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 Open Banking business model has been advantageous for Third-Party Providers (TPPs), helping them to extend their offerings into other areas of financial services with new capabilities. Open Banking is also advantageous for traditional banking institutions, despite the perceived loss of custodianship over their data, by providing greater accessibility to more bank services. Furthermore, Open Banking can help serve Mobile Internet providers that are able to leverage it to create tailored services according to customers’ preferences and/or economic limitations. Open Banking Market Development Since traditional banking services are made more convenient by TPPs via greater data access, customers can proactively manage their finances and shape the development of new financial offerings. This is particularly noticeable in the realm of Digital Payments, where retail merchants and customers transact through eCommerce, which has the greatest number of use cases for Open Banking. These includ