No less an authority then Bob Metcalfe, inventor of Ethernet, is talking up WiMax, reports Unstrung. Speaking in an exclusive Light Reading TV interview, the inventor of Ethernet says “it s conceivable that WiMax will just kill WiFi.”
“I m not making that prediction, but it s possible if WiMax lives up to expectations,” he continues. “These days [people] are saying ‘why do you want hotspots when you can have broadband everywhere?’ Of course, they re not using WiMax but it s a precursor to WiMax that they re using.”Metcalfe is a big proponent of WiMax, not least because of the effect he believes the technology will have on “lethargic” service providers.
“WiMax is coming and that s very exciting because that s going to light a fire under [ILECs and cable companies]. No! All three — the mobile guys will be attacked, the wireline LECs will be attacked, and the cable companies will be attacked by WiMax — and I m really looking forward to that.”
Meanwhile Broadband Reports says Wimax support has shifted from unbridled optimism to more cynical (or at least reasoned) overviews, like this one at Eweek:
“Now, even WiMax proponents are saying fixed-wireless flavors of the technology are best suited for Third World countries rather than the United States.As for the much-hyped mobile version of WiMax, there is still no standard, and, by the time products appear, it will face stiff competition from emerging third-generation cellular technologies.”
Meanwhile the United States is getting killed in broadband penetration and subscriber count.
The Asia-Pacific region to account for 145.8 million broadband connections by 2008 — about 65 million more than Western Europe and 70 million more than North America. Alcatel and India’ Centre for Department of Telematics (C-DOT), recently signed an agreement for introducing WiMax technology in India, targeting 20-40 million subscribers in the next five years.
DailyWireless has more global broadband statistics.
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