Friday, September 25, 2009

And in wireless ...

While we are all talking about the NBN a small explosion is continuing in the mobile broadband space. The growth in data consumption continues to be exponential requiring a focus on 4G networks.

The company I work for, Unwired, has announced a 4G network for Perth called VIVIDWIRELESS. This is a 4G network using WiMAX.

There is a great industry in trying to create a contest betwen WiMAX and LTE in the kind of standards battle as we saw between CDMA and GSM in defining the 3G standards, or even between BetaMax and VHS for VCRs. Increasingly this division is seen as a false idea or a battle that isn't a battle.

That's probably good for the 3G operators who are choking under the weight of the data, but have neither spectrum nor a technology to follow a 4G/LTE route right now.

There is however interesting development with 3G/WiMAX chips in development. It will just b a matter of whether the 3G operators can figure out how to embrace the opportunity before their networks choke.

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