Report: Chinese WiMAX Market Will Grow Seven-Fold Between 2009 And 2011

Boston and Beijing -- Yankee Group announced at WiMAX World Asia that the Chinese WiMAX market will reach 8.39 million users in 2011, almost 7 times the 1.25 million users we forecast for 2009 (the first year of significant WiMAX development in China). Of the 8.39 million users in 2011, nomadic and portable broadband access users will lead the Chinese market, accounting for 46% of the market in 2011. Mobile broadband and low-cost fixed wireless access services will come in second and third, accounting for 43% and 11% of the market, respectively.

According to the joint research report by Yankee Group and its China-based partner, Analysys International, WiMAX in China: 2007 to 2011 Outlook and Forecast, released today, if the Ministry of Information Industry (MII) does not embrace WiMAX and create a mobile WiMAX policy soon, the Chinese market will miss the mobile WiMAX opportunity. If this were to happen, Yankee Group and Analysys International believe it will have significant implications for Chinese vendors such as Huawei and ZTE, which are among the front-runners in mobile WiMAX development in China. MII has yet to allocate mobile spectrum, which signals to the industry that MII has not committed to mobile WiMAX development in China. The key for MII to accelerate mobile WiMAX policy development is to demonstrate to local governments how Chinese companies can benefit from mobile WiMAX.

"Embracing connectivity solutions and standards such as mobile WiMAX in emerging markets like China is critical to competing in the continuously evolving global communications industry," said XJ Wang, vice president of Yankee Group Asia-Pacific Research. "Without China's participation, the global WiMAX ecosystem will not be complete."

Although the big four in China—China Netcom, China Unicom, China Mobile and China Telecom—are not rushing WiMAX deployment, Yankee Group and Analysys International find that the smaller players and other municipal WiMAX providers are pushing for an aggressive WiMAX strategy in China despite their financial challenges. Considering the important roles of these smaller players, we recommend that key members of the WiMAX Forum invest in WiMAX deployment in China.

SOURCE: Yankee Group