WiMax pricing goal
WiMax has been touted as the technology which will help solve the broadband woes of developing countries, but critics continue to challenge WiMax’s real world performance, price and its ability to compete against established technologies like HSDPA and CDMA 2000.
Intel however argues that WiMax’s spectral efficiency and cost benefits make it suitable for mass market adoption.
Intel’s Director of EMEA WiMax Business Development, Gilles Karolkowski, says that WiMax has a big role to play in the developing world with price emerging as one of the pivotal pillars of the technology’s success.
Karolkowski said that mass uptake of any technology – not just broadband – requires a $20 to $30 price range. This, Karolkowski said, is what Intel is aiming to achieve with WiMax.
The $20-$30 price tag is inclusive of the end user equipment and the monthly price for a true broadband offering.
Karolkowski pointed out that this is definitely not a pipe dream as there is a European operator preparing to launch an unlimited broadband service using WiMax priced at below 20 Euro per month.
In countries like South Africa – where there are high national and international bandwidth fees – an uncapped service providing speeds of 1 Mbps or more is unlikely to cost below R 200 per month, but enforcing a monthly usage limit should drive down costs.
Karolkowski said that the $20 to $30 service, with speeds of 1 Mbps or faster and unlimited usage, is the flagship but there is also the option to package sub-$20 offerings by introducing services with slower speeds or lower usage limits.
Cost of user equipment
With maximum speeds of only a few Mbps the ability of WiMax to compete against HSDPA – and LTE in future – has been brought into question. Intellectual Property Rights associated with HSPA however mean that a $20 to $30 price range for HSDPA/LTE end-user equipment is highly unlikely.
HSDPA modems currently retail for around R 2000.00 per modem, a definite stumbling block to mass market penetration in developing economies.
Despite the cost challenge 3G/HSDPA services have already been rolled out in 91 countries whereas WiMAX still needs to be put to the test. With 637 HSPA devices in the market – like mobile phones, data cards, routers, personal media players and even a camera – the technology is very well supported.
This is however something which Intel said is on the cards from them, with embedded WiMax modules in laptops planned for the United States in the third quarter of 2008 and in South Africa in the second quarter of 2009.
Embedded WiMax modules in laptops will certainly make WiMax a far more attractive technology to operators.
The debate surrounding WiMax and HSPA/LTE is likely to continue in the coming months and years, but if WiMax can provide consumers with sub-R 200 broadband service it is likely to have the same support that HSPA currently enjoys.
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