The WiMAX power players

WiMAX has been deployed or trialed by almost 400 operators around the world, as WiMAX proponents are fond of saying when touting the scale of their technology. But, in truth, the majority of those deployments are small regional plays, with nearly half serving 10,000 subscribers or fewer, according to Maravedis.

Of the some 3.16 million global WiMAX subscribers today, at least 1.24 million belong to 22 large operators, Maravedis estimated. Furthermore, those same 22 operators will drive a good deal of future growth, collectively doubling their size by the end of the year and surpassing 4 million total subscribers by the end 2010. These 22 — which include the likes of Clearwire, Digicel in the Caribbean, Telmex in Mexico and UQ Communications in Japan — stand out from the pack because of their spectrum holdings and their access to capital, both of which will allow them to far outgrow their more local counterparts.

OPERATORS THAT WILL MAKE OR BREAK WIMAX

INUKSHUK
CANADA

SPRINT
U.S.

CLEARWIRE
U.S.

AXTEL
MEXICO

TELMEX INTERNATIONAL
MEXICO

DIGICEL
BERMUDA

NEOVIA
BRAZIL

BOLLORé TELECOM
FRANCE

UK BROADBAND
U.K.

RELIANCE WIMAX WORLD
U.K.

BSNL
INDIA

TATA COMMUNICATIONS
INDIA

BAYANAT AL OULA
SAUDI ARABIA

ZAIN
BAHRAIN

MOBILINK
PAKISTAN

ENFORTA
RUSSIA

SCARTEL
RUSSIA

PACKET ONE NETWORKS
MALAYSIA

KOREA TELECOM
SOUTH KOREA

UQ COMMUNICATIONS
JAPAN

SK TELECOM
SOUTH KOREA

UNWIRED
AUSTRALIA

Source: Maravedis