WiMAX and LTE Lagging Behind in Profits, Speed

Posted 07/15/2009 at 5:00am | by Paul Lilly

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Is the future of mobile wireless broadband in WiMAX or LTE? Perhaps both, or maybe neither. That's not much of an answer, but it is in line with the mixed messages coming from analysts.

A report by broadband wireless and WiMAX market research firm Maravedis indicates impressive subscriber growth in the WiMAX camp during the first quarter, which now totals 3.5 million worldwide users. That's a 75 percent year-on-year increase. But the same report also suggests that "LTE is gaining momentum and will be the technology selected by most mobile operators worldwide moving forward." And if that weren't enough, Maravedis notes that WiMAX operators are seeing global service revenue growth start to taper off, and ultimately concluding that "2008 was a difficult year for WiMAX."

If you're an LTE proponent, don't pop the celebratory champagne just yet. The same research firm said that 28 percent of the operators they surveyed complained of "technological delays" presenting a challenge to LTE's adoption rate, while another 24 percent voiced concerns about interoperability among LTE vendors.

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