The Wi-Fi War

All told, there are currently more than 480 WiMAX-enabled devices from more than 80 suppliers in development. Asus, Acer, and Lenovo have all introduced WiMAX devices in 2009. Sprint Nextel is rumored to be developing a WiMAX/CDMA/Wi-Fi handset supporting Google’s Android OS for early 2010, which makes sense given Google’s large investment in Clearwire. Meanwhile, at this year’s Mobile World Congress, Verizon CTO Richard Lynch said he didn’t expect LTE smartphones to hit the streets before mid-2011.

Eyes Ahead
With the proliferation of WiMAX and LTE over the next few years, mobile video applications such as video chat and multichannel video will soon become a reality. Multimode wireless broadband devices will be available in a variety of form factors with a wide range of screen sizes.

What’s next? The ITU, the major force in the standardization of telecom technologies, has set performance goals for 4G at "data rates of 100 Mbps for mobile applications and 1 Gbps for nomadic applications" and expects to achieve those benchmarks by 2010. The ITU also expects that "worldwide common spectrum and open, global standardization should be pursued."

Meanwhile, back in the present-day U.S., creating a nationwide WiMAX network from the ground up remains a formidable and expensive proposition. Clearwire is building it. Will they come?