WiMAX To Overcome Hype, Become A Success: Report

WiMAX wireless broadband will be a success because it is standardized and deployment costs for wireless ISPs will eventually be low, according to a market forecast released Wednesday by Northern Sky Research (NSR).

However, the technology will have some hurdles to overcome, the study noted. From the point of view of operators, while the cost of WiMAX products will initially be high, although it eventually will decrease significantly, the study said. It also must overcome the initial level of hype, in which expectations may be set too high, the report said.

However, those hurdles can be easily overcome, the report's author said. By 2010, there will be 12.4 million WiMAX subscribers worldwide, the study predicted.

"NSR believes in the viability of the emerging 801.16 WiMAX standard, as the likely performance characteristics of WiMAX make the standard quite promising for many new deployment models," Christopher Baugh, NSR's president and author of the report, said in a statement.

Initially, the technology will find its greatest success in developing countries. However, the technology won't really take off widely until mobile WiMAX is launched in 2007, the study said.