s largest commercial port city, Walvis Bay. ITG Angola will also deploy Alvarion’s 4Motion 802.16e gear in the 3.5 GHz band.
However, these are not the only cities to benefit from this upgrade. Additional cities highlighted in terms of deployment include Luanda, Lobito, Benguela, and Lubango. ITG Zambia plans to release Alvarion’s BreezeCompact solution, TD-LTE advanced software-defined radio platform for 802.16e service. It is to be deployed in the 3.5 GHz band, covering the capital Lusaka as well as Ndola and Kitwe, two of Zambia’s largest cities.
But Africa is not the only place that is experiencing WiMAX fever. WiMAX is spreading throughout the Middle East as well. Just last week, Afghanistan’s Ministry of Communication and Information Technology (MCIT) offered WiMAX licenses to three operators: Neda Telecom, IO Global, and Arianna Network Services. MCIT hopes that this deal will expand Internet access to 80% of Afghanistan’s population in two years.
Similarly, Yemen’s Public Telecommunication Corporation (PTC) has launched a WiMAX network in hopes that it will cover Sana’a and Aden through 28 tower stations.
Although it may seem like WiMAX is fighting a losing battle with 4G LTE, it can not be denied that WiMAX is gaining strength in Africa and the Middle Eastern regions.
