Maravedis, a telecom market research and analysis firm, announced the release of the its “Opportunities and Challenges for Broadband Wireless and WiMAX in the USA” report.

 

The firm’s research reports focus primarily on BWA technologies, which include  WiMAX, LTE (News - Alert), 802.20 and Ultra Mobile Broadband. This latest report predicts that both licensed and unlicensed Wireless Internet Service Providers (WISPs) will reap the maximum benefits from the short term opportunities of BWA/WiMAX (News - Alert). However, this will not create large scale adoption. On the contrary, it will contribute significantly to the cause of building credibility for WiMAX.

 

“The current regulatory environment in the US, along with important participation from the industry and standards groups, provides a strong pro-BWA framework, but mobile broadband applications and business models are still immature and not well understood,” Tim Sanders, research analyst at Maravedis, was quoted as saying in the report.

 

802.16e-2005, which is more popularly known as “mobile WiMAX,” is facing enormous challenges lately. Among US mobile operators, LTE is taking large strides. This essentially means, Sprint (News - Alert)-Nextel, which is the leading proponent of WiMAX, will have to focus immensely on sending a clear message to the market about its mobile WiMAX development plans.

 

“Sprint-Nextel does not have sufficient leverage to build a nationwide WiMAX network without additional external funding. One first scenario is a spinoff of its WiMAX unit while retaining ownership of the spectrum. The second scenario is for Sprint to execute a slower build-out than previously announced, along with a more modest CAPEX investment,” Adlane Fellah, CEO of Maravedis and a contributor to the report, was quoted as saying in the report.

 

“A third or complementary scenario is to use only part of the spectrum for WiMAX, leaving room for LTE,” Robert Syputa, Maravedis Senior Analyst, was quoted as saying in the report.

 

Key findings of the report include: