American Consumers Mainly Want WiMAX for On-the-Go E-mail

Responding to e-mail, reading and watching "live" online news, enjoying mobile TV and downloading the latest music ? all on-the-go ? are the top four anticipated Internet uses for WiMAX mobile broadband, according to a new consumer survey commissioned by Motorola.

In the survey, WiMAX was defined as a new, long-range wireless broadband technology that provides secure, high-speed Internet access through a laptop or other device, which can be used in a "fixed" or stationary setting like a home or office.

More importantly, WiMAX was defined as being able to be used while walking or traveling in a car, cab, bus or train, and the Internet connectivity it provides will have the connection speeds of cable or DSL, but with the mobility and roaming of today's cellular networks.

As Motorola Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Ed Zander cited Wednesday in his keynote address at NXTcomm, the consumer survey of Internet users showed in a mobile setting:

• Nearly half of all those responding, 49 percent, would likely use WiMAX to read or respond to e-mail;
• 31 percent would read or view "live," real-time online media;
• 28 percent would enjoy mobile entertainment, such as interactive, on-demand, mobile TV;
• Another 28 percent said they would use WiMAX to download and listen to music.

"Consumers clearly want to eliminate broadband cables or wires to access high-speed Internet connectivity," said Fred Wright, senior vice president and general manager, Home & Networks Mobility, adding that this could be a major advantage for companies like Motorola that also will sell WiMAX-enabled handheld devices.

Consumers also said they would use wireless broadband on vacation to e-mail videos and photos to friends in other cities, and cited other uses, such as watching sports replays at events they were attending "live."

The survey also confirmed what most wireless service providers are counting on: 57 percent of Internet users think it?s important that wireless broadband service be available wherever they may be.

On another level, consumers were asked a variety of questions about how they would most often use wireless broadband. According to the survey, the following scenarios rank among the most popular personal consumer uses of mobile WiMAX:

• 20 percent of the consumers said they would use Internet-delivered navigation services to get a real-time video view of traffic at major intersections while driving to or from their homes.
• 17 percent would rely on mobile TV over the Internet to help entertain restless children in the car while waiting for an oil change or other minor repair.
• 11 percent said they would use a mobile broadband Internet connection to check restaurant wait times, menus and daily specials online while coordinating dinner plans with busy friends.

Internet users also want mobility at work. Of those surveyed:

• 45 percent would find it beneficial to use WiMAX for reading and responding to e-mail;
• 43 percent for accessing the Internet for work;
• 33 percent for accessing their company Intranet to better manage customers, resources and field service;
• 30 percent for sending data, including pictures or video, from remote sites back to the office.

The survey of 601 USA Internet-using households was conducted by CENTRIS through a national telephone omnibus survey between May 9-15, 2007. The margin of error for the survey is +4 percent."

Posted to the site on 21st June 2007

Posted to: www.cellular-news.com/story/24496.php