Sprint and Clearwire could have a significant subscriber-base in the coming years. According to research firm Maraved, WiMAX subscriptions should hit 100 million by 2014.
“WiMAX chipsets will start to be embedded in laptops in the second half of 2008, into handheld devices in 2009, and into consumer electronics by early 2010,” said Adlane Fellah, President and CEO of Maravedis and co-author of the report. And with Sprint’s plans to roll-out their WiMAX/XOHM network sooner than later, the carrier is on track to capitalize on the lead-in to 100M customers.
Furthermore, as WiMAX takes advantage of the technology gap that will be left as many 3G HSPA networks convert to the hot-shot 4G LTE technology, WiMAX’s accumulated market size for combined demand and supply of WiMAX equipment is projected reach $42 billion by 2014.
Since WiMAX will be serving a considerably larger device-base than LTE, the 3G technology could very well have the marketing-edge to make it the break-out star of mobile broadband. UMPCs, notebooks, and even mobile phones are already leaving factory floors with WiMAX capabilities, and once carriers like Sprint go big with the technology, it should prove to be the premier mobile broadband service in the near-term.
We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again. Sprint has everything riding on their WiMAX venture, so they had better make sure XOHM flies high.
[Via: cellular news]