4G WiMAX on the U.S. market is threatened by the overwhelming hegemony of 4G LTE technology. This is starting to become a known fact. However, on a global basis, WiMAX technology is still a strong growing mobile broadband alternative to WiFi and other mobile networks (LTE mostly) to provide high-speed internet to remote areas for a low implementation cost.
Total worldwide sales of WiMAX equipment reached $502.1 million in the first quarter of 2011, announced the WiMAX Forum. This represents an increase of 49 percent from a year earlier (Q1 2010) and a yearly estimate over $2 billion. According to Infonetics Research, the WiMAX equipment market grew by 85 percent compared to last year and is expected to reach $6.9 billion by 2014.
From 2009 to 2010, the number of worldwide WiMAX subscribers rose from 3 million to 7.5 million, it passed the bar of 20 million at the end of Q2 2011 and is on track to meet the 25 million forecast for the end of the year. On a little longer term, exponential growth is expected and the number of subscribers should surpass 100 million by 2015.
Geographically, WiMAX technology growth is the strongest in Asia-Pacific countries and more precisely India. But its markets also extend to Latin-American and African countries with great opportunities to seize. In 2011 alone, over 30 WiMAX networks were either launched or expanded worldwide (Read: Google and Orange Bring WiMAX to African Customers)
Ron Resnick, president and chairman of the WiMAX Forum explains that “WiMAX technology is continuing to attract operators interested in bringing broadband internet to customers immediately. Consumers easily recognize the value of 4G services and the entire industry is benefitting through strong subscriber growth and equipment and device sales”.
]]>At NYU-Poly and Rutgers University, the top researchers in the technological sector have now been granted the funds and proper means for further research in their field. With WiMAX technology, arguably the fastest Internet service in the country, these researchers can continue to push boundaries in the vast field that is broadband wireless technology.
The two schools began to delve into technology research last week in Brooklyn with a parking demonstration that streamed live into Washington, D.C., to a crowd of over 300 researchers as part of an initiative sponsored from the National Science Foundation to promote innovation.
On the day WiMAX was first introduced in NYC, the school sent out eight cars that were equipped with ultrasonic sensors that were able to pick up real-time data on a map. This data showed distinct parking spots that were either filled with red or green dots to differentiate between filled or empty spots, respectively.
“The WiMAX network will allow NYU-Poly to accelerate our contributions to cooperative networking and advance the leading research conducted at NYU-Poly’s Center for Advanced Technology in Telecommunications, one of the State of New York’s original Centers for Advanced Technology, as well as the Wireless Internet Center for Advanced Technology, funded by the NSF,” said Shivendra Panwar, director of both centers. “It will prove particularly helpful in helping us design and develop standards for cooperative networking, a technology that promises to greatly increase the reliability and speed of wireless communication.”
This parking demonstration showed officials just what university students would have the potential of researching and then actually experimenting if given the proper materials. The alleviation of traffic congestion would save the country billions of dollars annually. According to the press release that NYU Poly put out, traffic congestion costs the country $78 billion annually, not to mention the negative effects it has on air quality. The FCC granted NYU Poly licenses for two channels for the establishment of a public 4G network.… Read the rest
]]>At NYU-Poly and Rutgers University, the top researchers in the technological sector have now been granted the funds and proper means for further research in their field. With WiMAX technology, arguably the fastest Internet service in the country, these researchers can continue to push boundaries in the vast field that is broadband wireless technology.
The two schools began to delve into technology research last week in Brooklyn with a parking demonstration that streamed live into Washington, D.C., to a crowd of over 300 researchers as part of an initiative sponsored from the National Science Foundation to promote innovation.
On the day WiMAX was first introduced in NYC, the school sent out eight cars that were equipped with ultrasonic sensors that were able to pick up real-time data on a map. This data showed distinct parking spots that were either filled with red or green dots to differentiate between filled or empty spots, respectively.
“The WiMAX network will allow NYU-Poly to accelerate our contributions to cooperative networking and advance the leading research conducted at NYU-Poly’s Center for Advanced Technology in Telecommunications, one of the State of New York’s original Centers for Advanced Technology, as well as the Wireless Internet Center for Advanced Technology, funded by the NSF,” said Shivendra Panwar, director of both centers. “It will prove particularly helpful in helping us design and develop standards for cooperative networking, a technology that promises to greatly increase the reliability and speed of wireless communication.”
This parking demonstration showed officials just what university students would have the potential of researching and then actually experimenting if given the proper materials. The alleviation of traffic congestion would save the country billions of dollars annually. According to the press release that NYU Poly put out, traffic congestion costs the country $78 billion annually, not to mention the negative effects it has on air quality. The FCC granted NYU Poly licenses for two channels for the establishment of a public 4G network.
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A recent study showed that in terms of fastest wireless broadband by continent, Europe is the worldwide leader. Top countries on the continent include Latvia, Romania, Lithuania, Aland, Andorra, Sweden, Bulgaria, Slovenia, the Netherlands, Portugal, Hungary, Russia, and Ukraine. Both public initiative toward infrastructure and national government funding are the major reasons for Europe’s success in the wireless competition. In terms of numbers, Europe obtained wireless broadband speed of 7.73 Mbps, with North America, Australasia, and Asia as close runner-ups with broadband speeds of 6.95, 5.31, and 5.25 Mbps respectively. South America and Africa trailed with speeds of 2.25 and 1.39 Mbps.
After looking at continents with the quickest broadband speeds, it is crucial to look at specific countries, where they rank, and why. What accounts for the success (or failure) of certain countries working toward the fastest wireless broadband speeds worldwide? What role does government initiative and funding play? How does infrastructure affect a country? What is the focus of the economy of countries with the fastest wireless broadband?
Two major trends can be seen in the top four countries to be discussed in terms of highest download and upload speeds. With Korea, Japan, Aland and Latvia ranking highest in download and upload, we see both a shift toward major telecom and technology-oriented countries like Korea and Japan along with a great deal of success for small, autonomous, under-the-radar countries like Aland and Latvia.
Korea has been ranked as the country with the fastest worldwide download speed of 22.90 Mbps. But why Korea? Korea’s success is in large part due to work they have done in the past fifteen years to build high-speed broadband infrastructure and to a massive government initiative effort for WiMAX and broadband services.
Choi Si-joong, South Korea’s top telecom regulator, said during a keynote speech at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona that, “We will offer offer our cutting-edge mobile Internet technologies to help developing countries establish mobile Internet networks.”
South Korea’s WiBro technology, a version of WiMAX, is currently available in commercial service in 35 countries internationally and growing. As they gain international popularity and use, WiBro will have to maintain top-quality, fast, and cutting-edge technology in order to remain at the forefront of the industry and this committment to expand is clearly going to be at the forefront of the agenda of Korean telecom regulators.
Japan, who ranked third for fastest download … Read the rest
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A recent study showed that in terms of fastest wireless broadband by continent, Europe is the worldwide leader. Top countries on the continent include Latvia, Romania, Lithuania, Aland, Andorra, Sweden, Bulgaria, Slovenia, the Netherlands, Portugal, Hungary, Russia, and Ukraine. Both public initiative toward infrastructure and national government funding are the major reasons for Europe’s success in the wireless competition. In terms of numbers, Europe obtained wireless broadband speed of 7.73 Mbps, with North America, Australasia, and Asia as close runner-ups with broadband speeds of 6.95, 5.31, and 5.25 Mbps respectively. South America and Africa trailed with speeds of 2.25 and 1.39 Mbps.
After looking at continents with the quickest broadband speeds, it is crucial to look at specific countries, where they rank, and why. What accounts for the success (or failure) of certain countries working toward the fastest wireless broadband speeds worldwide? What role does government initiative and funding play? How does infrastructure affect a country? What is the focus of the economy of countries with the fastest wireless broadband?
Two major trends can be seen in the top four countries to be discussed in terms of highest download and upload speeds. With Korea, Japan, Aland and Latvia ranking highest in download and upload, we see both a shift toward major telecom and technology-oriented countries like Korea and Japan along with a great deal of success for small, autonomous, under-the-radar countries like Aland and Latvia.
Korea has been ranked as the country with the fastest worldwide download speed of 22.90 Mbps. But why Korea? Korea’s success is in large part due to work they have done in the past fifteen years to build high-speed broadband infrastructure and to a massive government initiative effort for WiMAX and broadband services.
Choi Si-joong, South Korea’s top telecom regulator, said during a keynote speech at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona that, “We will offer offer our cutting-edge mobile Internet technologies to help developing countries establish mobile Internet networks.”
South Korea’s WiBro technology, a version of WiMAX, is currently available in commercial service in 35 countries internationally and growing. As they gain international popularity and use, WiBro will have to maintain top-quality, fast, and cutting-edge technology in order to remain at the forefront of the industry and this committment to expand is clearly going to be at the forefront of the agenda of Korean telecom regulators.
Japan, who ranked third for fastest download speed (17.80 Mbps) and second for upload speed (8.84 Mbps), is one of the most active telecommunications markets in the world, both in size and also in innovation and ability to be the first to develop and launch cutting- edge technologies. Because of a highly competitive market and varied user needs, it is difficult for any single Japanese carrier to hold the majority of market share. Growth can also be attributed to promotions, discounts, and new methods of repayments with installments. Expansion in the 3G market is due in large part to the closing of 2G networks by operators in the upcoming years and the acquisition of new mobile content. Japan plans to begin the launch of commercial LTE in 2010 by NTT and by other operators in the next three years.
At the start of 2010, Japan had upwards of 30 million broadband lines in place with much of the success a direct result of a sudden growth surge in 2003 on the back of DSL broadband technology. Fiber-to-the-Home currently makes up about 50% of the total broadband market and Japan has also been an innovator in the adoption of multiple play options and models that provide TV, broadband Internet, and telephone services all in one package from one provider. Because telecommunications authorities in Japan have played a major role in shaping the industry, Japan has also played a major leadership role in a variety of global and regional telecommunications areas.
A far smaller and more discreet yet equally successful country in terms of broadband speed is Aland, an autonomous, demilitarized, Swedish-speaking archipelago of Finland in the Baltic Sea. Aland ranked second in download speeds (19.71 Mbps) and third in upload speeds (7.82 Mbps). Because of Aland’s geographical location and local economy that is dependent upon trade with neighboring countries, residents are very dependent upon good communications. This being said, Aland is very communications and IT-oriented as well as being a very media-intensive society. This emphasis on communications and journalism has led the country to always be at the forefront of developments in information technology. Aland has a broadband network that is accessible to almost the entire population with a mobile telephone network that covers the main island and almost the entire archipelago. Aland’s wealth, open economy, and constant need for international communications to support their economy which is based on tourism, agriculture and trade have led to advancements in the quality and speed of wireless broadband in Aland.
A fourth and final country worth mentioning in terms of high speed wireless broadband speed internationally is Latvia, with upload speeds of 6.97 Mbps and download speeds of 17.39 Mbps. Expansion of the telecommunications sector in Latvia began in 2003 when Lattelecom lost its monopoly on the fixed telecom market. Broadband services are currently available all over Latvia, particularly in urban areas, and account for almost all Internet subscriptions. Latvia has always ranked high in Broadband Quality Scores when being assessed for readiness for next-generation web apps and services like transmitting and broadcast streaming HD TV, file sharing, and video conferencing. In recent months, mobile network operators have also seen major growth in the usage of data services after the introduction of flat rates with unlimited consumption. Mobile TV contributed to this trend since it is now available to 3G users in Latvia. Given the fast pace of technology development, broadband speed and connectivity are key components of the telecommunications market in Latvia.
Though countries worldwide are expanding and making great headway in the high speed technology world, certain factors are making the difference in various locations from massive IT-oriented metropolis’ to small, autonomous, more localized countries. Government funding, public initiative, improved infrastructure, forward thinking, and need-based communications have been the key ingredients leading to success in countries like Korea, Japan, Aland, and Latvia. The future of high speed wireless will depend on these factors and it will be interesting to track and study what future trends will become the winning ingredients in this area.
For a full list of the fastest worldwide wireless broadband speeds please visit:
http://www.speedtest.net/global
Photo courtesy of Stakhanivte’s Twin via Flickr
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Maravedis released its studies on the WiMAX chip market in 2009. They found that companies shipped 5 million mobile WiMAX chipsets in 2009.
“However despite the surge of mobile WiMAX device and chipset shipments, notably in Q4 09, the total WiMAX equipment market remained flat last year at US$1.36 billion,” said Maravedis Research Director Adlane Fellah. “The overall picture is mixed. Shipments of base stations decreased in 2009 and were impacted more deeply by the economic downturn, whereas device shipments, especially mobile WIMAX devices, grew at a rate of 147% Year-over-Year compared to 2008, correlating to the addition of 3.5 million WIMAX subscribers during the year,” he continued.
Beceem, Sequans and GCT were responsible for nearly 90 percent of the total chipset market. 48 percent of units shipped in 2009 were WiMAX modems while USB dongles and PC cards made up 43 percent of the chipset market.
The study also found that a lot of the chip makers are preparing for LTE. Many builders have tested chips and Sequans and Beceem will be testing LTE chips some time during 2010.… Read the rest
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Maravedis released its studies on the WiMAX chip market in 2009. They found that companies shipped 5 million mobile WiMAX chipsets in 2009.
“However despite the surge of mobile WiMAX device and chipset shipments, notably in Q4 09, the total WiMAX equipment market remained flat last year at US$1.36 billion,” said Maravedis Research Director Adlane Fellah. “The overall picture is mixed. Shipments of base stations decreased in 2009 and were impacted more deeply by the economic downturn, whereas device shipments, especially mobile WIMAX devices, grew at a rate of 147% Year-over-Year compared to 2008, correlating to the addition of 3.5 million WIMAX subscribers during the year,” he continued.
Beceem, Sequans and GCT were responsible for nearly 90 percent of the total chipset market. 48 percent of units shipped in 2009 were WiMAX modems while USB dongles and PC cards made up 43 percent of the chipset market.
The study also found that a lot of the chip makers are preparing for LTE. Many builders have tested chips and Sequans and Beceem will be testing LTE chips some time during 2010.
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An Intel executive stated that standards for WiMAX 2.0 will be finalized by the end of 2010. Deployment will be widespread by 2012 with standard, 802.16m providing faster download and upload speeds.
Intel research found that users will have 170 Mbps download speeds and 90 Mbps upload speeds. The research also stated that the technology can be used at traveling speeds of up to 217 miles per hour. Current operators use 802.16e, mobile WiMAX that’s compatible with laptops, USB dongles and other mobile devices.
Internationally, Taiwan, the Philippines, and India are being seen as good testing grounds for WiMAX launch because of the large population bases in each country. India has the highest subscriber rate in mobile phones. Yota leads the revolution in Russia, breaking even only after a few months. Clearwire, backed by Sprint, leads the way with 27 markets in the U.S., and is looking to add the Houston, Boston, New York and Washington D.C. markets in 2010.
Photo Courtesy of Josh Bancroft via Flickr… Read the rest
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An Intel executive stated that standards for WiMAX 2.0 will be finalized by the end of 2010. Deployment will be widespread by 2012 with standard, 802.16m providing faster download and upload speeds.
Intel research found that users will have 170 Mbps download speeds and 90 Mbps upload speeds. The research also stated that the technology can be used at traveling speeds of up to 217 miles per hour. Current operators use 802.16e, mobile WiMAX that’s compatible with laptops, USB dongles and other mobile devices.
Internationally, Taiwan, the Philippines, and India are being seen as good testing grounds for WiMAX launch because of the large population bases in each country. India has the highest subscriber rate in mobile phones. Yota leads the revolution in Russia, breaking even only after a few months. Clearwire, backed by Sprint, leads the way with 27 markets in the U.S., and is looking to add the Houston, Boston, New York and Washington D.C. markets in 2010.
Photo Courtesy of Josh Bancroft via Flickr
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4GCounts along with Maravedis releases its latest findings on the 4G landscape, including WiMAX and LTE. The report states that BWA/WiMAX subscribers reached 4.72 million being served by over 200 operators throughout the world after 3Q of 2009.
The worldwide subscriber base generated an estimated quarterly revenue of $798 million dollars. Residential subscribers, at 68 percent, continue to dominate the base, with business subscribers make up 32 percent. Product certification from the WiMAX Forum allowed the technology to grow. It certified five more subscriber stations, 19 mobile WiMAX CPEs and four base stations.
The report also highlights steps that providers are taking to ensure there will be enough spectrum space for 4G technology in the near future. Operators have begun taking steps to manage data traffic and preparing for the newest round of users.
Photo Courtesy of Nemo’s great uncle via Flickr… Read the rest
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4GCounts along with Maravedis releases its latest findings on the 4G landscape, including WiMAX and LTE. The report states that BWA/WiMAX subscribers reached 4.72 million being served by over 200 operators throughout the world after 3Q of 2009.
The worldwide subscriber base generated an estimated quarterly revenue of $798 million dollars. Residential subscribers, at 68 percent, continue to dominate the base, with business subscribers make up 32 percent. Product certification from the WiMAX Forum allowed the technology to grow. It certified five more subscriber stations, 19 mobile WiMAX CPEs and four base stations.
The report also highlights steps that providers are taking to ensure there will be enough spectrum space for 4G technology in the near future. Operators have begun taking steps to manage data traffic and preparing for the newest round of users.
Photo Courtesy of Nemo’s great uncle via Flickr
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According to Sprint Nextel CEO Dan Hesse, as the healthcare industry transforms, wireless technology may serve as the key enabler of this shift. Major topics Hesse referenced during his keynote were future trends, the increasing use of wireless data transactions, the ever-expanding importance of 4G technology, and a growing need to always keep people, devices, and systems connected.
“With rising healthcare costs and numerous challenges impacting every aspect of care, healthcare providers are using wireless to increase efficiency and better manage costs. Healthcare providers are going even further by using wireless to achieve some truly remarkable, transformative advancements in delivering faster, better patient care,” said Hesse.
Because wireless technology is such an essential part of everyday life for hundreds of millions of Americans, it is truly changing the standard of how healthcare is administered. With the availability of such advanced technology today, Internet savvy consumers expect immediate access to health information and care at any location and at any time.
More Internet users are looking online for health information and similarly, caregivers are using smartphones equipped with medical apps for instant lab results, x-rays, vital signs, drug-to-drug-interactions, and medical records. All of these new trends only further validate just how important wireless will be in shaping and changing the future of healthcare by using cost-effective and efficient approaches in delivering quality healthcare.
Additionally, because many wireless networks will need a lot more bandwidth to handle data-centric exchanges instantly including live streaming video, on-demand applications, and virtual office visits, 4G technology holds a lot of promise and could play a major role in taking mobile medicine to the next level in healthcare.
Photo Courtesy of NanPalmero via Flickr… Read the rest
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According to Sprint Nextel CEO Dan Hesse, as the healthcare industry transforms, wireless technology may serve as the key enabler of this shift. Major topics Hesse referenced during his keynote were future trends, the increasing use of wireless data transactions, the ever-expanding importance of 4G technology, and a growing need to always keep people, devices, and systems connected.
“With rising healthcare costs and numerous challenges impacting every aspect of care, healthcare providers are using wireless to increase efficiency and better manage costs. Healthcare providers are going even further by using wireless to achieve some truly remarkable, transformative advancements in delivering faster, better patient care,” said Hesse.
Because wireless technology is such an essential part of everyday life for hundreds of millions of Americans, it is truly changing the standard of how healthcare is administered. With the availability of such advanced technology today, Internet savvy consumers expect immediate access to health information and care at any location and at any time.
More Internet users are looking online for health information and similarly, caregivers are using smartphones equipped with medical apps for instant lab results, x-rays, vital signs, drug-to-drug-interactions, and medical records. All of these new trends only further validate just how important wireless will be in shaping and changing the future of healthcare by using cost-effective and efficient approaches in delivering quality healthcare.
Additionally, because many wireless networks will need a lot more bandwidth to handle data-centric exchanges instantly including live streaming video, on-demand applications, and virtual office visits, 4G technology holds a lot of promise and could play a major role in taking mobile medicine to the next level in healthcare.
Photo Courtesy of NanPalmero via Flickr
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Infonetics Research released its findings on a WiMAX subscriber study for the year end 2009. The fourth quarter was the third consecutive quarter of WiMAX equipment and device revenue growth, up 3 percent from the third quarter. The number of WiMAX users increased 75 percent during 2009 to 6.8 million worldwide.
Worldwide revenue from fixed and mobile WiMAX was down 19 percent from 2008 to $1.08 billion in 2009. Motorola was awarded the number one vendor spot for its combined WiMAX equipment and vendor and Alvarion was listed at number two. Huawei showed the biggest growth during 2009.
Photo Courtesy of Somewhat Frank via Flickr… Read the rest
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Infonetics Research released its findings on a WiMAX subscriber study for the year end 2009. The fourth quarter was the third consecutive quarter of WiMAX equipment and device revenue growth, up 3 percent from the third quarter. The number of WiMAX users increased 75 percent during 2009 to 6.8 million worldwide.
Worldwide revenue from fixed and mobile WiMAX was down 19 percent from 2008 to $1.08 billion in 2009. Motorola was awarded the number one vendor spot for its combined WiMAX equipment and vendor and Alvarion was listed at number two. Huawei showed the biggest growth during 2009.
Photo Courtesy of Somewhat Frank via Flickr
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Competition between the future of WiMax and LTE has been misconstrued as a heated battle where one is destined to succeed while the other will inevitably fail. The reality is that these technologies shouldn’t be pitted against eachother because they have the potential to concurrently play an important part in the future of wireless.
WiMax has already grown to over 7 million subscribers worldwide with upwards of 400 WiMax deployments. Early developers and adopters of WiMax – Yota, Clearwire, and Packet One – have been joined by new industry partnerships and alliances with common interests in both LTE and WiMax. Intel and Nokia have looked to the future of the two technologies as have Ericsson and Sprint. A number of WiMax IC/SOC suppliers have announced that they are working on LTE and WiMax + LTE multiple mode chips. The Mobile World Congress held in Barcelona this week was another place where WiMax and LTE were discussed in terms of collaboration rather than competition.
This being said, timing is a crucial component that must be taken into consideration. Many experts are predicting a wane in the current LTE hype because though the prospect is exciting, rollout is not expected until 2012 and inevitably, the hype will die down.
“Boatloads of bad press and public complaints will likely ensue for LTE, just as it did for WiMax, because the industry and the public will want to get their hands on what they’ve been promised for the last couple of years…once LTE networks become available and people fall in love with the service, the tides will change and LTE will become hot again,” said Robb Henshaw, Director of Marketing and Communications at Proxim Wireless.
In the future, the widespread use of both technologies will be very dependent upon location and availability. Certain areas may only have access to either WiMax or LTE. This being said, even if WiMax does not become the technology of choice, experts have said that it can be expected that it will still play a major role as a backhaul technology for both 4G and Wi-Fi networks.
As seen in the past, different technologies are ultimately pushed together based on what they have in common and not what makes them different because the market simply wants to provide the best products and services in their interests. It is in the interest of both suppliers and providers to develop both … Read the rest
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Competition between the future of WiMax and LTE has been misconstrued as a heated battle where one is destined to succeed while the other will inevitably fail. The reality is that these technologies shouldn’t be pitted against eachother because they have the potential to concurrently play an important part in the future of wireless.
WiMax has already grown to over 7 million subscribers worldwide with upwards of 400 WiMax deployments. Early developers and adopters of WiMax – Yota, Clearwire, and Packet One – have been joined by new industry partnerships and alliances with common interests in both LTE and WiMax. Intel and Nokia have looked to the future of the two technologies as have Ericsson and Sprint. A number of WiMax IC/SOC suppliers have announced that they are working on LTE and WiMax + LTE multiple mode chips. The Mobile World Congress held in Barcelona this week was another place where WiMax and LTE were discussed in terms of collaboration rather than competition.
This being said, timing is a crucial component that must be taken into consideration. Many experts are predicting a wane in the current LTE hype because though the prospect is exciting, rollout is not expected until 2012 and inevitably, the hype will die down.
“Boatloads of bad press and public complaints will likely ensue for LTE, just as it did for WiMax, because the industry and the public will want to get their hands on what they’ve been promised for the last couple of years…once LTE networks become available and people fall in love with the service, the tides will change and LTE will become hot again,” said Robb Henshaw, Director of Marketing and Communications at Proxim Wireless.
In the future, the widespread use of both technologies will be very dependent upon location and availability. Certain areas may only have access to either WiMax or LTE. This being said, even if WiMax does not become the technology of choice, experts have said that it can be expected that it will still play a major role as a backhaul technology for both 4G and Wi-Fi networks.
As seen in the past, different technologies are ultimately pushed together based on what they have in common and not what makes them different because the market simply wants to provide the best products and services in their interests. It is in the interest of both suppliers and providers to develop both technologies which will then lead to a new overlapping of these two 4G ecosystems.
“Neither of these technologies will emerge as victorious over the other, and neither will be forced to accept a role as the ‘also-ran’ in the annals of tech history. In fact, both WiMax and LTE can and likely will play equally important roles in the future of wireless networks,” said Henshaw.
Such overlapping is already apparent. Sequans, a pioneer supplier of WiMax SOCs, will also be supplying USB dongles for China Mobile for LTE deployment. WiMax superstar Clearwire has discussed the possibility of supporting LTE based on opportunities within the market, referencing LTE’s ability to be used in pre-existing locations of WiMax deployment. This prospect has also been supported by their main suppliers including Motorola, Samsung, and Huawei. Beceem also released its latest chipset offering in Barcelona at the Mobile World Congress this week, including a chip that offers a bridge between WiMax and LTE. The Femto Forum released findings as well about how femtocells will be helpful in the deployment of both WiMax and LTE.
The future of WiMax and LTE is not an either/or situation – timing, availability, demand, and collaboration will all affect the development of both technologies and only time will tell which respective niche each will serve.
]]>
Competition between the future of WiMax and LTE has been misconstrued as a heated battle where one is destined to succeed while the other will inevitably fail. The reality is that these technologies shouldn’t be pitted against eachother because they have the potential to concurrently play an important part in the future of wireless.
WiMax has already grown to over 7 million subscribers worldwide with upwards of 400 WiMax deployments. Early developers and adopters of WiMax – Yota, Clearwire, and Packet One – have been joined by new industry partnerships and alliances with common interests in both LTE and WiMax. Intel and Nokia have looked to the future of the two technologies as have Ericsson and Sprint. A number of WiMax IC/SOC suppliers have announced that they are working on LTE and WiMax + LTE multiple mode chips. The Mobile World Congress held in Barcelona this week was another place where WiMax and LTE were discussed in terms of collaboration rather than competition.
This being said, timing is a crucial component that must be taken into consideration. Many experts are predicting a wane in the current LTE hype because though the prospect is exciting, rollout is not expected until 2012 and inevitably, the hype will die down.
“Boatloads of bad press and public complaints will likely ensue for LTE, just as it did for WiMax, because the industry and the public will want to get their hands on what they’ve been promised for the last couple of years…once LTE networks become available and people fall in love with the service, the tides will change and LTE will become hot again,” said Robb Henshaw, Director of Marketing and Communications at Proxim Wireless.
In the future, the widespread use of both technologies will be very dependent upon location and availability. Certain areas may only have access to either WiMax or LTE. This being said, even if WiMax does not become the technology of choice, experts have said that it can be expected that it will still play a major role as a backhaul technology for both 4G and Wi-Fi networks.
As seen in the past, different technologies are ultimately pushed together based on what they have in common and not what makes them different because the market simply wants to provide the best products and services in their interests. It is in the interest of both suppliers and providers to develop both … Read the rest
]]>
Competition between the future of WiMax and LTE has been misconstrued as a heated battle where one is destined to succeed while the other will inevitably fail. The reality is that these technologies shouldn’t be pitted against eachother because they have the potential to concurrently play an important part in the future of wireless.
WiMax has already grown to over 7 million subscribers worldwide with upwards of 400 WiMax deployments. Early developers and adopters of WiMax – Yota, Clearwire, and Packet One – have been joined by new industry partnerships and alliances with common interests in both LTE and WiMax. Intel and Nokia have looked to the future of the two technologies as have Ericsson and Sprint. A number of WiMax IC/SOC suppliers have announced that they are working on LTE and WiMax + LTE multiple mode chips. The Mobile World Congress held in Barcelona this week was another place where WiMax and LTE were discussed in terms of collaboration rather than competition.
This being said, timing is a crucial component that must be taken into consideration. Many experts are predicting a wane in the current LTE hype because though the prospect is exciting, rollout is not expected until 2012 and inevitably, the hype will die down.
“Boatloads of bad press and public complaints will likely ensue for LTE, just as it did for WiMax, because the industry and the public will want to get their hands on what they’ve been promised for the last couple of years…once LTE networks become available and people fall in love with the service, the tides will change and LTE will become hot again,” said Robb Henshaw, Director of Marketing and Communications at Proxim Wireless.
In the future, the widespread use of both technologies will be very dependent upon location and availability. Certain areas may only have access to either WiMax or LTE. This being said, even if WiMax does not become the technology of choice, experts have said that it can be expected that it will still play a major role as a backhaul technology for both 4G and Wi-Fi networks.
As seen in the past, different technologies are ultimately pushed together based on what they have in common and not what makes them different because the market simply wants to provide the best products and services in their interests. It is in the interest of both suppliers and providers to develop both technologies which will then lead to a new overlapping of these two 4G ecosystems.
“Neither of these technologies will emerge as victorious over the other, and neither will be forced to accept a role as the ‘also-ran’ in the annals of tech history. In fact, both WiMax and LTE can and likely will play equally important roles in the future of wireless networks,” said Henshaw.
Such overlapping is already apparent. Sequans, a pioneer supplier of WiMax SOCs, will also be supplying USB dongles for China Mobile for LTE deployment. WiMax superstar Clearwire has discussed the possibility of supporting LTE based on opportunities within the market, referencing LTE’s ability to be used in pre-existing locations of WiMax deployment. This prospect has also been supported by their main suppliers including Motorola, Samsung, and Huawei. Beceem also released its latest chipset offering in Barcelona at the Mobile World Congress this week, including a chip that offers a bridge between WiMax and LTE. The Femto Forum released findings as well about how femtocells will be helpful in the deployment of both WiMax and LTE.
The future of WiMax and LTE is not an either/or situation – timing, availability, demand, and collaboration will all affect the development of both technologies and only time will tell which respective niche each will serve.
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