WiMAX High-Speed Hype, for Now

At virtually every turn, Intel Corp. executives are heaping praise on an emerging long-range wireless technology known as WiMAX, which can blanket entire cities with high-speed Internet access. Market research firm iSuppli on Monday described a largely lackluster outlook for WiMAX, which it said is surrounded by hype and will likely fail to catch on beyond niche applications. Established broadband access providers see no reason to adopt yet another technology for delivering data at high speeds, the company said.

Industry-wide demand for WiMAX equipment will not top $1 billion until 2007, according to iSuppli’s forecast. Divided up among many industry players, that amount might barely register at a company like Intel, which reported $30 billion in revenue last year. By 2009, the market will reach only $2.5 billion, iSuppli predicted.

“These applications will not be large enough to sustain the multitude of silicon suppliers and equipment manufacturers who have expressed interest in developing products for WiMAX,” iSuppli said. “The hype surrounding WiMAX … as a fixed wireless access technology will remain just that — hype.” Continue >>