WiMax: All-conquering 3G killer or white elephant niche player?

Wireless broadband technologies like WiMax and MobileFi could still end up winners - and possibly stymie 3G - even if the big mobile firms get cold feet over the tech, new research claims.

Although some mobile operators are already dipping their toe in WiMax waters - O2 is already looking into the technology's potential - WiMax will have to prove itself before mobile's big players will be persuaded to open their wallets, a new report from research firm Analysys claims.
"In principle, mobile operators could adopt broadband wireless access (BWA) technologies alongside, or instead of, 3G," the report said. "While BWA technologies may have performance advantages over 3G [including moving more data faster] their vendors must address some difficult questions to achieve widespread deployment," the report says.

Among the potential problems for mobile adoption is cost - with early trials delivering a fraction - just one per cent - of the revenue per Mb of bread-and-butter voice and messaging.