Fixed Wireless Continues to Thrive in the Background

When you think of WiMAX, what’s the first thing that comes to your mind? Is
it the ability to connect with your laptop or a WiMAX-enabled smartphone to a
mobile network at much higher speeds than today’s 3G networks? Or do you think
of WiMAX’s role as a fixed wireless technology, which is key to cost-effectively
extending broadband service to underserved rural areas as part of the U.S. 
broadband stimulus?

If we look at the amount of attention that is paid to the two different
deployment types – mobile and fixed – in the media, it would indicate that
people are far more excited about mobile WiMAX than they are about fixed
wireless. 

Now that Clearwire has launched WiMAX service in 14 markets and people have
actually been able to experience the service, enthusiasm for WiMAX has spiked
yet again after waning in previous years.  I’ve written about the

hype cycle for WiMAX before, and while I do think that the market’s latest
wave of enthusiasm for WiMAX is justified (since it is based on positive
experience with deployed networks, instead of just the promise of these
networks), there is a distinction that needs to be made when it comes to the
future of WiMAX.  That distinction is the difference in opportunities for
mobile WiMAX as compared to fixed WiMAX and other point-to-multi point wireless
technologies.

Don’t get me wrong – I think that both mobile WiMAX (IEEE 802.16e) and fixed
WiMAX (802.16d) both have a large addressable market and ample market
opportunities.  This is not an article about which is more important. 
However, considering the fact that a vast majority of the attention given to
WiMAX is given to the mobile variants of WiMAX, it’s worth taking a look at the
market opportunity for fixed wireless systems as well.

The Dark Horse is Already Out of the Shadows

While mobile WiMAX may be the more popular, sexy sibling of the WiMAX family,
fixed WiMAX actually has a larger share of the market today.  According to
Gartner, the total fixed WiMAX deployments were more than double that of mobile
WiMAX deployments in 2008 – and their projections are similar throughout 2011. 
Though mobile WiMAX continues to gain steam with Clearwire’s U.S.  rollouts
(and now their planned
Spanish
deployment next year), fixed WiMAX continues to be a larger market by a
factor of nearly 2x. 

The reason for this is largely due to the significant role that fixed wireless
plays in the deployment of broadband to rural areas.  In Gartner’s reports,
it classifies the "fixed" applications of WiMAX as "DSL Reach Extension",
"Developing Region Broadband" and "Backhaul for Mesh and Cellular" –
illustrating that extending the reach of broadband services via wireless (and
therefore eliminating the high cost of fiber) is a primary application for fixed
WiMAX. 

And that brings us to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), which
has earmarked $7.2 billion for the specific purpose of extending broadband to
rural areas – what we all refer to as the "Broadband Stimulus".  Though
technologies like fixed WiMAX and other fixed point-to-multi point (PtMP)
wireless technologies were already gaining significant ground and represent
nearly double the market opportunity of mobile WiMAX today, the broadband
stimulus is expected to provide an even greater spike in the demand for fixed
wireless. 

One of the major reasons for this is because of the significant cost benefits of
wireless over wired technologies.  Craig Mathias, principal analyst at the
Farpoint Group, recently explored this in a report titled "Wireline vs. 
Wireless: Exploring Total Cost of Ownership in Outdoor Applications." You can
download a copy of the report for free

here.  In this report, Mathias notes:

"CapEx [of wired deployments] can obviously be so enormous as to be completely
cost-prohibitive – running broadband cables outdoors, especially if they are to
be buried underground, is ferociously expensive.  While the wire itself is
not expensive, the planning, legal work, and physical installation are. 
For this reason, wired broadband service is usually desirable only when
appropriate cable already exists, or when a carrier or utility is planning to
install broadly-deployed service.  Moreover, changes and additions to the
installation can similarly be very expensive indeed.  Break even and
payback analysis requires a long timeframe often stretching into decades."

To illustrate the cost benefits of wireless, the report goes on to highlight two
deployments that recognized huge cost savings by utilizing wireless instead of
wired technology.  The second deployment that he highlights is a classic
example of fixed wireless’ utility for rural broadband.  The deployment
took place in one of England’s most rural communities,
Alston Moor,
where the 2,500 residents had not had any access to broadband services until
2002.  They deployed an unlicensed fixed WiMAX network, which now provides
high-speed broadband to the entire town’s population.  The report then
compares the cost of what it would take to extend broadband to the remote town
via wired technologies, and concluded that fixed wireless saved them over
$700,000 in up front capital expenses alone! That doesn’t even take into
consideration the amount that would be saved by avoiding monthly leased line
costs, too.

Where Broadband Extension and Fiscal Responsibility Meet

So, what does all this cost savings talk have to do with the expansion of the
fixed wireless/WiMAX market moving forward? Down economy aside, when issuing
RFPs, most organizations are going to highly favor any technology that can offer
the desired level of service at the lowest cost.  With all the advances in
the performance of WiMAX and PtMP technologies over the years, fixed wireless
systems have proven time and again that they can deliver true, carrier-grade
high-speed broadband to hard-to-reach areas at a fraction of the cost of wired
technologies, which has greatly aided the sales of fixed wireless systems
throughout the world.

And now with $7.2 billion in stimulus money to be distributed for the expansion
of rural broadband throughout the U.S., that cost savings of fixed wireless over
wired becomes even more of a competitive differentiator.  Due to the
scrutiny that these broadband stimulus applications are put under to ensure that
the billions of dollars in government funding is spent wisely, fixed wireless’
balance of high-performance broadband and fiscal responsibility positions it
well to be a significant winner in the broadband stimulus deployments. 

So, while a majority of the press and market enthusiasm tends to put mobile
WiMAX in the spotlight, we should remember to peak behind the curtain from time
to time and keep tabs on the continuing success and growth of the fixed wireless
market.  And especially as the U.S., U.K., China and other areas of the
world continue to emphasize the importance of rolling out broadband to rural
areas – which could mean billions of dollars for whichever technology can most
cost-effectively extend broadband to the under-served – fixed wireless may soon
toss that curtain aside and steal the spotlight all on its own. 

Robb Henshaw is the Director of Marketing & Communications at
Proxim Wireless, a manufacturer of end-to-end
broadband wireless systems, where he oversees the company’s global marketing and
communications efforts.  For the last 8 years he has been dedicated to
helping develop the wireless industry, with expertise in technologies ranging
from enterprise WLANs, to carrier-grade wireless backhaul, to WiMAX and
point-to-multi point broadband wireless access (BWA) solutions.