The number of WiMAX connections worldwide has passed the 20 million subscriber mark, according to figures from Infonetics Research that were cited by The WiMAX Forum. Also according to Infonetics, in the first quarter of 2011 the total worldwide sales of WiMAX equipment reached USD $502.1 million, which is up 49% from the first quarter of 2010. The analyst firm predicts that in 2011 WiMAX equipment will be a USD $2 billion industry.
Some notes from The WiMAX Forum:
- In the first half of 2011 over 30 different WiMAX networks were either launched or expanded operations.
- In the first half of 2011, UQ Communications of Japan doubled its subscriber base, breaking the one million subscriber mark in June.
- YTL, a new Malaysian WiMAX operator that just launched WiMAX services in November 2010, has netted over 300,000 subscribers by June.
- At an event in July, in which UQ Communications hosted the first public field trial of WiMAX 2, UQ and YTL signed a MoU to develop a pan-Pacific WiMAX hotzone.
- Clearwire ended Q2 with 7.65 million total subscribers, up 365% from 2Q 2010. Clearwire also again increased its guidance to an expected 10 million subscribers by the end of 2011.
- Jamaican operator Digicel leveraged its WiMAX network to capture 25% of the local broadband market in less than a year.
- Mexican WiMAX operator AXTEL increased its WiMAX subscriber base by over 80% to over 332,000.
http://www.wimaxforum.org