Motorola Leads Fast-rebounding WiMAX Equipment and Device Market

(Top News, 15 Dec 2009)

The WiMAX equipment and device market is on the upswing, posting its second quarterly double-digit percent increase in a row in the third quarter, driven by revenue growth in all regions. According to research firm Infonetics Research, steady growth is expected in the market over the next four quarters as the WiMAX ecosystem continues to take shape and more devices hit the market, driving adoption through the recession.

"Operators such as Yota in Russia and P1 in Malaysia are producing notable successes, and Clearwire posted encouraging results recently, so WiMAX has solid operator proof-points to demonstrate its viability," says Richard Webb, Infonetics Research’s directing analyst for WiMAX.

According to the latest WiMAX report from Infonetics Research, worldwide WiMAX equipment and device market topped $290 million in 3Q09, up 11 percent sequentially. Based on a huge uptick in 802.16e device revenue, Motorola more than doubled its worldwide WiMAX equipment and device revenue market share over the past two quarters, taking the lead from Alvarion in 3Q09. Huawei and Proxim also had a strong quarter.

The EMEA region—led by Russia, the Middle East, and Africa—and Asia-Pacific are the hotbeds of WiMAX activity, although 3G licensing delays in India are slowing development in APAC.

Infonetics forecasts the WiMAX equipment and devices market to hit $4.97 billion in 2013, driven by developing countries. The number of WiMAX subscribers, meanwhile, is expected to hit 3.9 million worldwide in 2009.

Infonetics Research