Why WiMax?

Pakistan is one of the early adopter of WiMax technology and Wateen has made ambitious announcements for WiMax rollout in 17 cities. Wateen is using the technology to provide fixed wireless broadband data services for residential use, and through its 5,500 kilometre long haul optical fibre, metro optical fibre rings and FTTx, the company will offer total communication solutions (Triple Play) including voice services, video conferencing, broadband internet and TV viewing. Others such as Dancom and Burraq are also implementing WiMax. For an overview of Wimax in Pakistan see my previous posts, especially this. Despite all this buzz around WiMax there are still many who express doubts about it, especially when 3G is out there.

An article in THE ECONOMIST says that for the 60,000 people attending the 3GSM trade show recently in Barcelona, WiMax was everywhere … on huge banners, on the lips of executives, and on products in display cases.. everywhere, that is, except in the real world. The article says that even as mobile operators start to upgrade their networks to the latest enhanced 3G equipment, WiMax boosters say their technology is superior … and now that WiMax networks are starting to pop up around the world, the industry will soon find out if they are right. I think that startups such as Meraki which is developing low-cost wireless mesh technology and routers, can make a big difference in WiMax adoption.

As discussed at ZDNet here, the market for high-speed connectivity has split into two camps: one stands by wireless standards such as WiMax and Wi-Fi, while the other supports mobile technology 3G and HSDPA. Motorola which is one of main Wimax provider thinks that Wimax can replace wired broadband in 20 years. The GSM camp disagrees. The truth is probably somewhere in between: both mobile and wireless (wimax) technology segments are complementary and can co-exist in the market (see illustration above – source: Alcatel / Forrester). In my opinion, it is the local economics and demand which will favor one technology over the other.

As noted in ZDNet, Wi-Fi and WiMax have been largely confined to facilitating high-speed connectivity to laptops and PDAs, while 3G and HSDPA have focused on mobile phones. However, there are now suggestions that 3G can be extended to laptops, particularly as the data speeds offered by these mobile standards catch up to those provided by WiMax.

Mobilink CEO Zouhar Khaliq has been reported to state that Mobilink had trialled WiMAX in the past but said that no trials were currently underway. “Our main aim is to continue to be the dominant cellular and telecoms player in Pakistan, offering services beyond the cellular space,” Khaliq added.

“Over 80 percent of the world’s population has GSM coverage, but I don’t think that’s true for WiMax ,” a GSM Association officer said. “Why then would you want to invest some millions of dollars building up a WiMax network when you have a [GSM] network that already covers 80 percent of the world’s population?”