Ericsson strikes another blow in 3G v WiMAX battle

Stuart Corner
Monday, 12 February 2007 03:53

Business IT - Technology

The product is also being positioned as helping mobile operators divert traffic, customers and revenue from fixed broadband services such as ADSL. According to Eriksson, "Networks all over the world are now being upgraded and users are starting to realise that the same high-capacity services that, until now, have been available only at home or in the workplace can be accessible using any device. Users are beginning to see the possibilities of mobile broadband - connectivity to any service, anytime, anywhere and on any device."

Analysts and research companies are divided as to how well WiMAX will fare against cellular, but the development of embedded HSDPA devices at around the same time a similar functionality becomes available for WiMAX will certainly help the HSDPA camp (ie cellular network operators like Telstra, Optus, Vodafone and Hutchison).

In the latest contribution to the HSPDA v WiMAX debate, Arthur D Little says: " HSPA is likely to account for the majority of investment in global mobile broadband networks over the next five years. By comparison mobile WiMax will be a niche technology within the overall global mobile broadband wireless access market, likely to account for at most 15 percent of this network equipment market and perhaps 10 percent of mobile broadband wireless subscribers by 2011-2012."