News

10 September 2009

 

WiMAX subscriptions grows 74% in Q2/09 during slow start for LTE

Starting from a small base, WiMAX posted the highest rate of growth of all wireless access technologies for second-quarter 2009, up 74% on the previous quarter, according to market analysts ABI Research. “The installed base of WiMAX stood at a little over three million subscriptions, but it is a sign that the battle for the 4G market is not an automatic victory for LTE [long-term evolution],” says Jake Saunders, VP for forecasting.

ABI notes that, to represent the total base of WiMAX subscribers, both 802.16d and 802.16e are included in the statistics, since many 802.16d networks will eventually be changed to 802.16e, even if they are mostly used for fixed services.

LTE subscriptions will start to trickle in during the second to third quarters of 2010, the firm says. NTT DOCOMO had hoped to commence commercial LTE in 2009 but has since postponed its launch to 2010.

Mobile broadband subscriptions are taking off, says ABI, which estimates there will be more than 240 million subscribers by the end of 2009 and more than 1.2 billion by 2014.

Mobile data traffic is burgeoning, adds the firm. Early in 2009 mobile operators started to ramp up WCDMA 3G infrastructure equipment purchases dramatically to ensure sufficient network capacity to meet demand. At almost 910 million, 3G subscriptions secured 25% of the global subscription market.

LTE and WiMAX generate high expectations, but HSPA has meanwhile notched up almost 160 million subscriptions, notes ABI. While EDGE may not have the allure of 3G or 4G, carriers are relying on it to deliver mobile Internet and messaging services where 3G coverage is inadequate. In Q2/2009 there were about 375 million EDGE subscribers.

In first-half 2009 growth rates were depressed on a regional basis around the world, but ABI anticipates that there will be steady recovery in subscriber adoption, which should provide carriers with a much needed boost in Q4/2009 and in 2010. Total subscriptions surpassed 4.15 billion in Q2/2009.

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