Although LTE will clearly dominate 4G network deployments over the next five years, WiMAX will continue thriving as a strong technology option for certain markets and applications, with worldwide subscribers growing nearly tenfold by the end of 2014, to about 53 million users, according to the latest report from Pyramid Research.
Once thought of as disruptive of the mobile communications world, WiMAX has begun to carve out a tight niche tied to certain target opportunities, including emerging markets, rural and underserved areas that lack broadband coverage and businesses, notes Dan Locke, senior analyst at Pyramid Research and author of the report. "In contrast, LTE has quickly gained momentum; the world's largest MNOs have already chosen LTE, and some have begun aggressively deploying the technology this year," he says. "Going forward, LTE will be the most commonly deployed OFDMA-based standard, and since WiMAX (802.16e) and LTE (release 8) will provide similar real-world performance, ultimately the decisions of the largest WiMAX players may determine the fate of WiMAX," he adds. Article