US Mobile WiMAX Market Moves from Uncertain to Vibrant

摘要

Just a little over a year ago, most people thought the United States would only see deployments of fixed WiMAX in rural areas with no DSL or cable modem service. During the summer of 2006, however, those who did not see the bigger picture got a reality check. In July, Clearwirernmade a firm commitment to shift its proprietary network to mobile WiMAX, receiving investments from Intel and Motorola. Shortly afterwards, Sprint Nextel announced its plans to deploy mobile WiMAX to make use of its extensive 2.5 GHz spectrum, becoming the first major mobile operator to commit to WiMAX. "Today we are watching major strategic alliances, partnerships and mergers taking place," said ABI Research principal analyst Philip Solis. "DirectTV and EchoStar announced a partnership with Clearwire, allowing Clearwire to bundle broadcast video and—when its network is deployed—provide the DBS companies with a fast, low latency pipe into the home." Sprint and Clearwire will also form a roaming arrangement, if not actually merge in some form.