WiMAX Euphoria

There’s nothing like an excellent trade show to get the juices up and induce a state of euphoria about WiMAX. And the highly acclaimed WiMAX World show has certainly done that. 

Network readiness, trials, substantial spending by Sprint and Clearwire – are proceeding apace.

But there is another reality. And that is --

There is significant uncertainty about how successful WiMAX will be as a business.

There’s no mobile WiMAX market today. What is at issue is the Business Model for how WiMAX will be sold, how it will get market traction.

Sprint has an exciting vision. A new type of wireless service, pegged entirely to the success of the “mobile Internet.”

But how long will it take to bring the elements of this new marketplace together – not just the WiMAX network – but the abundance of WiMAX enabled devices, agreements with distribution channels, pricing for casual use services and the like, and scale the sales of WiMAX service to customers? Can WiMAX sustain its growth if this process takes longer than expected?

Unfortunately, investors are not enthused about the big WiMAX players. This shows in the performance of the leading stocks – Clearwire is still below its initial public offering price and Sprint’s stock has traded down since June, even though it has been making impressive progress in developing WiMAX.

If WiMAX does not have the optimal Business Model and its growth stalls, will investors support the huge amounts of capital still needed to continue its development at a rapid pace? And if WiMAX development slows, will it afford traditional cellular carriers – with their mammoth global business resources – a chance to slam shut the window of opportunity that WiMAX now enjoys?

These Critical Business Model Issues have been addressed in only one comprehensive study, “The WiMAX Explosion!” from Boschulte Schnee Group LLC (BSG).

Through sophisticated operational/financial models and analysis, the BSG study explores the primary Business Models that can be used to bring WiMAX to market, including the “mobile Internet” model. The BSG experts reach compelling conclusions about the specific route to business success that will make the WiMAX marketplace explode with the largest possible growth.