This report analyzes the current WiMAX operations worldwide, evaluating operator business models, network economics and the overall market opportunity relative to UMTS/HSPA and LTE. The objective is to assess which technology delivers the most popular and profitable mobile voice, broadband and video services in the context of specific market conditions: case studies examine UQ Communications (in Japan), Clearwire (the US), Mobily (Saudi Arabia), Digicel (Caribbean), Tata (India), Umniah (Jordan) and Yota (Russia).

Key findings include:

- The number of WiMAX deployments – currently more than 500 across 145 countries – is greater than that of any conventional 3G technology and more than 50% greater than the number of HSPA network commitments. However, most WiMAX deployments to date have been small, serving targeted communities, businesses and private institutions. As a result, WiMAX covers only 6% of the world’s population, which is far behind the 85-90% that conventional mobile networks cover. We do expect WiMAX coverage to increase, although rather slowly on a global basis, with 10-12% population coverage by year-end 2010. Many of the larger WiMAX deployments are still underway, and many large countries such as India, Indonesia and Vietnam are just beginning to issue WiMAX licenses. Some of the largest WiMAX operators in the world in terms of coverage will be Clearwire (US), UQ Communications (Japan), Globe Telecom (Philippines), Yota (Russia) and Safaricom (Kenya).

- More than 80% of all WiMAX deployments are fixed networks that use 802.16d, a standard that leading vendors such as Alvarion and Huawei no longer ship. Going forward, we expect all WiMAX operators to use 802.16e equipment even if regulatory bodies restrict them from offering mobile services. The first available WiMAX devices were PC cards and USB dongles, followed by laptops with embedded modems, leaving operators no choice but to first go after mobile broadband customers. Those markets with the lowest broadband penetration rates represent the most upside, and we estimate that roughly 70% of WiMAX deployments are in emerging markets, led by the Africa and Middle East region with more than a quarter of global deployments.

- Factors driving operators to deploy WiMAX are speed to market, surgical network deployment opportunities, mobility, multiple-use scenarios, its IP architecture, and the cost of spectrum and deployment. WiMAX operators in competitive markets look to differentiate themselves from existing fixed and mobile broadband options by promoting a combination of the following benefits: portability, mobility, flexible pricing plans offered without contracts, enhanced applications, simplicity of service activation, service quality and security, superior customer care and higher throughput. Mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs) will be an instrumental piece of many WiMAX operators’ business models.

- On average, WiMAX pricing tends to be more expensive than DSL pricing, but the difference has already begun to diminish, and the two will blend further by 2014. In contrast, prices for WiMAX-based broadband service are generally US$15-25 lower than for conventional 3G (UMTS/HSPA, EVDO) service at similar download speeds. In general, WiMAX operators target different markets than other 3G players, which boast a substantially larger addressable market of voice customers.

- If an MNO is concerned about the service quality of its core services due to an overloaded network, a straight 3G upgrade is more suitable than adding WiMAX as a parallel data network, because mobile voice customers represent a larger target opportunity than fixed broadband customers. Mobile voice is still the most important driver of revenue for mobile operators worldwide, comprising 75% of total global service revenue.

- Certain emerging market operators would benefit from bypassing 3G in favor of moving to LTE in a few years. But this decision depends on spectrum resources, the competitive landscape and the need for better spectral efficiency, which is impacted by voice and data traffic levels.

- Increasing volumes of WiMAX customer premise equipment (CPE) shipments and improvements in production are reducing device costs and increasing affordability. Just a few years ago, the CPE cost was more than $300, but these days it is reportedly less than half of that amount – about $50-150. In the Cayman Islands, Malaysia and the US, for example, WiMAX operators offer WiMAX CPEs for $60-100 with minimal subsidization.

- WiMAX is a better technology for providing broadband access than HSPA and boasts higher spectral efficiency, a lower cost per bit, as well as lower costs for spectrum and intellectual property rights (IPR). Despite HSPA’s greater scale, WiMAX USB dongles are priced competitively and even less expensive in some cases compared with other 3G USB dongles. WiMAX benefits from having a more centralized ecosystem in which interoperability does not have to take place on an operator-to-operator basis as it does with HSPA. Despite these positives for WiMAX, scale, coverage, roaming potential and the device ecosystem, not performance, determine the popularity of mobile broadband access technologies.

Wired Networks

Wired networks are seen as the most stable and reliable form of networking by people as this technology has been around for a long time.

Wired networks are great to use when you have the space and ability to run network cables through your house. In return for this effort you get a secure and reliable network with good data transfer speeds. This means that you will be able to send information from one computer to another one quickly.

A wired network is seen as more secure as any malicious users will only be able to get into your systems through your external internet connection or by connecting a wire directly to your router, switch or hub. Even then this problem can be contained through the use of firewalls, sophisticated routers or in the later case by not letting strangers into your house who are trying to run a network cable to their machine.

A wired network is seen as more reliable as the signal is sent over wires and not broadcast over a relatively uncontrollable area. Your network speeds and quality are not affected by weather conditions, thickness of walls etc.

With a wired network you can expect speeds from between 10Mbps with older technology up to 1000Mbps with newer hardware. This allows for excellent data transfer speeds between machines allowing for fast sharing of data and files over your network.

The price for wired home networking hardware is extremely cheap as the technology has been around for a long time and there is a lot of competition from manufacturers keeping the prices down. You can get a basic router or network hub from £10 – £40 pounds that will allow you to share your internet connection and files across multiple machines. A basic network card should cost between £5-10 with the faster 1000Mbps cards costing from £5-£15 each.

Replacing faulty wiring can be tricky and expensive if you have hidden it away behind your walls. Another bad aspect of having wires is that each machine must have a wire running from it to the router or hub. This may be ok when you can have the wires hidden away in the bedroom or the office but what if you want to use your laptop in the middle of your kitchen or living room. Do you really want wires running across the floor causing potential trip hazards amongst other things?

Wireless

Wireless networking offers many great advantages. The biggest advantage is portability. You can take your wireless laptop from your living room to your kitchen to your bedroom and still have access to all of your files and internet. This is great for using recipies from the internet right down to doing a little work in front of the TV.

Another advantage of going wireless is that you do not have to hide lots of wires going between your machines and router. This makes everything look tidier and more clutter free whilst also removing potential trip hazards from lots of loose cabling.

A wireless connection can be affected by many outside factors that you must take into consideration. A wireless signal can be seriously affected by the thickness of your walls, floors and also how many other wireless connections are in your area. With thick floors and walls your signals can become distorted or even wiped out causing problems transmitting and receiving information.

There are solutions on the market to increase the power of your wireless transmitters and receivers which would increase connectivity issues in the event that they occur.

Security is not a problem as such for wireless as long as you properly secure your network. The simplest form of protection is to use something called a WEP key. A WEP key is used on both the computer and wireless router and acts as a code between the two machines to keep data encrypted. If someone does not have the key they should not be able to access your network. There are further options available depending on your chosen wireless router to increase the level of security.

By not securing your wireless network you are essentially leaving the front door of your network and internet connection open to anyone who wishes to connect using their own wireless equipped computers.

Final Thoughts

As you can see, both technologies serve the same purpose but with different pro’s and con’s. If you are looking for an easy clutter free solution with increase mobility then I would recommend attempting a wireless network setup as long as you ensure that you set at least WEP encryption to protect your computers and internet connection from unauthorised access.

If you are looking for a slightly more secure and reliable connection then go with a wired setup. A wired setup should bring you faster networking speeds with the disadvantage of having to have wires running between devices.