NEW DELHI (WiMAX Day). While many potential WiMAX operators in Asia are focussed on mobile and urban applications for WiMAX, many companies are running to develop rural markets, where fixed-line infrastructure is already limited or non-existent. In countries like India, Sri Lanka and Pakistan, oeprators and customers alike are pinning their hopes on WiMAX to provide service to underserved areas, while the likes of Malaysia and Thailand also see the technology as a shortcut to help them provide broadband connectivity to rural and remote areas.

In Cambodia, AngkorNet became the first ISP in Cambodia to offer tiered and bundled WiMAX packages, and say they can deliver WiMAX coverage in up to 90% Phnom Penh.

Meanwhile, Pakistan’s Wateen Telecom recently awarded Motorola a contract to build what it claims will be the world’s largest mobile WiMAX network, covering 22 cities across Pakistan by Q4 this year. Wateen Telecom plans to launch services by the start of next year, offering bundled services including broadband Internet, multimedia services and telephony services. Other carriers across the region, such as VSNL and Sri Lanka Telecom (SLT), also have announced plans to roll out WiMAX services. Indeed, the growing interest in developing markets for both fixed and mobile WiMAX further supports the business case for WiMAX.

In these countries, WiMAX is a revolution, where there are huge populations that still don’t have DSL connections, while wireless technologies like 3G and HSDPA are too expensive and not yet available. The sole impediments to the success of WiMAX in these areas will be the high cost of CPE, which in rural areas may be far too expensive.

In addition, WiMAX faces another significant obstacle in spectrum harmonization, which industry players and market watchers describe as vital for the global adoption of WiMAX and the provisioning of roaming.