WiMax technology is the rage of most telecommunications providers today. Providers are continuing to battle to capture market space in the wireless technology space. As users become more and more dependent on their wireless devices the need for faster and more robust networks is becoming necessary. Observers are quick to point out that the common wisdom comes down squarely on the side of Long Term Evolution (LTE),the variation of 4G technology favored by the telecommunications industry.
4G data communications technology is well on its way in the U.S. and globally. Sprint was the first of the providers in the U.S. to launch 4G services by partnering with Clearwire. Verizon Wireless is also becoming a big player in the 4G market when in 2010 it announced they would be launching 4G technology in 30 cities. Other companies such as AT&T are still behind the curve and were slow to roll out their 3G service but have strategic visions to launch a faster solution in 2011.
Both WiMax and LTE are international standards, and discussions are already in progress to regulate the technology. In addition, in some countries such as India there are multiple 4G solutions which can cause issues for the consumer if there devices are only compatible for one and not the other.
The likelihood that WiMax will end up being the long term solution over LTE is slim. Most companies appear to be planning eventual migrations to LTE even if they’re starting on WiMax. Strategically companies will need to strategically plan what direction they want to go and how they will get there.
By Junaid Naqvi, Senior Consultant