WiMax - forecast

WiMAX Forum Forecasts 133 Million Subscribers by 2012

Aggressive prediction by non-profit trade group surpasses figures from popular analyst firms.

The WiMAX Forum announced it projects more than 133 million WiMAX users globally by 2012. The forecast is based on the results of an independently commissioned research study with an unnamed partner. The report, "WiMAX Forum Worldwide Subscriber and User Forecasts" is to be published later this month.

Approximately 70% of WiMAX users in 2012 (93.1 million) will utilize mobile and portable WiMAX devices to access broadband Internet services. The remaining 30% (39.9 million) will utilize fixed WiMAX CPE for broadband Internet access. Asia and the Americas are cited as the regions with the greatest potential to adopt WiMAX technologies.

The new predictions from WiMAX Forum outpace data from other analyst firms, including Infonetics Research, Informa Telecoms, Juniper Research, Maravedis, Parks Associates and Yankee Group. In fact, the Forum estimate is double that of its trade show partner Informa. Yankee Group offers the most conservative view with WiMAX subscribers worldwide expected to reach 36 million by 2011, according to senior vice president Phil Marshall. Forecast averages place global WiMAX subscribers in the 78 million range during the 2012-2013 timeframe.

More than 260 service providers are currently deploying WiMAX services in 110 countries worldwide, according to the industry group. The announcement also reiterated the timeline for the first portable/mobile WiMAX Forum Certified products. Base stations and subscriber stations based on the IEEE 802.16e-2005 standard and conforming to the Wave 1 profile for 2.3 GHz and the Wave 2 profile for 2.5 GHz are expected by the end of June