Firstly, let’s understand what WiMAX is. WiMAX, which stands for Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access is a wireless technology that allows one to connect wirelessly to a device and to a network. It’s kind of like Wi-Fi, but there are some major differences. There are two main standards which have been developed by the IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineering), one is for fixed applications, and the other is for mobile applications.
WiMAX has gained a reputation over the last few years, especially in developing countries. This is because there has always been a huge need for Broadband, but the problem is that the fixed infrastructure isn’t too good. This is why that the future of WiMAX looks a little break and uncertain, as there is a doubt on the part of analyst experts who think that the market does not offer sufficient growth potential and even less sustained continued investment. It’s going to be a difficult future indeed.
Let’s think about the United States of America. Sprint is coming up with a national WiMAX network through the majority shareholding it has with Clearwire, but compared to that, the number of customers subscribing to it hasn’t been up to standard. Google itself is writing off large amounts of money that had been previously invested. Needless to say, this doesn’t seem good for the future of WiMAX. Plus, there’s also the fact that the North American CDMA operators might just move to LTE, and not WiMAX.
Today, WiMAX is seen as a technology to be used just in an ad hoc fashion, just for developing countries. This doesn’t change the fact that WiMAX is probably one of the best Broadband access technologies around, for countries that have poor fixed infrastructure. WiMAX, with its end-to-end IP capability and suitable choice of carrier frequencies, sure does have its positive points. But it doesn’t have a broadband wireless spectrum, and this means that it could not capitalize properly on the markets of the developing countries.
The future shows quite a bit of rivalry between WiMAX and LTE, not just in terms of spectrum, but also in terms of coverage and bandwidth capacity. WiMAX is important and it will continue to be important in the developing countries, but it will definitely face trouble because of the limited potential of such markets. But the developing countries do show a high demand for high speed and bandwidth and increased mobility, so the consumer demand is expected to play a major role in the future of WiMAX.
Plus, WiMAX might actually be more in demand than Wi-Fi, because of its better connectivity, its better data rate, and better mobility, and also wider coverage at lower costs. However, the interoperability between networks and between various types of end-user equipment could slow down the deployment. There are also issues of interoperability between countries. So these issues must be looked into, when considering the future of WiMAX. But there is no denying that this particular technology will soon be available on a large-scale, citywide and perhaps even nationwide scale. Plus, there will be new-WiMAX enabled devices too!