The Future of WiMAX

WiMAX is being promoted as a potential solution to a number of problems that have plagued the wired and wireless broadband industry since it originated. Can WiMAX fulfill this promise in a crowded and competitive market? If so, what factors are critical to its success? Who will use WiMAX and for what purposes? This chapter identifies both the critical success factors that will give WiMAX an edge over other existing wireless technologies and the key applications that will contribute to its success. The top three critical success factors for WiMAX are availability of handset devices and consumer premise equipment, bandwidth speed, and interoperability and standardization. A panel of WiMAX experts concludes that broadband on demand, wireless services provider access, and Voice over IP are the top three killer applications for WiMAX.