Mobile broadband wireless or 3G has enjoyed two largely consistent standards, those being the code division multiple access (CDMA) based approach with its evolution data only (EVDO) and the universal mobile telecommunications system (UMTS) and its faster upgrade high speed downlink packet access (HSDPA), which in particular has gained some deployments in the past year. However, these technologies were slow to mature into economically viable and affordable iterations. The EVDO schema is now in a Revision A version which improves bandwidth considerably. Verizon and Sprint are the first US based carriers to begin wide deployment. Sprint currently has deployed most of its markets with 3G as has Verizon. The bandwidth limitations have been significant and the adoption by carriers, particularly those utilizing GSM technology here in the US has been very slow (as they are essentially incompatible technologies).
Newer broadband UMTS (universal mobile telecommunications system) systems that are GSM compatible have seen some traction with AT&T recently in the US, with the bulk of gains happening overseas, particularly in Europe. The sheer cost factor of the technology relative to its native spectral efficiency has not been conducive to adoption either. Estimates for the nation's cellular carriers to build a comprehensive 3G network have ranged as high as $50 Billion. But clearly the momentum is now on the side of 3G simply due to carrier needs to improve revenue streams and also due to innovations in handsets that are driving the public hunger for broadband applications. AT&T, for example, stated its surprise at how much higher the use of graphical and video downloads were for users of its new Apple iPhone device, which has recently been introduced in a 3G version. Carriers are scrambling to produce higher-capacity broadband systems.
Mobile WiMAX offers a multi-spectrum standard with a better broadband technology concept that can significantly reduce costs, improve spectral efficiency and deliver profitable services. The growth curve of the technology, partly due to the large number of chip and radio vendor firms driving the technology, should provide a much higher innovation curve for WiMAX. Internationally, broadband mobile wireless does enjoy greater acceptance. Many companies are inherently more comfortable using a 3G upgrade from the GSM side due to the similarities of the technology. The efficiency and cost savings that WiMAX are already driving as we await the final merger of Sprint and Clearwire's 2.5 GHz spectrum assets are affecting other technologies, particularly LTE, which has numerous similarities between the two technologies.
