Possibly exceeding 2009 forecasts

Feb 15, 2010 13:25 GMT  ·  By

According to the WiMAX Forum, WiMAX networks cover over 620 million people (or POPs) in more than 147 countries worldwide and the numbers will probably surpass the previous forecast of 800 million POPs by the end of the year. WiMAX aims to reach one billion customers by the end of 2011, when more competitive 4G technologies are believed to be commercialized.

“WiMAX networks continue to expand at a very healthy pace despite challenges from the slowly recovering global economy,” Ron Resnick, president and chairman of the WiMAX Forum, said. “These new deployment numbers and population statistics demonstrate that the WiMAX ecosystem has strong momentum for the start of the New Year and will continue to meet the global market demand for high-speed broadband access in developed and emerging regions.”

According to the WiMAX Forum, judging after the number of customers, Asia Pacific is the leader with over 237 million POPs and 100 network deployments. Central/Latin America covers 113 million POPs with 109 deployments, and Europe currently serves 115 million POPs with 153 deployments. The last two are Africa/Middle East and North America with 108 million POPs, 142 deployments, and 47 million POPs with 51 deployments, respectively.

WiMAX recorded a notable growth in Europe due to an increase in spectrum allocations made in 2009. In February 2009, the WiMAX Forum predicted that its technology would reach 800 million customers by the end of 2010, but, considering the recent growth, these forecasts might be exceeded by the end of the year. The 2009 forecast did not include the Indonesia and Philippines markets, which will dramatically increase the customer base once WiMAX deploys networks in these locations.

“WiMAX has huge potential in Indonesia, where only four percent of its 240 million population has access to fixed-line infrastructure and less two million have broadband access,” Basharat Ashai, an analyst with the Maravedis “4GCounts Team,” said. “Recently, 73 telecom companies participated in an auction that yielded only eight winners and many of those operators plan to deploy in 1H 2010.”

One of the main reasons for WiMAX's growth in 2010 will be the increasing number of consumer products appearing on the market, including global roaming-capable phones, as well as tri-band smartphones. Over 178 Mobile WiMAX Certified products were certified in 2009 and ten at the beginning of 2010. The WiMAX Forum predicts that over 1,000 WiMAX Forum Certified products will be available on the market by 2011.