Companies wanting to take advantage of fixed wireless
broadband services built around the WiMax standard won’t now see
them until next year.
Analysts have warned that the certification process to make
products compliant with the wireless data standard has been delayed
by six months, so users won’t see such services before the end of
2005, as previously planned.
Ovum analyst Vincent Poulbere said, "2005 was thought to be the
year of the Wimax launch. Unfortunately, it will now mostly be the
year of pre-Wimax.
"Suppliers will continue to sell pre-standard products to the
few operators that have already made a decision to deploy early,
but operators waiting for standardised equipment will have to wait,
and this will slow the market as a whole.”
WiMax is seen as a useful alternative to fixed-line broadband in
areas that aren’t served by a broadband-enabled telephone
exchange.
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