Global WiMAX Subscriber Base Reaches 4 Million

­There are now approximately 4 million WiMAX subscribers worldwide, after the industry added 560,000 new customers in Q2 2009, reports Maravedis. The average BWA/WiMAX subscriber growth rate in Q2 2009 was 16.5% over Q1 2009, and there was a 74% year-over-year growth rate since Q2 2008.

"Global service revenue growth is going up as WiMAX operators experience increase in subscriber growth, and the gradual appreciation of most currencies against the US$," noted Maravedis CEO and Founder, Adlane Fellah.

"The higher demands imposed by open Internet access on web-phones and laptops pushes incumbent operators to LTE and Greenfield operators to more rapid returns for WiMAX deployments. With additional spectrum hard to come by, this is likely to pull in the time frame for conversions of existing spectrum. Operator's thinking shows early signs of shifting," commented Robert Syputa, Maravedis Senior Analyst and Partner.

According to the report, Q2 2009 recorded WiMAX ARPU was US$39.5 and US$121.8 for residential and business segments respectively. Out of all BWA/WiMAX CPEs deployed as of Q2 2009, 25% were 802.16-2004, 23% were 802.16e-2005, and 52% were vendor proprietary.

Posted to the site on 20th October 2009