WiMAX.Pk – WiMAX portal for Pakistan

At the start of 2009, we wrote about a few setbacks for Wimax and believed this to be a make or break year for WiMAX. We were also concerned that it might not survive till 2010.

As 2009 draws to a close, Wimax is stronger than ever with 146 countries using the wireless broadband technology. Spread across these countries are 519 deployments and a whopping 30 million users for Clearwire alone (link).

Stronger global growth also spells more support by chip makers, though it may take some months into the new year before we start to see a wider array of Wimax devices.

Now for the situation in Pakistan. The future of Mobilink’s Infinity service is in doubt, though their website still announces that they exist. However, it is still limited to Karachi with no signs of reaching other cities.

Both Wateen and Wi-Tribe have sustained the downturn and are still operating in the major cities of Pakistan. Both providers have slashed their rates and continue to come up with some great new offers. Wi-Tribe now provides a unit with Wi-Fi support, as well as a USB dongle which is excellent for those on the move.

Though it may be going pretty strong globally, Wimax faces stiff competition in Pakistan where there are numerous options for Internet connectivity. At least that’s the case in the major cities.

The competition mainly comes from more readily available DSL/Fiber offerings and other wireless services, such as PTCL’s EVO. This may be offset once the devices we mentioned above hit the market, though it may take another year for this to be clear. In the meantime, enjoy the broadband.

Here is an article from the past on What Wimax Means for the Enterprise which discusses the technology in a much more positive light than more recent developments.

Without going into too much detail, the article describes what the technology is, how it compares to other technologies and in what way the enterprise can benefit from it. According to the article, Wimax was touted by Forbes as one of the top 10 technologies that will change the way we live.

Interesting to see how such predictions have largely missed their mark. The recession has also played a part in stifling technological growth, though we hope to see Wimax make it through to the end of the year.

Libya has become one of the growing number of places where Wimax is taking hold. Libya Telecom and Technology has just launched their service in Tripoli which will be covering 18 cities and serving a total of up to 300,000 customers.

Technical services will be provided by Alcatel-Lucent through a US$56 million contract.

Link

These are tough times for everyone and Wimax is no exception. Nokia has stopped making their only Wimax-enabled device, the Nokia N810 tablet, only 9 months after it was unveiled. Though it hasn’t ruled out Wimax support in future handsets, this is a temporary setback for the technology
(link).

In addition to that and on a related note, Intel has lost significant amounts of money in acquiring Clearwire which depends on devices like the N810 for the success of its service.

Despite these setbacks, there is hope for Wimax. Ari Zoldan has an interesting article on why the predictions of the death of Wimax are premature (link). We’ll need to wait it out and see where we are in a year’s time when hopefully, the economy will be in a better position.

Indonesia, the world’s fourth most populous country, is planning on its own Wimax implementation which will get underway in 2009. This was announced by Engkos Koswara, an adviser to the government, at an IGOS (Indonesia Goes Open Source) event in Medan.

Given that this technology is currently being adopted by some of the most populated countries on the planet, we will likely see prices fall and more options available, in terms of both the service providers, as well as devices.

Link