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July 31, 2009

Report: India, U.S. Prominent Markets for WiMAX

Market research firm Infonetics Research has reportedly identified India and the U.S as the two most prominent markets for WiMAX.
 
Richard Webb, directing analyst for WiMAX at Infonetics Research, said that India has been chosen for its scale, and the U.S., because of Clearwire's profile.
 
Both markets are absolutely critical to WiMAX fortunes. Webb said that the adoption levels and network performance in these two nations will dictate how WiMAX is perceived in a global context, and how prominent a position 802.16e takes in the overall wireless landscape in the next decade.
 
The new report entitled, “WiMAX Equipment and Subscribers in Key Markets,” found that India is the largest single-country WiMAX opportunity in the world. The deployments in this country are well-underway. WiMAX adoption in the U.S. experienced a slowdown during the recession in 2009, but the research firm predicts a bright future led by Clearwire and a growing number of small-town and rural deployments by other operators.
 
Russia has a pent up demand for broadband and voice services with a population capable to pay for services. Brazil is potentially one of the world's most dynamic WiMAX markets, and Infonetics Research predicts the number of WiMAX subscribers to increase from 184,000 in 2008 to almost 8 million in 2013.
 
WiMAX is also popular in most countries in Central and Eastern Europe and more than 20 operators in this region offer VoIP over WiMAX service, a major driver of adoption. Despite the challenges in terms of funding and low-ARPU business models there are over 80 networks now active in over 35 African countries.
 
The relatively stable and affluent economies of the Middle East region offer a favorable climate for WiMAX deployment. The current market is modest in China, but softening of the regulatory attitude to WiMAX can lead to much more extensive WiMAX market growth. The mobile WiMAX adoption is also growing in Japan and South Korea.

Anuradha Shukla is a contributing editor for MobilityTechzone. To read more of Anuradha’s article, please visit her columnist page.

Edited by Amy Tierney


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