Global shipments of WiMAX CPE (customer premises equipment) products will still be low in 2006, barely reaching about one to three million units, before tapping the 10-million unit mark in 2007, predicted Tony Cullen, director for market and business development in Asia Pacific of Alcatel, recently in Hong Kong.
The availability of more integrated WiMAX-compatible devices, including notebooks, handsets and PDAs and expectations of price cuts for WiMAX CPE products in 2007, probably as much as by 50%, are expected to push up global shipments of WiMAX CPE products next year, Cullen stated.
Intel’s plan to push for the development of notebooks with built-in WiMAX capability by 2008 will also further trigger demand for related WiMAX devices onwards, Cullen added.
For Alcatel, the company plans to roll out IEEE 802.16e-compatible CPE products, including PCM-CIA and other indoor-use devices, in mid-2006 and then launch complete 802.16e terminal-to terminal solutions supporting VoIP, IMS (IP multimedia subsystem) and NGN (new-generation network) by the second half of this year, according to sources familiar with Alcatel’s product roadmap.
Alcatel is launching the 802.16e-compatible CPE products in cooperation with Taiwan-based Zyxel Communications, the sources noted.
Article translated by Steve Shen and edited by Eric Mah
