While the first officially certified equipment is not expected to see the light of day for at least another four months, operators are rushing to embrace WiMAX technology as a broadband alternative and backhaul solution. According to new statistics from Infonetics Research, worldwide WiMAX equipment revenue will grow to US$124.5 million this year, up from an almost negligible $16.4 million in 2004, and is likely to hit $1 billion within the next three years. Having just launched its certification program in Spain, the WiMAX Forum has been desperate to cement the credibility of its efforts in general and 802.16 technology in particular. In the recent past the Forum has battled revelations from major WiMAX developer, Alvarion, that the industry is not ready for the certification programme and recently held a major product showcase event in Canada to "prove that WiMAX is real." According to Infonetics, while revenues still pale in comparison of those for other fixed and wireless solutions such as DSL and Wi-Fi, the operator market is now ready to accept WiMAX, certified or not. The group notes significant early deployments as a backhaul solution and says that operators will more rapidly embrace the technology once new mobility applications become available.
The industrial sector is on the eve of a wireless transformation, driven by an urgent demand for greater network capacity, reliability, and deterministic performance. Historically, manufacturers and mission-critical operations have relied on wired networks — favoring their predictability — because spectrum congestion in legacy 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands limited confidence in wireless for operational technology (OT) environments. However, with the introduction and rapid adoption of the 6GHz spectrum, compounded by significant advances in Wi-Fi standards, industrial facilities are now poised to embrace wireless LANs as the backbone for automation and digital innovation. Industrial WLAN Market Development Recent research from ABI Research forecasts that over 70 percent of industrial-grade wireless LAN access points (WLAN APs) shipped in 2030 will support the 6GHz band. This is a leap from 2 percent in 2023, highlighting a rapid and profound technological shift. The market for ruggedized indust...