WiMAX equipment market up 46% in 2007, forecast to hit $7.7B in 2011

The WiMAX market sequentially grew 11% for the quarter and 46% for the year, with worldwide sales of fixed and mobile WiMAX equipment hitting just under $800 million in 2007, says Infonetics Research in its latest "WiMAX and Mesh Network Equipment and Devices" report.

WiMAX has been deployed in more than 80 countries worldwide and commercial networks will continue to grow in number and size in 2008, the report shows. Infonetics forecasts the WiMAX market to grow to $7.7 billion in 2011.

"Several recent developments are giving a boost to the WiMAX market," said Richard Webb, wireless analyst for Infonetics Research. "Among the most significant developments: Cisco's acquisition of mobile WiMAX vendor Navini Networks, the market entrance of specialist ASN gateway vendor WiChorus, the launch of WiMAX phones and Ultra Mobile PCs, and the new Open WiMAX initiative, which promotes disruptive, all-IP open WiMAX architecture, and should lead to best-of-breed solutions with inter-vendor interoperability."

Other highlights from the report:

-- Mobile WiMAX equipment grew in high double-digit percents every
quarter of 2007
-- Worldwide sales of ASN gateways, which aggregate traffic from mobile
WiMAX base stations, grew nearly 10-fold from 2006 to 2007
-- The number of worldwide WiMAX subscribers (fixed and mobile) topped
2.2 million in 2007, led by the Asia Pacific region; the majority are fixed
WiMAX subscribers
-- Alvarion maintains its lead in worldwide fixed WiMAX equipment revenue
share in 2007, followed by Airspan
-- Motorola is the leader in worldwide mobile WiMAX equipment revenue
share in 2007, followed by Samsung