With all the red ink surrounding WiMAX broadband wireless advocates such as Sprint Nextel
A recent market research report from Infonetics Research estimates that equipment providers Alcatel-Lucent
Don't assume that all of Motorola's handset ills are now solved, nor that gobs of cash flow will soon fill the pockets of AlcaLu and Alvarion shareholders. For the second quarter, the report estimated total WiMAX equipment revenue at $402 million, up 3% sequentially. That's not enough to get investors blindly hopping onto the WiMAX bandwagon, but it does suggest a few early leaders in what could be a big market.
Sprint Nextel and Clearwire are gearing up for the first official market launch of a mobile WiMAX network in the U.S. this month. Various setbacks in getting U.S. networks up to commercial status have spurred suppliers such as Ceragon Networks
Investors should take notice, however, since this new market is starting to really heat up. If WiMAX ultimately adds little value compared to competing platforms, this sales surge for equipment vendors may be another passing blip. But should the open broadband wireless platform successfully provide better services at a lower cost, it could shake up the entire industry.
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