In a head-to-head comparison, respondents to a US consumer survey have indicated a significant preference for WiMAX over cellular data and Wi-Fi services, according to market researcher In-Stat.
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The results come from a survey conducted earlier this year by In-Stat with more than 1,200 respondents in the US in which they were "asked a series of questions...regarding their interest in various wireless broadband services, with each service description based on what is currently or will soon be available per technology."
In-Stat analyst, Daryl Schoolar, claimed that: "While much of the WiMAX industry's focus has been on ultra mobile devices, which still remains a few years away, these findings show there are real opportunities for WiMAX based on what it can deliver today. WiMAX's ability to support nomadic services with laptop cards and USB devices will become a reality this year. Combining that nomadic ability, with its fixed capabilities will give WiMAX service providers a way to differentiate their broadband services from what is currently available."
In-Stat found that more than 50 percent of respondents would change their current home broadband provider for one that bundles wireless with a home broadband service, and that their interest in cellular data decreased dramatically when they were told how much it would likely cost.
However, the top two service attributes used in selecting a wireless broadband provider, when not factoring in price, were availability and reliability, which would indicate that WiMAX's apparent advantages could evaporate if mobile operators can get prices down.
A recent report by Arthur D Little concluded that HSPA (HSDPA and HSUPA) would account for most mobile broadband deployments and that mobile WiMax would capture only niche markets. However, other reports have identified significant opportunities for WiMAX, particularly in developing countries.
As the throughput and rollout of HSDPA networks increases rapidly WiMAX has been getting an increasing amount of negative comment about its ability to compete with this technology. In its latest half year results presentation, Australia's future WiMAX operator, Unwired, sought to counter this with a chart showing the total cost of ownership of WiMAX, HSDPA and rev A EV-DO networks against total throughput in gigabytes per month.
While costs for all three were comparable at 2Gbytes per month, the costs of the other two rose rapidly as volumes increased whereas the cost of WiMAX was much less affected. At 12Gbytes pre month the cost of WiMAX had risen only 25 percent, but the cost of EV-DO was up 300 percent and of HSPA about 400 percent.
However the chart lacked sufficient information to make a comparison meaningful and Unwired was unable or unwilling to provide any.
UNW
unwired group limited
