March 18th, 2009
In-Stat: 30 percent of global wireless will be 3G, 4G by 2013
Advanced wireless networks—3G and 4G—will represent 30 percent of global wireless subscriptions, up from 11 percent at the end of 2008, according to research firm In-Stat.
Despite all of the chatter about advanced wireless services In-Stat’s research is an eye-opener. In the tech crowd one would assume that 3G services had a wider footprint across the globe.
In-Stat’s report raises a few interesting points. Among them:
- WiMax is likely to be attractive in developing markets and remote areas without fixed broadband service. Where 3G networks already exist—like the U.S. and Europe—WiMax is more of a wild card.
- WiMax to date hasn’t been deployed widely for data applications with Clearwire, Korea Telecom and UQ of Japan being exceptions.
- The fourth quarter featured 132 deployments covering the mostly high speed packet access (HSPA), which accounted for 95 of those rollouts. Going forward, In-Stat said it expected most live deployments to be WiMax and HSPA.
Also see: Sprint: Hedging Wimax–or Clearwire–bet?
- Clearwire names new CEO to oversee Wimax expansion
- Clearwire: The race between Wimax expansion and cash burn is on
Larry Dignan is Editor in Chief of ZDNet and Editorial Director of ZDNet sister site TechRepublic. See his full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations.
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