Early growth in mobile WiMAX market not enough to satisfy WiMAX equipment vendors, says In-Stat

Broadband communications have become a crucial communications tool, so demand for mobile WiMAX technology remains strong, reports In-Stat. Unfortunately for many vendors, success in WiMAX infrastructure markets will not be reflected in their overall earnings. WiMAX revenues are still dwarfed by sales of traditional cellular infrastructure.

"While the market for 802.16e will continue to grow, it does not mean happy days are here for every vendor," said Daryl Schoolar, In-Stat analyst. "In-Stat expects to see more infrastructure vendors pull back or leave the WiMAX market entirely. This is especially true for vendors that have been slow moving from 802.16d to the 802.16e standard."

According to In-Stat, WiMAX base station revenues grew by 137.9% in 2008. Global WiMAX subscriptions will be over 85 million by the end of 2013. Deployments of 802.16e are contributing to the decline of sales in the fixed WiMAX standard, 802.16d.

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