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WiMAX Equipment Market Surged 59% in First Quarter, Says Infonetics

6:00 am on July 9, 2008 | Category: Business, WiMAX, Wireless Technology

The global market for fixed and mobile WiMAX equipment increased by a healthy 59% (sequentially) to $363 million in the first quarter of this year, according to a recent report by Infonetics Research.

Mobile WiMAX (802.16e) technology led the surge, with first-quarter revenue jumping 141% to overtake fixed WiMAX equipment sales for the first time ever.

“A significant number of new mobile WiMAX networks began rollout in the first quarter, and existing networks continued to scale up, driving sales in 1Q08,” commented Infonetics wireless analyst, Richard Webb. “We expect healthy growth for the evolving mobile WiMAX market, which is seeing strong adoption not only from Tier 2 and 3 carriers, but from Tier 1 nationwide operators as well, like Sprint-Clearwire in the US, SK Telecom and KT in South Korea, Wateen in Pakistan, BSNL in India, and Vodafone and Orange in new territories.”

In terms of equipment suppliers, Motorola has taken the lead in terms of overall and mobile WiMAX revenue, becoming the first vendor to exceed $50 million in mobile WiMAX sales in a single quarter, according to Infonetics’ estimates.

Alvarion, meanwhile, continues to lead the pack in terms of fixed WiMAX equipment revenue, closely followed by Telsima, which managed to increase its revenue share.

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