WiMAX - What This Wireless Technology Means to Consumers

The introduction of WiMAX (wide area wireless networking) will offer multiple benefits for businesses and consumers, including lower broadband costs and improved service choice. However, the Northern Sky Research (NSR) market survey: “WiMAX- Sorting Through the Hype: A Realistic Assessment of WiMAX Growth Potential (2005-2010),” warns that the hype surrounding WiMAX is generating confusion regarding the technology's actual market positioning.

Before WiMAX 802.16 can achieve its potential as a broadband wireless platform, several obstacles must be overcome. These include spectrum allocation, requirements for indoor antennas and initial high costs. NSR concludes that early struggles in the space are, however, likely to subside over time and WiMAX will post significant gains over the next three to five years.

Many predict that WiMAX, with typical speeds from 300 Kbps to 2 Mbps, could have the same impact on metropolitan areas that Wi-Fi had on the Local Area Networks (LANs). Predictions include two distinct markets for the two different flavors of WiMAX: the initial 802.16d and the subsequent 802.16e. IEEE 802.16d will support connections to fixed locations over a range of as much as 30 miles. NSR expects the market for 802.16d WiMAX to be located primarily in developing regions and niche applications in developed markets. With a predicted start date in 2007, the later 802.16e, which will be based on the 802.16e standard but target mobility, will reach approximately eight million subscribers in developed regions by 2010.

A report from analyst firm Gartner at the end of last year predicted that the most important applications for WiMAX in metropolitan areas will be to extend the reach of DSL and to support mobile broadband. In the longer term, Gartner predicts mobile broadband will be the main focus, and will account for nearly half of WiMAX equipment revenue and connections in 2009.

On the PCs and laptops loaded with wireless wide area networking 802.16 WiMAX cards could hit the mass market much earlier than many observers had expected. Optional specifications built into the standard could boost the sensitivity of receiving equipment to the extent of making WiMAX PC cards and built-in receivers a practical proposition for laptops, PDAs and other portable devices. The developers of WiMAX have learned from problems encountered with Wi-Fi. WiMAX has quality of service (QoS) built in and allows differentiated service levels for both business and residential users.

Nonetheless, others warn that WiMAX wireless wide area networking faces an uncertain future because it faces stiff competition from established wired and wireless rivals and uncertainty over spectrum allocation.

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