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HSDPA,
WiMax Will Not Peacefully Coexist
Other Topics: Integrators Support
WiMAX, BWA Asia Pacific
ABI Research
November 5, 2004
Mobile telephony and WiMax vendors may soon find themselves locked in
competition for the same customers, as ABI Research predicts.
The evolution of the voice communications industry has seen many
changes, a major one being fixed-line communications transforming to
wireless and mobile with cellular technology, the firm noted, adding
that as data became a significant portion of the communications,
cellular designers modified architectures and continued migrating up
the data speed path. In the GSM space, the industry moved from 40Kbps
of GPRS to 130Kbps of EDGE to 384Kbps of UMTS and soon 3Mbps of HSDPA,
finally making cellular a de-facto mobile broadband for voice and
data, the Oyster Bay, N.Y.-based research company pointed out. |
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In another camp, a number of industry players wish to wirelessly
enable fixed-line data communications such as DSL and cable through
the WiMax standard, which also allows for voice communications through
Voice-over-IP. The next extension of the WiMax standard is to make it
mobile resulting in WiMax equaling mobile broadband for voice and
data, the firm said.
ABI Research’s principal analyst of semiconductor research Alan
Varghese believes it is only a matter of time until these two worlds
collide.
“HSDPA is an easy software upgrade from existing UMTS architecture,
and cellular operators will be well on their way in 2005," he said in
a statement. "WiMax will need brand new networks and infrastructure,
so the upfront costs and timelines may be more; but once deployed,
WiMax will offer very high bit rates and the possibility for new
entrants to compete either using licensed or unlicensed spectrum.”
With the battle lines drawn, these two disparate technologies are set
to battle for the same pool of users, ABI Research believes. |
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