Alcatel-Lucent and Motorola together account for more than two-thirds of worldwide mobile WiMAX equipment revenue, according to a new report by Infonetics Research (News - Alert), a communications market research firm.

 

The report is based on figures from the second quarter of this year. Just one quarter ago, the two companies captured about half of the worldwide market.

 

“The big WiMAX (News - Alert) story of the quarter is the huge ramp-up in mobile WiMAX equipment revenues by Alcatel-Lucent, which more than doubled its revenue in 2Q08; Motorola posted a hefty increase as well,” said Richard Webb, wireless analyst for Infonetics Research. “ALU’s gain was due mainly to a dramatic increase in access service network (ASN) gateway shipments, having shipped more than six times its nearest rival, Motorola. These shipments make ALU the first major integrated vendor to reap the rewards of an ‘open WiMAX’ policy, a policy that enables vendors to sell ASN gateways into networks where they are not necessarily the base station vendor.”

 

According to the report, “WiMAX and WiFi (News - Alert) Mesh Network Equipment and Devices,” Alvarion continues as the clear leader in fixed WiMAX, garnering about a quarter of the worldwide market in the second quarter of 2008.

 

The report also says that worldwide fixed and mobile WiMAX equipment revenue topped $402 million in 2Q08, up three percent from 1Q08; as the overall WiMAX market continues to gain momentum, double-digit quarterly sequential revenue growth will continue through 2008; and WiMAX is gaining traction, with more than 200 networks now being deployed and more than 100 other trials in progress, the market will be increasingly driven by more Tier 1 operators entering the market.

 

In addition, the report says developing countries are the engine for WiMAX market growth, with Central and Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa, Central and Latin America, and parts of the Asia Pacific being hot-beds of activity. It says India, Russia and Brazil are fast-moving markets with numerous active WiMAX operators and large populations and market conditions to give potential for strong growth; and the number of fixed and mobile WiMAX subscribers topped two million worldwide in 2007 and is expected to triple by the end of this year.

 

The report provides market size, market share, and forecasts for fixed WiMAX base stations and CPE; mobile WiMAX base stations, CPE, NICs, and ASN-gateways; mobile WiMAX phones and Ultra Mobile PCs; indoor and outdoor mesh network nodes; and fixed and mobile WiMAX subscribers.

 

Companies tracked include Airspan, Alcatel-Lucent (News - Alert), Alvarion, Aperto Networks, BelAir Networks, Cisco, Firetide, Huawei, Motorola, Nokia-Siemens Networks, Nortel, Proxim, Redline Communications, Samsung (News - Alert), SkyPilot, Strix Systems, Telsima, Tropos Networks, and others.

 

Infonetics Research is an international market research and consulting firm serving the communications industry since 1990. Defining and tracking emerging and established technologies in all world regions, Infonetics helps clients plan, strategize and compete more effectively. For report highlights, log in to Infonetics' online portal from www.infonetics.com.