Motorola announced a deal with Softbank Group in Japan to deploy a trial mobile WiMAX network in Tokyo. Motorola said it is supplying an end-to-end trial system including access points, an access network and prototype WiMAX mobile handheld devices. The trial will enable Softbank, which purchased the mobile assets from Vodafone in Japan, to assess the effectiveness of WiMAX as a wireless broadband technology and its potential as an integrated part of Softbank's growing portfolio of telecommunications services. Expected to begin in September 2006, the five-month trial will focus on performance of WiMAX in the 2.5GHz spectrum with regards to throughput and range, as well as the speed of network handovers between access points. A report today from In-Stat says Asian providers cannot afford to ignore WiMAX since their competitors are moving quickly in this area. In-Stat said the total APAC market, including WiMAX CPEs, WiMAX Base stations and WiMAX commercial services, but excluding the non-radio-access part of total WiMAX solutions, is valued at $106.4 million in 2006, and that figure will grow to $4.3 billion in 2011.
To read more about Motorola's trial with Softbank and the Asian WiMAX market:
- check out this release
- take a look at this release from In-Stat