Indian WiMAX Market to have 6.9 Million Subscribers by 2011

India will have 6.9 Million WiMAX connections in the country by the end of 2011, but low availability of mobile frequencies is creating trouble, says Gartner.

According to the predictions made by Gartner, a leading market research company, India will have 6.9 Million WiMAX subscribers by the end of 2011, significantly higher from 35,200 in 2007, as reported by Reuters.

Industry experts of Gartner disclosed that in near future, mobile frequencies will not be available and therefore, mobile WiMAX expansion at commercial scale will be possible around 2009, but not before than that. Also, till the end of January 2008, India had subscribed 3.4 Million people for broadband services, much less from the actual target of 9 Million till end of 2007 set by broadband policy that is responsible for low demand of WiMAX in India.

Moreover, low penetration of PC in the country will have its impact on the demand for WiMAX. High roll out cost for WiMAX services also reduces its demand as the carriers avoid accessing the high speed broadband. Hence, in coming years, WiMAX will remain a niche technology and confine to enterprises and high-income customers in urban India.

Citing the unavailability of mobile frequencies in near future, the expansion rate of mobile WiMAX at commercial level can’t be expected before 2009. Thus, majority of WiMAX connections in coming years (short- and mid-term) will be available for fixed wireless or mobile applications. However, the government policy is to boost the expansion of WiMAX services in rural areas due to limited spectrum allocation, this is the only deployment that can sustain businesses and connect rural areas, schools, hospitals and other organizations. With the Wi-Fi network, individual access will be possible from a single access point.

However, at present, there is uncertainty about the advantages of risk-sharing models to vendors with the Indian operators. In totality, it can be said that Indian WiMAX market heavily depends upon the spectrum allocation, WiMAX license expire period and WiMAX ecosystem maturity period.

A Research Analyst at RNCOS said, “Indian will remain an important market for WiMAX technology, but the Indian government has failed to create enough enthusiasm among operators to take the technology across the country. Thus, the government should offer easy and affordable licenses to mobile carriers so that they get attracted towards the WiMAX market.”

Related Market Research Reports: