News

2 March 2009

 

Mobile WiMAX market grows 5% in Q4/2008

The overall WiMAX equipment and device market held steady in Q4/2008 over the prior quarter at $275m, as a slight dip in the 802.16d fixed WiMAX segment was countered by the 802.16e mobile WiMAX segment growing 5%, according to the Q4/2008 edition of Infonetics Research’s market report ‘WiMAX Equipment, Devices, and Subscribers’.

Year-on-year, global sales of 802.16e mobile WiMAX equipment (ASN gateways, BTS, CPE) grew 188% in 2008. Sales of 802.16e mobile WiMAX devices (ultra-mobile PCs, phones, and external data cards) grew 121%, although the range of devices is still very limited. The number of fixed and mobile WiMAX subscribers reached 3.9 million in 2008, up 120% on 2007.

Alcatel-Lucent took the lead in mobile WiMAX overall revenue market share in 2008, pushing Motorola into second place, while Alvarion’s strong second-half 2008 edged them past Samsung into third position. A fierce vendor market share battle is playing out in the mobile WiMAX market, with Alvarion consolidating its top spot on the overall WiMAX equipment revenue market share leaderboard in Q4/2008.

While WiMAX infrastructure revenue is subdued by the current global economic climate, strong customer premise equipment (CPE) sales will drive overall mobile WiMAX market growth in 2009, as more services launch and new subscribers adopt WiMAX services for the first time.

“The WiMAX market will be leaner in 2009, leading vendors to rationalize their strategies: Nortel has exited, Alcatel-Lucent has transitioned its mobility R&D to its LTE [long-term evolution] program, and others will have their commitment to WiMAX tested,” says Infonetics Research’s Richard Webb, directing analyst - WiMAX, Microwave, and Mobile Devices. “As the year progresses, we will see more intense competition for the fewer new contracts, and a tight race for market leadership,” he adds.

“Currently Alvarion, Alcatel-Lucent and Motorola lead the field, but there is evidence to suggest that both Huawei and Cisco are coming up on the outside lane.” Huawei and Cisco continue to gain ground on the market leaders with a steady succession of both publicly announced and undisclosed WiMAX customer wins.

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