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Technology Stocks : Applied Materials No-Politics Thread (AMAT) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Gottfried who wrote (17282)	1/19/2006 11:45:11 AM
From: Proud_Infidel	Respond to of 25522

Is WiMAX really 'disruptive' technology? Mark LaPedus EE Times (01/18/2006 5:21 PM EST) SAN JOSE, Calif. — At a panel session here on Wednesday (Jan. 18), industry executives disagreed over whether or not WiMAX technology is disruptive or the “next big thing” in the marketplace. Panelists also disagreed over the competitive implications between WiMAX, 3G and other rival wireless broadband technologies. WiMAX — or the IEEE 802.16 standard — is a specification for fixed broadband wireless access systems employing a point-to-multipoint architecture. WiMAX has huge potential, but competing technologies are significant threats, according to a recent report from In-Stat. Competing technologies include 3G technologies on the cellular side (EV-DO Release 0, A, and B; HSDPA) and Wi-Fi (coupled with wireless mesh networking and MIMO enhancements within 802.11n) on the networking side, according to In-Stat. At the panel session, several executives billed WiMAX as the “next big thing.” “I see WiMAX as disruptive,” said Tzvika Friedman, chief executive of broadband-wireless provider Alvarion Ltd., during the panel at the WCA’s 12th Annual International Symposium and Expo on Wednesday (Jan. 18). Not all were in agreement. “In the near term, I don’t see WiMAX as a disruptive technology,” said Guy Kelnhofer, president and chief executive of NextNet Wireless Inc., a provider of pre-Mobile WiMAX and broadband wireless systems. WiMAX has tremendous potential over the long term, but the deployment of the technology could end up like Wi-Fi, Kelnhofer said. It took longer than expected to deploy Wi-Fi due to technical and standard delays, he said at the panel. On the competitive landscape, the battle between WiMAX and 3G is overblown — at to some degree, he said. “I don’t see [WiMAX] being competitive with 3G in the near term,” he said, “but 3G carriers see us as competitors.” Eric Stonestrom, president and chief executive of broadband provider Airspan Networks Inc., said WiMAX and 3G are “more competitive than complementary.” WiMAX is set to take off, as the technology is in the midst of an “inflection point,” he concluded.