WiMAX tipped for success

WiMAX will "outpace" Long Term Evolution (LTE) to become the dominant 4G technology, according to a research company.

In-Stat said that the two were the only real contenders in the race, after ultra-mobilebroadband (UMB) was "left publicly by the roadside" this year.

LTE Advanced and 802.16m WiMAX are both being designed to provide 1Gbps stationary and 100Mbps mobile throughput, which In-Stat predicted will be a necessary part of the International Telecommunication Union's (ITU) IMT-Advanced requirements - which must be met to be defined 4G.

However, it also claimed that neither technology was near to being released commercially.

"Mobile WiMAX effectively came on the scene in 2006 with South Korea's WiBro; the earliest commercial LTE deployment will be in 2009," said analyst Gemma Tedesco.

"Overall, In-Stat expects that mobile WiMAX will ultimately outpace LTE over the next few years due to timing of network roll-outs."

The research also found that it is unlikely that either will make up a large proportion of subscriptions in 2013, with GSM/EDGE/GPRS providing more than 55 per cent.