Skip to main content

WiMAX Carriers Try to Differentiate Services

Clearwire, the U.S. wireless service provider, has announced that it had received FCC approval for a WiMAX laptop card. Motorola will manufacture the card for Clearwire, which is expected by Clearwire to be available during the second half of 2007.

In-Stat believes that there are two significant developments coming from this announcement. First, Clearwire appears to be starting to take steps to differentiate its service from other existing broadband providers. With portability, Clearwire can offer a broadband service that breaks down the artificial wall between the home and away Internet experience.

This gives Clearwire a way to differentiate itself from current service offerings which are either strictly for a fixed or portable experience. Service differentiation is important as Clearwire needs to find a way to win customers away from incumbent broadband providers.

Generally there are only two ways to do that -- either be cheaper or be different. For a company that has yet to turn a profit and is still building out its initial network, lowering prices is not a wise approach. Being different, which portability will do for Clearwire, can be much more profitable.

The other significant development from the recent announcement comes from Motorola's WiMAX efforts. Motorola has positioned itself as a key infrastructure vendor to two of the most high profile WiMAX deployments in the world, Sprint and Clearwire.

All the while the company has yet to gain any significant market share in WiMAX equipment. Usually marquee wins go to dominant players in a market, however with WiMAX that has not been the case. In-Stat believes it indicates how the WiMAX world is about to change.

While there are hundreds of WiMAX deployments, most have been small in scope using equipment from vendors specializing in the technology. With the Sprint and Clearwire commitment to deploy WiMAX networks, the infrastructure market will quickly eclipse the $170+ million mark reached in 2006.

Also, the vendors that dominated market share in 2006 will soon see themselves replaced by more traditional telecom equipment vendors, such as Motorola. The original equipment pioneers of WiMAX -- Alvarion, Aperto, and Redline have yet to win a role in either Sprint's or Clearwire's deployments. However, all is not bad for those companies -- In-Stat expects they will continue to grow their revenues, even as their market share decreases.

Popular posts from this blog

Global Digital Business and IT Consulting Outlook

Across the globe, CEOs and their leadership teams continue to seek information and guidance about planned Digital Transformation initiatives and the most effective enterprise organization change management practices. Worldwide IT and Business Services revenue will grow from $1.13 trillion in 2022 to $1.2 trillion in 2023 -- that's a 5.7 percent year-over-year growth, according to the latest market study by International Data Corporation (IDC). The mid-term to long-term outlook for the market has also increased -- the five-year CAGR is forecast at 5.2 percent, compared to the previous 4.9 percent. Digital Sevices & Consulting Market Development IDC has raised the growth projection despite a weak economic outlook, because of vendor performances across 2022, growth indicators from adjacent markets, increased government funding, and inflation impacts. The actual 2022 market growth was 6.7 percent (in constant currency), which was 87 basis points higher than forecast last year, alth

Mobile Device Market Still Awaiting Recovery

The mobile devices market has experienced three years of unpredictable demand. The global pandemic, geopolitical pressures, supply chain issues, and macroeconomic headwinds have hindered the sector's consistent growth potential. This extremely challenging environment has dramatically affected both demand and supply chains. It has led to subsequent inflationary pressures, leading to a worsening global cost of living crisis suppressing growth and confidence in the sector. In tandem, mobile device industry stakeholders have become more cautious triggering market uncertainties. Mobile Device Market Development Operating under such a backdrop, the development of mobile device ecosystems and vendor landscapes have been impacted severely. Many of these market pressures persisted throughout 2022 and now into 2023, borne chiefly by the smartphone market. According to the latest worldwide market study by ABI Research, worldwide smartphone shipments in 2022 declined 9.6 percent Year-over-Year

Digital Talent Demand Exceeds Supply in Asia-Pac

Even the savviest CEO's desire for a digital transformation advantage has to face the global market reality -- there simply isn't enough skilled and experienced talent available to meet demand. According to the latest market study by IDC, around 60-80 percent of Asia-Pacific (AP) organizations find it "difficult" or "extremely difficult" to fill many IT roles -- including cybersecurity, software development, and data insight professionals. Major consequences of the skills shortage are increased workload on remaining digital business and IT employees, increased security risks, and loss of "hard-to-replace" critical transformation knowledge. Digital Business Talent Market Development Although big tech companies' layoffs are making headlines, they are not representative of the overall global marketplace. Ongoing difficulty to fill key practitioner vacancies is still among the top issues faced by leaders across industries. "Skills are difficul