Motorola eyes WiMax opportunities in Asia

Fresh from announcing a string of high-profile WiMax deals in Asia, Motorola hopes to see more operators in the region roll out the wireless broadband technology.

"We've got trials going on throughout the region and have discussions going on with many, many customers at this point," said Jay Andersen, vice president of sales and operations at Motorola Asia-Pacific's networks and enterprise group. "There's a lot of momentum behind this right now."

WiMax offers the promise of high-speed connections over a greater area than is possible with Wi-Fi. Fixed-wireless and mobile versions of the technology are being developed, with the fixed-wireless version seen as a replacement for wired broadband connections, such as cable and DSL (digital subscriber line).

Motorola is not the only equipment supplier pushing the technology in Asia. Rival Samsung Electronics has made headway in the mobile WiMax space, particularly in South Korea, where commercial services based on the technology are now available.

For its part, Motorola has announced deals in Pakistan and Japan, where it was awarded a contract by Softbank to build a trial mobile WiMax network in Tokyo. Under that agreement, Motorola will supply a WiMax network consisting of five access points and 25 prototype mobile WiMax handheld devices.

On the fixed-wireless side, operators are looking at WiMax as a low-cost way to roll out broadband Internet services in new markets. "If you look at the broader Asia-Pacific [region], Internet penetration is relatively low. It really comes down to how you want to connect the unconnected," Andersen said.

For now, the rollout of WiMax services is unlikely to significantly threaten existing cellular networks, at least in terms of voice calls. "The reality is that cellular has had 20 years to optimize the mobility play," Andersen said. "From the ability to offer a high-quality voice call, it's hard to beat cellular."

WiMax's edge is the ability to provide higher bandwidth for data at a lower cost per bit, Andersen said. "It's hard to argue against WiMax in a fixed/nomadic approach," he said.