US : Forward Concepts has announced the publication of its newest in-depth study of the global WiMAX market. The new 300-page study, “WiMAX '08: The 3G+ Broadband Alternative,” is an in-depth analysis of operators, equipment, chips & broadband alternatives, both wired and wireless.

According to the principal author, Carter L. Horney, “3G cellular (HSPA and EV-DO) and mobile WiMAX are the technologies that will serve the majority of the 2012 mobile wireless broadband market, but HSOPA (High Speed OFDM Packet Access), LTE (Long Term Evolution) and/or Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB) will also be available then.” Key study findings include:

-- WIMAX, variously as fixed or mobile services, will bring broadband access services to rural and undeveloped regions of the world.

-- WIMAX growth in India will be strong and will precede 3G rollouts.

-- WIMAX will become large in China, but on the heels of 3G TD-SCDMA.

-- If mobile WiMAX can supplement existing cellular networks as an overlay, it will become a mainstream technology.

The study provides equipment and chip forecasts by type through 2012. WiMAX/BWA system houses are profiled with cumulative revenue estimates and 2007 market shares. WiMAX PHY, MAC, RF and Communications Processor chip vendors are also covered with estimated 2007 market shares. Global WiMAX and BWA deployments by 194 operators in 73 countries are profiled and detailed listings of wired and wireless broadband subscriber populations on a country-by-country basis are presented for 146 countries.

Will Strauss, Forward Concepts’ president and editor/contributor of the report, said, “High profile cellular operators that have put their weight behind Mobile WiMAX include Sprint Nextel in the U.S., Rogers in Canada, KDDI and Softbank in Japan, and Telefonica in both Spain and Latin America.” The study also notes that the supporting ecosystem is growing, for example:

-- Over 200 Operators are deploying WiMAX, worldwide.

-- Over 30 companies are supplying WiMAX infrastructure equipment.

-- Over 16 companies are providing WiMAX client equipment.

-- Over 19 companies offer 802.16e MAC/PHY baseband chip sets.

-- Over 15 companies are now offer WiMAX radio transceiver chips.

The report profiles virtually all of these companies. It is now available from Forward Concepts at www.fwdconcepts.com/WiMAX8.htm.