20 January 2006

WIMAX Market Set To Boom

The WIMAX market is surging ahead and the WIMAX equipment market could top $3 billion by 2010, according to a report.

WiMAX has an excellent opportunity to expand the market for fixed, portable and mobile broadband access, according to market research company In-Stat .WiMAX's advantages in cost, flexibility and portability will also allow its providers to take market share from operators using proprietary wireless or wireline technologies , In-Stat forecasts.

"Our aggressive forecast for pre-WiMAX-Certified 802.16-2004 equipment –– subscriber units and base stations –– is $42 million in 2005, growing to $3.2 billion in 2010," says Norm Bogen, In-Stat analyst. "The conservative forecast is $19 million and $2.1 billion, respectively."

The market, however, isn’t without its challenges. The biggest challenge being worldwide harmonisation of spectrum sufficient to allow manufacturers to mass-produce equipment at ever lower prices, the report said.