The outlook for WiMAX is a mixed bag, reports In-Stat. As the wireless technology vies with LTE and other competitive technologies for market share, it continues to grow. However, its development is hampered by multiple factors.

“It seems that as one door opens for WiMAX, another door closes,” says Chris Kissel, In-Stat analyst. “In the past year, there have been positive developments in consumer devices, including smartphones that use WiMAX for data but revert to 3G airlinks for voice. On the other hand, in many regions regulators are postponing spectrum auctions; and several major digital communications companies are reducing their commitment to WiMAX or leaving the space altogether.”

Recent research by In-Stat found the following:

Global WiMAX subscribers more than doubled from 2008 to reach 6.3 million in 2009.
WiMAX subscribers in India will approach 7 million by 2013.   Eastern Europe will be a significant regional market as well, with over 11 million subscribers by 2014.
Worldwide WiMAX subscription revenues will approach US$30.2 billion in 2014.
Major hardware vendors have announced that they will cease WiMAX product development.
The research, “Global WiMAX Subscribers, Base Stations and Revenues” (#IN1004788WBB), covers the worldwide market for WiMAX. It includes:

Examination of current WiMAX deployments and growth forecasts of WiMAX markets by region, through 2014.
Base station deployment forecasts by unit shipments, overall revenues, and by region.
Product differentiators and key deployment wins by major infrastructure equipment manufacturers: Airspan, Alvarion, Aviat Networks, Huawei, Motorola, Samsung, and ZTE.