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WiMAX Forum Forecasts 133 Million Subscribers by 2012
Aggressive prediction by non-profit trade group surpasses figures from popular analyst firms.
The WiMAX Forum announced it projects more than
133 million WiMAX users globally by 2012. The forecast is based on the results
of an independently commissioned research study with an unnamed partner. The
report, "WiMAX Forum Worldwide Subscriber and User Forecasts" is to be published
later this month.
Approximately 70% of WiMAX users in 2012 (93.1 million) will utilize mobile and
portable WiMAX devices to access broadband Internet services. The remaining 30%
(39.9 million) will utilize fixed WiMAX CPE for broadband Internet access. Asia
and the Americas are cited as the regions with the greatest potential to adopt
WiMAX technologies.
The new predictions from WiMAX Forum outpace data from other analyst firms,
including Infonetics Research, Informa Telecoms, Juniper Research, Maravedis,
Parks Associates and Yankee Group. In fact, the Forum estimate is double that of
its trade show partner Informa. Yankee Group offers the most conservative view
with WiMAX subscribers worldwide expected to reach 36 million by 2011, according
to senior vice president Phil Marshall. Forecast averages place global WiMAX
subscribers in the 78 million range during the 2012-2013 timeframe.
More than 260 service providers are currently deploying WiMAX services
in 110 countries worldwide, according to the industry group. The announcement
also reiterated the timeline for
the first portable/mobile WiMAX Forum Certified products. Base stations
and subscriber stations based on the IEEE 802.16e-2005 standard and conforming
to the Wave 1 profile for 2.3 GHz and the Wave 2 profile for 2.5 GHz are
expected by the end of June.
By Jeff Orr
ORR Technology, LLC
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