NISTIR 7473 

An Overview of the Development and 

Potential Impact of the IEEE 802.16 

(WiMAX) Standard 

 

 

Erik Puskar 

 Standards Coordination and Conformity Group 

Standards Services Division 

Technology Services 

Ted A. Aanstoos 

Senior Lecturer, Mechanical Engineering 

Cockrell School of Engineering 

 The University of Texas at Austin 
 

10% OFF

Use promo codeGETLIFELOCK to take advantage of this offer.
iv

Table of Contents 

List of Figures and Tables............................................................ v

List of Acronyms.......................................................................... vi

Executive Summary...................................................................... 1

I. Introduction ............................................................................ 3

II. Methodology......................................................................... 4

III. Overview of the Benefits of Standards............................... 4

IV. WiMAX Technology Overview........................................... 6

V. The IEEE 802.16 Standards Development Effort............. 7

Overview and History of the 802.16 Working Group .................................................... 7 

NIST’s role in IEEE 802.16............................................................................................ 9 

 NIST’s Role as Viewed from Survey Results............................................................... 10 

Other Factors................................................................................................................. 11 

VI. Costs of Developing the 802.16 Standard ........................ 12

VII. Overview and Evolution of the WiMAX Market......... 13

Status today................................................................................................................... 13 

International Market...................................................................................................... 14 

United States Market..................................................................................................... 15 

WiMAX Forecasts ........................................................................................................ 16 

VIII. Benefits ............................................................................ 17

Identify actors and stakeholders .............................................................................. 17 

Identifying benefits, costs, risks.................................................................................... 19 

Private (industry) Benefits ............................................................................................ 21 

Social/Public Benefits................................................................................................... 23 

IX. Digital Divide...................................................................... 24

X. Projected U.S. municipal wireless market....................... 26

Estimating WiMAX share............................................................................................. 27 

XI. Impact on Innovation and Competitiveness.................... 29

XII. Other Trends and Indicators of Impact........................ 30

XIII. Challenges........................................................................ 31

XIV. Conclusions...................................................................... 31

Appendix 1. IEEE 802.16 Published Standards and Drafts (as 

of 11/2007) ................................................................................... 34

Appendix 2. Case study: Grand Rapids Michigan ................. 35

End Notes..................................................................................... 37
v

List of Figures and Tables 

Table 1.Total Cost of Participation in the IEEE 802.16 Working Group (thousands) ..... 13 

Table 2 Stakeholders Potentially Affected by Benefits/Cost Savings............................. 20 

Table 3 Stakeholders Potentially Affected by Increased Costs and Risks........................ 21 

Table 4 Actual and projected market for US Municipal Wireless [MuniWireless, 2006] 27 

Table 5 Projected WiMAX system expenditures in US municipal wireless BB.............. 28 

Figure 1 Percentage of WiMAX Deployments by Region (2007) ................................... 15 

Figure 2 Accumulated Subscribers by Standard 2006-2012 (source: Maravedis) ........... 16 

Figure 3 Annual WiMAX Equipment Market Forecasts.................................................. 17 

Figure 4 Estimate of the Acceleration of Benefits Due to the 802.16 Standard............... 22 

Figure 5 Survey Results of the Benefits of Adopting the 802.16 Standard...................... 22 
vi

List of Acronyms 

ANSI American National Standards Institute 

ARPU Average Revenue Per User 

BS Base station 

CDMA Code Division Multiple Access 

DSL Digital Subscriber Line 

ETSI European Telecommunications Standardization Institute 

EV-DO Evolution, Data Optimized 

GSM Global System for Mobile Communication 

HSPDA High-Speed Downlink Packet Access 

IEEE Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers 

IMT International Mobile Telecommunications 

ICT Information and Communications Technology 

ISO International Organization for Standardization 

IT Information Technology 

ITU International Telecommunication Union 

LAN Local Area Network 

MAN Metropolitan Area Network 

McWiLL Multi-carrier wireless Internet Local Loop 

MiMo Multiple-input, Multiple-output 

NIST National Institute of Standards and Technology 

OFDM Orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing 

OFDMA Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiple Acces 

PCI Peripheral Component Interconnect 

PCMCIA Personal Computer Memory Card International Association 

PDA Personal Digital Assistant 

QoS Quality of Service 

ROI Return on investment 

SiSo Single-input, Single-output 

UNCTAD United Nations Conference on Trade and Development 

USAID U.S. Agency for International Development 

USB Universal Serial Bus 

VoIP Voice over Internet Protocol 

WAN Wide Area Network 

WLAN Wireless Local Area Network 

WiBro Wireless Broadband (Korea) 

Wi-Fi Wireless Fidelity (based on IEEE 802.11 standard) 

WiMAX Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access 

WWAN Wireless Wide Area Network 
vii
1

Executive Summary 

WiMAX (a term originally devised as an abbreviation for Worldwide 

Interoperability for Microwave Access), is a revolutionary communications technology 

based on the IEEE 802.16 standard of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers 

(IEEE). This standard makes computer network applications mobile, at broadband 

speeds, with a new and growing family of internet-connected devices at speeds several 

times faster than current third-generation (3G) cellular speeds. 

This paper discusses the IEEE 802.16 standard for Wireless Metropolitan Area 

Networks as an example of the high impact of documentary standards developed with 

active participation by staff of the National Institute of Standards and Technology 

(NIST). Under the leadership of NIST staff, the 802.16 Working Group was formed and 

first met in 1999. The plan developed by this group did not follow the traditional 

telecommunications model of creating one or more national standards and then moving 

toward an international standards competition. Instead, the plan was to follow the 

practices established in data communications that had led to the global international 

standards underlying the Internet. Since then, the 802.16 Working Group has developed 

several versions of its standard, which is now becoming widely implemented in the 

United States and globally. Our research show that the Working Group participants found 

that NIST’s role in the development of the standard was extremely useful because it 

served as a neutral party, helped to bring together diverse interests, and probably 

accelerated the development of the standard. We estimate the cost of developing this 

standard over a seven-year period as approximately $200 million, borne primarily by the 

private sector. The resulting technology is currently undergoing commercialization; 

many communications and technology companies are currently in the process of 

producing or deploying equipment and services based on the standard. WiMAX has the 

potential to become a disruptive technology with an impact on consumers and both the 

broadband and wireless industries globally. Market forecasts estimate tens of millions of 

users within five years. 

With regard to benefits, the paper identifies the various stakeholders and likely 

benefits, reviewing some of the private benefits to industry as a result of participating in 

the development and adoption of the standard. Market access/creation was the largest 

single benefit identified, followed by supply chain flexibility and mix-and-match 

interoperability. Societal benefits of the technology include increased capabilities, 

product diversity, and reduced prices. This may reduce the “digital divide”; i.e., the gap 

between those with regular effective access to digital information and technology and 

those without it. Of course, as with any disruptive and transformative technology, there 

are risks and challenges associated with WiMAX. With many competing technologies to 

contend with, the ultimate business decisions, implementation, and customer adoption of 

WiMAX products and services are still uncertain. 

In order to address these topics, the authors surveyed a small number of industry 

members of the IEEE 802.16 community, conducted a literature review of wireless 
2

technologies and related market assessments and forecasts, and gathered data from 

industry and news service reports and articles. This study is a building block in the effort 

to develop a methodology for conducting evaluations of documentary standards efforts. 

Based on the background and data compiled in this study, a complete economic analysis 

effort can be undertaken once WiMAX has been fully commercialized with measurable 

benefits in the next 3 to 5 years. 
3

I. Introduction 

This study is part of an effort by NIST Technology Services to assess the impact 

of standards on competitiveness and innovation. The goal of this study is to determine the 

types of impact potentially resulting from the IEEE 802.16 standard, as well as to 

evaluate the effectiveness of NIST’s participation. It also looks to add to the general 

body of knowledge regarding the impact of documentary standards. 

The development and expansion of broadband wireless technologies derives from 

the fusion of telephones and personal computers, morphing into fully integrated mobile 

devices and creating many opportunities for networked systems of such devices. 

WiMAX (a term originally developed as an abbreviation for Worldwide Interoperability 

for Microwave Access), is a revolutionary communications technology based on the IEEE 

802.16 standard. It provides for mobile wireless links, at broadband speeds, with a new 

and growing family of internet-connected devices.i

 WiMAX is capable of delivering data 

to mobile devices at rates several times faster than current third-generation (3G) cellular 

speeds. It can also be used to deliver broadband service to the home or business as an 

alternative to cable or digital subscriber lines (DSL). WiMAX is a new technology with 

the potential to ultimately allow societies to become connected internally as well as 

globally. What differentiates WiMAX from other broadband wireless options is that it is 

based on an open standard using a new technology, not an evolution of an existing one, as 

is the case with competing technologies evolving from Code Division Multiple Access 

(CDMA) and Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM). 

 

This report summarizes the impact of the IEEE 802.16 standard for Wireless 

Metropolitan Area Networks. This topic was selected following an activity in which 

NIST’s Technology Services organization canvassed NIST’s laboratories for examples of 

high impact documentary standards with NIST involvement.ii The IEEE 802.16 standard 

was selected for study for several reasons. First, the subject matter is very timely since 

the resulting WiMAX technology is in the midst of being commercialized. Many 

communications and technology companies are currently producing or deploying 

technology based on this standard, both in the United States and globally. Secondly, the 

chair of the 802.16 Working Group is a former NIST staff member. Moreover, WiMAX 

has the possibility of becoming a disruptive technology with market forecasts estimated 

in the tens of millions of users within five years. 

Due to the scope and timing of the study, coming during the early part of the 

commercialization phase, a full quantitative impact analysis could not be conducted. 

Instead, this study offers a qualitative assessment of the different aspects of the scope and 

nature of impacts, which include market assessments, ecosystem creation, product 

diversity, new uses for the technology, cost and revenue projections. The report covers 

the methodology, a brief overview of WiMAX technology, an overview of the benefits of 

standards, a descriptive overview of the development of the IEEE 802.16 standard, and 

an estimate of the cost to develop the standard. We also review NIST’s role in the 
4

development of the standard and attempt to determine the significance of that 

contribution. An overview of the WiMAX market is followed by an identification of 

stakeholders and the potential benefits to them, as well as a description of private, public, 

or societal benefits. We attempt to describe the potential gains, both to industry, in terms 

of increased markets and productivity gains, and to end-users, , in terms of increased 

functionality and greater variety of devices supporting broadband. Following from social 

public benefits, the effect of WiMAX on the digital divide is addressed. An analysis of 

the municipal wireless market includes an estimate of the potential WiMAX share. The 

role of the standard in promoting or inhibiting innovation will also be discussed. Of 

course, as a disruptive and transformative technology, there are risks and challenges 

associated with WiMAX, and these are considered as well. 

II. Methodology 

The topic of this case study was chosen from among 55 projects identified in a 

canvass of NIST laboratories in 2006 to identify high impact standards with potential for 

broad adoption. In selecting topics for economic impact assessment, NIST considers the 

likelihood of substantial market impact in the near future.iii NIST’s contribution to the 

standardization effort was also a consideration for selection. 

Due to the limited availability of benefit data, it is not yet possible to calculate 

economic impact. This paper will instead identify qualitative, societal (non-economic), 

and anecdotal benefits in order to paint a picture of the current and expected impact of the 

IEEE 802.16 standard. 

Much of the data for addressing the project goals came from literature reviews of 

wireless technologies, related market assessments and forecasts, and data-gathering from 

industry and news service reports and articles. The core of the study is based on a survey 

of ten firms involved in the development of WiMAX-related products or services; each of 

these firms had some participation in the IEEE 802.16 Working Group. That survey 

included questions regarding participation in the working group, views on the 

effectiveness of NIST’s participation, and the impact on company costs and potential 

revenues 

Indications of potential significant economic impact might lead to a follow-up 

study to quantify realized benefits and near-term, high probability prospective benefits, 

and to compare these to the costs of developing the standard. 

III. Overview of the Benefits of Standards 

The role of standards in encouraging technological diffusion and/or progress 

regarding technical change has been demonstrated empirically in previous studies.iv 

Standards are therefore perceived with growing importance by industry and governments 

around the world. Standards exert influence on technical change in a complicated 
5

manner, but whether and to what extent standards lead to change varies from one case to 

another.v Potential benefits are reviewed below and will be discussed in the context of 

wireless broadband throughout this paper. 

The widely accepted general benefits of standards include the following: 

1. Interoperability or compatibility between different elements in a system or 

network. Integrated and complete systems can be formulated through an alliance 

of different suppliers and makes market entry possible, or perhaps simply easier, 

for small and innovative firms. Interoperability also promotes efficiency and 

network effects. 

2. Provision of a minimum level of quality, which may be defined in terms of 

functionality, reliability, maintainability or safety of products. This category 

includes certification of compatibility (i.e., accreditation by independent testing 

organizations) and presents an aspect of quality to consumers. 

3. Reduction of variety, which leads to economies of scale and building a critical 

mass of new products 

4. Provision of information which, as long as it is accessible, will help level the 

playing field among rivals. This reduces the costs of interaction, which includes 

transaction, communication and coordination costs. 

With regard to cost-effectiveness and productivity, it is known that standards will 

impact a company’s design and technical specifications of a product, its marketing of a 

product, the production process, and the production facilities, leading to: 

• improved efficiency in design, development and material acquisition; 

• reduction in resource usage, such as manpower, time, and natural resources; 

• enhanced interchangeability, reliability, safety and maintainability.vi 

In addition to the above benefits, Hesser, Czaya and Riemer mention the 

importance of standards on the constitution of the market, which includes market 

creation, market development, conditioning of market characteristics and increasing 

turnover.vii 

The impact of standards also extends to international trade: studies have shown 

that standards generally exert positive influence on transaction of goods and services 

across borders. In the presence of global network externalities, which apply to the 

broadband wireless industry, the existence of internationally recognized standards serves 

as a necessary condition for international trade in these products and/or services. In 

addition, the existence of agreed standards in industries that are global in scope also 

reduces the cost of entry to foreign markets. According to the study conducted by DIN 

(2000), 84 percent of companies surveyed use European and international standards as 

part of their export strategy in opening up new markets.viii 

Both pro-competitive and anti-competitive effects of standards can be generated 

at the same time by a single standardization activity. For example, dominant firms might 
6

manipulate the outcome of the standardization process; companies with large networks of 

customers can use economies of scale to impose a market-access barrier on potential 

entrants because of their low costs, and hence low prices; firms may use a pricing 

strategy to establish a monopoly position; and strategic alliances of producers can use the 

formal standards process to publish product specifications that impose considerable costs 

upon current rivals outside their coalition. With regard to trade, a government can set 

standards in favor of domestic producers and at the expense of foreign competitors.ix 

IV. WiMAX Technology Overview 

 “WiMAX” is an informal term for the technology under discussion. It derives 

from the name of the WiMAX Forum, an organization formed in 2001 in order to certify 

broadband wireless products in order to guarantee “Worldwide Interoperability for 

Microwave Access.” That organization has expended significant effort in developing and 

maintaining laboratory certification programs to certify the compliance of products with 

the IEEE Std 802.16 “Air Interface for Broadband Wireless Access Systems.” 

The first version of the IEEE 802.16 standard (IEEE Std 802.16-2001) addressed 

only stationary systems, targeting mainly the high-capacity links to business facilities 

through an outside rooftop antenna. The basic structure was developed around the notion 

of a radio base station (BS) – not unlike those in cellular telephone systems – 

communicating with remote subscriber stations. Because business might require a range 

of services, some of them very time-critical, the standard was built to support detailed 

management and control of Quality of Service (QoS) requirements. The level of QoS 

sophistication in IEEE 802.16-2001 raised the bar for wireless communications. 

Before this work was even finished, however, the Working Group began activities 

to enhance the standard to support service to consumers without an external antenna. For 

this purpose, orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) was introduced. By 

dividing the radio channel into many narrow subchannels, this technology combines the 

benefits of a large frequency band – for large data capacity – with the advantages of 

narrow channels that can be more accurately transmitted through complicated 

environments. This work led to the development of IEEE Std 802.16-2004, in which 

OFDM allowed for service even without a line of sight from the BS. OFDM is well 

suited for use with advanced antennas, and the standard incorporated features such as 

multiple-input, multiple-output (MIMO) antenna systems. 

The 802.16 Working Group then turned to its next goal – extending the standard 

to provide service to fully mobile users. That work, which began in 2002, concluded with 

the completion of the amendment IEEE 802.16e in 2005. For this activity, attention 

turned toward a technology included in the earlier standard, but not fully exploited 

previously: orthogonal frequency-division multiple access (OFDMA). In this 

sophisticated technology, the entire set of subchannels of spectrum need not be used by a 

single transmitter at any given time; instead, the set of subchannels can be divided into 

subgroups that can be used simultaneously by different transmitters. This adds significant 
7

complexity, but has major advantages, allowing a more efficient use of the spectrum. 

Since this was a superior technology for mobile broadband, the working group 

concentrated on developing and refining it while adding mobile-specific features, such as 

the ability to hand over a connection from one BS to the next as the subscriber moved 

from one to another. This version of the standard has been dubbed “Mobile WiMAX”. 

In order to understand WiMAX, it is useful to compare and contrast it with Wi-Fi, 

a wireless broadband technology based on IEEE Std 802.11. These standards use 

different underlying technologies and were developed for different application sets. WiFi signals are effective at “hot spot” ranges on the order of tens of meters, while WiMAX 

offers large municipality coverage while supporting business-class QoS requirements. 

Wi-Fi operates in unlicensed frequency bands, while WiMAX is generally used in 

licensed spectrum. Furthermore, Wi-Fi is a mature technology firmly embedded in 

hundreds of mass-produced products and services, while the ultimate success of WiMAX 

hinges on business strategy and marketplace economics. 

V. The IEEE 802.16 Standards Development Effort 

Overview and History of the 802.16 Working Group 

The U.S. Government began to deregulate the wireless communications industry 

in the 1990s. Regarding wireless communications, the United States in 1994 took the 

position that spectrum would be auctioned to private users, who would then be largely 

free to decide on its use. Following years of regulated specifications, the U.S. wireless 

communications industry was slow to develop the traditions of consensus 

standardization. In the 1990s, Europe’s broadly supported GSM standard developed a 

strong position in the world market for “second-generation” cellular telephones, while the 

U.S. market remained fractured. The standards wars of “third-generation” cellular were 

fought by many companies and consortia, and ultimately in the International 

Telecommunications Union (ITU). 

In 1998, NIST began to study fixed broadband wireless access systems providing 

high-speed network access to businesses, homes, and other stationary sites, generally 

through rooftop antennas [x]. NIST found little evidence of U.S. or worldwide efforts to 

standardize such services, although an early program had begun in the European 

Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI). This application seemed ripe for 

standards [xi,xii], but industry seemed to need a catalyst. NIST assumed that role and 

called a meeting to discuss the topic in August 1998. With the participation of 45 

attendees, a plan was crafted to initiate the standardization process. 

The plan developed by this group did not follow the traditional 

telecommunications model of creating one or more national standards and then moving 

toward an international standards competition. Instead, the plan was to follow the 
8

traditions established in data communications that had led to the successful global 

standards that underlie the Internet. 

Following that model, the NIST-initiated group, after considering possible 

consortium development, elected to proceed with standardization through the ANSIaccredited IEEE Standards Association (IEEE-SA), the standards-developing arm of the 

Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), a transnational nonprofit 

technical society of over 350,000 members.xiii In particular, that group approached the 

IEEE 802 LAN/MAN (Local/Metropolitan Area Networks) Standards Committee. IEEE 

802 is the source of the ubiquitous Ethernet standards that define local area networks that 

have rapidly turned new technology into readily available commodity equipment. IEEE 

802 had also taken the lead in wireless data networking, with an active and successful 

project in the IEEE 802.11 Wireless LAN standards as well as a more recent effort 

developing the IEEE 802.15 Wireless Personal Area Network standards. xiv, xv

In two months, the NIST-pioneered effort to create standards for fixed broadband 

wireless access led to an IEEE 802 Study Group chartered to develop a standardization 

plan. Four months later, this plan was approved, and the IEEE 802.16 Working Group on 

Broadband Wireless Accessxvi was created and chartered to develop its first standards 

project. The project attracted broad global interest, eventually drawing members from 13 

countries. The Study Group held bi-monthly week-long sessions and the work moved 

quickly. The core standard defining the WirelessMAN® air interface was approved as 

IEEE Standard 802.16 in 2001.xvii,xviii Fifteen additional standards to enhance the 

applicability of the work and aid deployment of the systems have also been published, 

with several more under development.xix

Beginning in late 2002, the IEEE 802.16 Working Group undertook to expand the 

WirelessMAN standard so that it would apply to mobile, as well as fixed, user devices. 

This project, entitled 802.16e, resulted in a surge of membership. The work concluded 

with the publication of IEEE 802.16e-2005. The resulting standard became the basis of 

the Mobile WiMAX certification procedures and led to the commitment of hundreds of 

companies into the business ecosystem of suppliers of systems, chips, end-user devices 

and operators. In 2006, IEEE requested that IEEE Standard 802.16 be added to the 

International Telecommunications Union (ITU-R) “IMT-2000” recommendation for 

International Mobile Telecommunications. IMT-2000 is a global standard defined by ITU 

in a set of interdependent ITU Recommendations that include the specifications for the 

radio interfaces of these advanced wireless communications systems. In October 2007, 

the ITU Radiocommunication Assembly granted final approval of an update to 

Recommendation ITU-R M.1457, the core IMT-2000 specification. The update includes 

a new sixth radio interface, "IMT-2000 OFDMA TDD WMAN", that is based on a 

normative reference to IEEE Standard 802.16. This is the only radio interface added to 

IMT-2000 since the five original ones adopted nearly a decade earlier. 

As of 2007, interest in the IEEE 802.16 Working Group continues to grow. 

Membership has risen to 377 individuals, and attendance has been as high as 462 people 
9

at a week-long session. A complete list of active 802.16 standards and drafts under 

development is included in Appendix 1. 

Our survey respondents cited what they perceived to be long-term benefits from 

participating in the IEEE 802.16 Working Group. The reasons ranged from helping to 

influence technology developments to marketplace benefits. Some comments on the 

benefits of participation are summarized below and include: 

• Staying current on the latest technical developments; networking with other 

vendors 

• Would like to ensure that the next generation standards take advantage of the 

latest technologies that have been field proven. 

• Customers who are taking advantage of benefits today using proprietary 

technologies would like the standard to have these technologies included so they 

can take advantage of economies of scale 

• Influence in the development of standards-based products with large volume 

potential 

• Allows building a single technology solution for fixed and mobile broadband 

networks 

• Interoperable products from multiple vendors. Better price and functionality. 

• Possible lower cost solution to existing 3G 

• Ability to influence direction of long-term evolution of OFDMA broadband 

wireless systems (i.e., 802.16m) 

NIST’s role in IEEE 802.16 

In 1998, NIST began the previously-described activities that led later that year to 

the initiation of the IEEE 802 Study Group on Broadband Wireless Access. The NIST 

staff member who had organized the activities, Roger Marks, was named by the IEEE 

802 Executive Committee to Chair that Study Group. Four months later, the IEEE 802.16 

Working Group on Broadband Wireless Access was formally chartered to develop the 

IEEE 802.16 standard. At the first official meeting, Marks was the only candidate 

standing for election as Chair of the Working Group and was elected by the membership. 

Marks was subsequently re-elected as Chair in 2000, 2002, 2004, and 2006, all the while 

as a staff member at NIST. 

Virtually the entire role of NIST in the 802.16 Working Group was in its support 

of the Chair. As described in the previous section, it was a catalyst in undertaking this 

effort and hosted the initial meeting from which a plan to proceed with standards activity 

was developed. The support provided by NIST played a significant role in the progress of 

the Working Group. Nearly every other member of the Working Group was an industry 

employee. The focus of many of these participants was on activities that would further 

the interest of the employer. In a standards activity, many employers are hesitant to 

participate in leadership positions because they feel that this requires objectivity that may 

impair their ability to drive toward company interests. Other employers may simply feel 

that the time and energy that goes into effective group leadership comes at the expense of 
10

company goals. NIST’s willingness to provide the leadership helped to eliminate much of 

the potential strife and difficulty of choosing an industry leader, and it allowed the Chair 

to invest significant time and energy fulfilling the basic tasks, including organizing the 

work, planning meetings when necessary, identifying and appointing subgroup leaders, 

publicizing the activity, attracting new participants, negotiating agreements between 

opponents, serving as technical editor, etc. 

To the extent that the majority of the participating companies were US-based, the 

Chair was generally perceived as neutral. However, a concerted effort was made to 

globalize the work and draw in participants from around the world. With a worldwide 

audience, a U.S. Government official might not have been perceived as neutral. 

Fortunately, NIST has an excellent reputation for technical neutrality, and its staff 

member was able to cement that reputation in the Working Group. 

This activity helped to fulfill NIST’s mission in several ways: 

1. By encouraging standardization through the voluntary consensus standards 

process, the work supports federal goals. 

2. By encouraging the development of standards in an open, global, technically 

based, consensus process, the project ensures that all participants, large and small 

alike and regardless of nationality, can, if they have the resources, have access to 

the process so that the resultant outputs are likely to be of high quality. 

3. By accelerating standardization, the work moves broadband wireless access closer 

to widespread deployment. This expands opportunities for equipment vendors and 

service providers. 

4. By leading to wider deployment, standardization will offer more broadband 

access alternatives to a wider range of U.S. consumers and businesses, including 

those in locations that may otherwise be poorly served by more conventional 

broadband access networks. 

5. By developing standards with global participation, the project will increase the 

chances of a uniform global result with broad export market opportunities. 

NIST’s Role as Viewed from Survey Results 

As described above, NIST was active in organizing the IEEE 802.16 Working 

Group. Our survey considered how Working Group participants viewed NIST’s 

participation. For example, we wondered how the development process would have been 

different had NIST not played this role. According to our survey, 10 percent of 

respondents said that, in this case the standard would not have been developed. Another 

20 percent said the standard would have been developed later; the remaining 70 percent 

answered “other”. Within this 70 percent, however, NIST’s leadership role was 

recognized as demonstrated by the following text comments: 
11

• “We won't guess the impact to timing, but at the very least federal support 

demonstrates commitment to other regulatory domains, which encourages global 

harmonization.” 

• “IEEE recognizes contributions from individuals. The Working Group Chair 

when he was at NIST contributed greatly to 802.16.” 

• “In a fiercely competitive environment, NIST was a neutral facilitator.” 

• “NIST’s leadership and involvement allowed the standard to be developed in a 

much less biased environment than is typical with standards. It served to protect 

companies, especially small ones, from domination by other companies.” 

• “NIST leadership enabled development of 802.16 within the arcane rules of IEEE 

without it becoming subject to miscreant forces.” 

• “Several proprietary systems would be deployed making the cost high and 

business case difficult (without mass market wireless broadband is challenging).” 

One theme that came through in many of the comments was the ability of NIST to 

act as an unbiased facilitator and to level the playing field among companies of different 

sizes. Not many ventured a guess as to how long the standard would have been delayed 

without NIST’s participation, but those who did estimated from one to two years. 

With regard to whether NIST’s participation affected industry participation in the 

802.16 Working Group, 20 percent of the respondents stated that without NIST’s 

leadership and involvement, industry participation would have been less; 40 percent 

thought it had little impact; and 40 percent did not know or did not answer. 

Other Factors 

Other factors that were considered important by the survey respondents as 

promoting the development and adoption of the WiMAX standard include the backing of 

large industry players, in particular chip makers, not having the technology or standard 

beholden to a single firm’s intellectual property, and the role of the WiMAX Forum in 

certification and commercialization of the technology. 

All of the surveyed firms belong to the WiMAX Forum, and 90 percent 

participate actively. Most respondents indicated that they saw WiMAX Forum take the 

lead on pursuing a related and expanded set of issues required for commercialization. 

With time, the WiMAX Forum has adopted its testing program to accommodate the latest 

developments in the standard, which has itself been evolving as a result of frequent 

amendments and revisions. In addition to the importance of getting products certified, 

key drivers for participation that were mentioned by a number of respondents are 

marketing benefits and participation in defining interface and interoperability details. 
12

VI. Costs of Developing the 802.16 Standard 

 Companies and government organizations are generally cognizant of the costs 

involved with developing a standard, certainly more so than with the benefits that accrue 

to them as a result of participation. We have attempted to estimate the total cost of 

developing the IEEE 802.16 standard since the first official session of the Working 

Group was held in 1999. Although there had been several meetings of a predecessor 

group that evolved into the 802.16 Working Group, the cost estimate is focused on 

development efforts from the time the official Working Group was formed through the 

end of 2006. 

From 802.16’s inception in May 1999 through June 2006, NIST participated in 

every meeting, with a minimum of one attendee. This was essentially a full-time effort 

for the Chair of the Working Group. The NIST cost of participation included the fully 

loaded salary for the Chair of the Working Group, travel expenses, management 

oversight and administrative support. Several guest researchers also supported this effort. 

For the eight-year period, the NIST cost was just under $3.0 million.xx 

Private sector cost in any standards group is always an issue and may act as a 

barrier to entry. A total of 47 802.16 sessions were held from the very first session in 

May 1999 until the final session of 2006. The total number of attendees at these sessions 

was 7,490. (This is not the number of participating individuals since one person would 

often attend more than one session.) A total of 730 companies participated in the 802.16 

Working Group during that time, representing 28 countriesxxi xxii. No company 

participated in all of the sessions, and the list of participating companies changed 

significantly from the early days of 1999 to the present. Company participation averaged 

approximately 10 sessions. 

From our survey results and data available on the 802.16 website, we attempted to 

estimate the costs of participation by firms in the IEEE 802.16 Working Group. The 

companies of the survey respondents sent an average of 93 participants to the Working 

Group sessions over this time period with a median value of 65. The average total 

amount spent by firms in our survey was $942,000, with a much lower median figure of 

$180,000. Respondents were asked to include the costs of staff and/or consultant’s time, 

fees, travel expenses and overhead. The reported range was $100,000 to $3 million. 

There are, of course, many small firms that participated infrequently during this period; 

their costs would be substantially lower, especially if they were primarily observers. 

These figures are then used to estimate the total cost for both NIST and the 

private sector participants to develop the IEEE 802.16 series of standards through 2006. 

As summarized in Table 1, the total cost is estimated to be $206.5 million.xxiii The 

government’s costs are approximately one percent of the total. The Working Group 

activity peaked in 2004 and 2005 before declining slightly in 2006. It has since ramped 

up again in 2007. 
13

Table 1. Total Cost of Participation in the IEEE 802.16 Working Group (thousands) 

Year NIST Private Total 

1999 $354 $9,438 $9,792

2000 $369 $23,909 $24,278

2001 $376 $22,930 $23,306

2002 $390 $13,219 $13,609

2003 $404 $12,621 $13,025

2004 $396 $42,677 $43,073

2005 $415 $44,308 $44,723

2006 $161 $34,626 $34,787

Total $2,865 $203,728 $206,593

The commitment of companies varied over the years as to the level and number of 

participating staff, as well as the years of involvement. In our survey, we found that 

many firms track and assign their costs in different ways so the margin of error for this 

figure might be large. However, it is the firm’s own perception of its cost of participation 

that is important. As such, a direct comparison of the figures may not be appropriate for 

detailed analysis. However, the self-reported figures do help to capture what the 

respondents think they have spent or contributed to this effort as a cost of doing business. 

NIST’s total cost is calculated at slightly more than one percent of the total cost of 

development. However, taking into account the views of the survey respondents, one can 

argue that NIST’s impact was much is greater than that. One way to place a value on this 

is to estimate the total cost of the standard development had NIST not positively 

influenced and possibly accelerated the process. How many more meetings would have 

been required, and what would the total added cost be in that case?

VII. Overview and Evolution of the WiMAX Market 

Status today 

This section attempts to demonstrate that the market for WiMAX is broad and 

global. Pre-WiMAX technology has been around for a few years as a fixed wireless 

access medium, but it was never widely adopted, perhaps because it was being provided 

by different vendors using their proprietary technologies. Prior to any significant 

adoption of WiMAX, broadband wireless access (BWA) in 2005 generated worldwide 

service revenues totaling $1.8 billion and equipment revenues of $750 million.xxiv xxv 

Most of the equipment sold in 2005 was non-conformant or proprietary technology. 

However, WiMAX is gaining traction in the marketplace since adoption of the industrywide standard enables both service providers and technology vendors to make 

commercial commitments to the technology, forming the foundation of a WiMAX 

ecosystem. During 2006, service provider trials moved into launch phase in many areas. 

Analysts estimate that WiMAX service revenues in 2006 were in the hundreds of 
14

millions of dollars and that equipment revenues ranged from $143 millionxxvi to $549 

millionxxvii. 

In the first quarter of 2007 the number of deployments using proprietary 

technology has been falling. Only 52 % of the deployments used proprietary technology, 

while 36 percent applied the 802.16-2004 (fixed) standard and 12 percent applied the 

802.16e-2005 (mobile) version.xxviii It is anticipated that WiMAX chipsets will be 

embedded in laptops by 2008, in handheld devices by 2009, and in consumer electronics 

in 2010. 

Testing and certification of fixed 802.16-2004 technology has been underway; as 

of September 2007, over 30 products have been certified. The WiMAX Forum expects 

mobile WiMAX products to begin to be certified in 2008. In Wave 1 of mobile WiMAX 

certification, the initial systems to achieve certification will be based on a 2.3 GHz profile 

with single-input, single-output (SISO) antenna systems. Wave 2 will follow in covering 

2.5 GHz systems with multiple-input, multiple-output (MIMO) and beam-forming 

antenna systems, important for enhanced indoor coverage and throughput. The assurance 

of quality through certification by independent testing is an important aspect of the 

expected success of WiMAX as it gives consumers confidence that these products are 

compliant to the standard and perform as advertised. 

International Market 

Europe is a large market for WiMAX-ready deployments and commercial trials, 

particularly of the fixed variety. The largest-scale individual projects are in the United 

States and parts of Asia (figure 1). By the first quarter of 2007, the U.S. had the most 

wireless broadband subscribers in the world, but only 17 percent of the deployments.xxix

Australia is quite advanced, and many announcements of new trials or deployments are 

occurring in Africa, the Middle East and Latin America. The WiMAX Forum is tracking 

270 trials and deployments in more than 65 countries.xxx Fixed WiMAX may have a good 

market in the developing markets of Asia with low broadband penetration rates, such as 

China, Malaysia, India and Indonesia. Internationally, the growth of WiMAX is being 

driven by business customers and high-end residential users. The potential for use of 

802.16 in the Chinese market is unclear; the government there has recently been pushing 

an alternative proprietary technology called McWiLL (Multi-carrier Wireless Internet 

Local Loop).xxxi
15

North 

America

17%

APAC

37% CALA

13%

Europe

33%

Figure 1 Percentage of WiMAX Deployments by Region (2007)xxxii

United States Market 

There currently exists a “comfortable duopoly of DSL and cable” in the United 

States, with 98 percent of the broadband market covered by them.xxxiii WiMAX will 

enable two types of broadband offers – fixed broadband as a substitute to DSL and cable 

services, and mobile broadband as an upgrade or complement to such existing 3G 

technologies as Evolution, Data Optimized (EV-DO) and High-Speed Downlink Packet 

Access (HSDPA). Many operators holding 2.5 GHz frequencies are proposing a 

quadruple play based almost entirely on broadband wireless (featuring WiMAX) as an 

alternative to traditional incumbentxxxiv operators. Initially most of the growth was 

anticipated to be in rural areas, where only about a quarter of the households have access 

to adequate broadband infrastructure.xxxv However, that has been changing recently with 

more focus on urban areas by companies including Sprint-Nextel, the largest U.S. owner 

of spectrum targeted for WiMAX. Many analysts predict that business users, primarily 

the mobile employee or “road warriors”, and high-end residential users will drive the 

market for WiMAX products and services, at least initially.xxxvi

WiMAX is also starting to be used for municipal networks. Grand Rapids, 

Michigan is implementing the first large-scale, municipal mobile WiMAX deployment in 

the country; it was expected be available by the end of 2007 (see Appendix 2 for details). 

This will also be the first WiMAX/Wi-Fi hybrid network. Many other municipalities are 

following suit and are focused on enhancing public safety, provision of city services, and 

improving technology availability. For public safety applications, the need for video 

capabilities is the driver for broadband wireless growth. A further more detailed 

discussion of the U.S. municipal wireless market follows in section X. 
16

WiMAX Forecasts 

In view of the above, the market for WiMAX is expected to undergo rapid growth 

in the near-medium term. The potential market is very large. There are currently 

approximately half a million WiMAX subscribers worldwide. According to analyst 

estimates, the total addressable market for fixed wireless broadband in the United States 

is estimated to reach 87 million residences by 2011, while the mobile market will reach 

161 million people in the same time frame.xxxvii An estimate of this growth is provided in 

Figure 2, which displays the expected total number of accumulated WiMAX subscribers 

of 67.4 million worldwide, with the large majority (75 %) expected to be users of systems 

based on 802.16e-2005. Even with this growth, it appears that it will take several years 

before WiMAX becomes a mass market solution with tens of millions of users. 

Figure 2 Accumulated Subscribers by Standard 2006-2012 (source: Maravedis)xxxviii

A corresponding increase is anticipated in WiMAX equipment sales. Analysts 

forecast the market to grow from the hundreds of millions of dollars in 2006 to several 

billion dollars by the 2010-2012 timeframe. The range of estimates is demonstrated in 

Figure 3, which shows the forecasts from three research firms. Service revenues are 

estimated to be even larger. According to analyst forecasts, this figure will grow from 

$2.6 billion in 2007 to $32 billion in 2012.xxxix Much of this anticipated growth will be 

driven by 802.16e as it is expected to become the dominant WiMAX technology 

beginning in 2008.xl Although the individual analysts’ forecasts differ, most expect 

strong WiMAX growth and adoption.xli These figures demonstrate that potentially large 

economic impact is anticipated even using the more conservative estimates. 
17

WiMAX Equipment Market Forecasts

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

18

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

billions of $

Maravedis

Infonetics

NSR

Figure 3 Annual WiMAX Equipment Market Forecastsxlii

VIII. Benefits 

Identify actors and stakeholders 

Our approach involves 1) identifying and classifying the various stakeholders and 

aggregating them to high-level groups; 2) identifying and classifying various benefits and 

costs associated with operationalizing WiMAX technologies; and 3) indicating which 

stakeholder groups are affected by which benefits and costs. xliii 

For the purposes of this report, stakeholders in WiMAX are aggregated as 

Operators, Legacy Incumbents, Vendors/Manufacturers, Standards Organizations, 

Governments and End Users. These different stakeholder groupings are described as 

follows. 

Operators. Operators include the subscription service providers for telephony, 

communication, data, and other network services to end users. Some of these are major 

phone and internet service providers whose networks cover huge areas, while others can 

be small and specialized, both in regional area and in customer base. 

Legacy Incumbents. These are existing fixed voice and data service providers 

using current technologies. These incumbents include both wired networks (DSL and 

cable, and to a lesser extent fiber optics), and Wi-Fi-based wireless networks. Such 

incumbents might benefit from their installed client base and business models, but on the 

other hand may face losses due to early obsolescence of their capital equipment and other 

infrastructure. 
18

Vendors/Manufacturers. These include makers and marketers of chipsets, 

devices, base stations and servers, peripherals, but also software and operations, and 

consulting services to owners and operators of communications systems. This group also 

includes vendors of test and certification systems for WiMAX products. 

Standards Organizations. Standards development organizations and standards 

setting organizations develop families of standards. IEEE is the dominant SDO 

stakeholder in this group, with the 802.16 standard for WiMAX. 

Governments. A key metric for inter- and intra-national comparisons is the depth 

of broadband connectivity within countries. Governments therefore have a public policy 

interest in broadband projects. Local governments are critical in establishing municipal 

wireless broadband networks, a rapidly growing market. U.S. States are also getting in 

the game in a big way. Massachusetts has announced a $25 million broadband initiative 

fund to connect the state's last mile areas by 2010.xliv The program is platform-neutral, 

but it is logical to expect WiMAX to be a significant player. Ohio has a similar thrust as 

part of its NexGen network. 

End Users—Business. Business customers are concerned with bandwidth, 

security, and quality of service (QoS) of the communications services they contract for 

(this stakeholder group would also account for Government end users). 

End Users—Public. Public end-users, whether household or individual, are 

critical to the success of any technology-based service in that return on investment 

depends on subscriber-generated revenue. Likewise, sales of WiMAX-embedded 

consumer devices (Personal Digital Assistants, cameras, laptops, etc.) are driven by 

numbers of subscribed public end users. 
19

Identifying benefits, costs, risks 

The benefits of WiMAX are multiple and manifest and accrue to multiple 

stakeholders. In both fixed and mobile applications, WiMAX offers greatly increased 

range and bandwidth, offering promise for bundled data and communications capable of 

high-end tasks such as telephony, video, and fast browsing in single devices. The 

extended range of WiMAX, compared with competing technologies, promises broader 

network coverage with lower capital outlay and operating costs. Enhanced security 

capabilities draw government and business users, increasing their efficiencies. Current 

global interest and activity in WiMAX projects by operators, vendors, and governments 

indicate the very high potential this technology has for improved performance and 

reduced costs. 

On the other hand, WiMAX is a disruptive technology, meaning that holders and 

operators of legacy technologies (Wi-Fi, DSL, cable, cellular, etc.) face the threat of loss 

of market share. Also, while WiMAX performance benefits have been demonstrated in 

small pilots, real world effects may restrict its utility in large, complex systems limiting 

its use as a large wide-area network with many users. Business and management systems 

may not be equipped to properly implement the new hardware and software. Standards 

friction may result in the presence of proprietary WiMAX-like networks, resulting in 

non-interoperability. Once the gleam is off the new services, subscribers may not 

contract in sufficient numbers to give good return on investment. 

Table 2 identifies the primary perceived benefits of WiMAX systems and 

applications and which stakeholder groups enjoy these. In a similar way, Table 3 

summarizes the costs and risks associated with WiMAX. 
20

Table 2 Stakeholders Potentially Affected by Benefits/Cost Savings. 

Type of Benefit or Cost Saving 

Operators Incumbents Vendors/ Manufacturers SDO’s/SSO’s Government End Users—Business End Users—Public 

802.16 standards accelerates WiMAX development 

and adoption √ √ √ √ √ √

Standards participation increases ROI √ √ 

Fixed WiMAX enables “last mile” connectivity and 

service √ √ √ √ √

Fixed WiMAX is efficient in backhaul operations √ √ √ √ √ √

Fixed WiMAX covers more area than Wi-Fi at lower 

capital cost per user √ √ √ 

Mobile WiMAX enables efficient applications for 

SCADA[?], security, other municipal operations √ √ √ √

Mobile WiMAX integrates mobile phone with high 

bandwidth data √ √ √ √ √ √

WiMAX systems increase competition and improve 

quality, availability, and affordability √ √ √ √ √ √

Creative business models create stronger services 

(bundling) √ √ √ √

Hybrid systems utilize legacy hardware, software √ √ √ 

Variety reduction leads to economies of scale √ √ 

Lower system integration costs due to content of 

standards √ √ √ √ 

Supplier alliances benefits small business √ √ 

Standards-based, common platform fosters rapid 

innovation and the addition of new components and 

services 

 √ 

Specialization (i.e. Base Stations or handsets) - no 

longer need to create an entire end-to- end solution 

as in proprietary model 

 √ 

Broadband services made available in areas that were 

previously out of the broadband loop √ √

More players in the market translate into more 

choices for broadband services √ √

Quick “trickle down” effect of cost savings to 

consumers √ √

Common platform drives down costs, fosters 

competition and encourages innovation √ 

No commitments to single vendors of the proprietary 

technology √ 

Wireless systems significantly reduce operator 

investment risk √ 

Standardization creates a volume opportunity for 

chip set vendors/silicon suppliers √ 
21

Table 3 Stakeholders Potentially Affected by Increased Costs and Risks 

Type of Cost Increase or Benefit Reduction 

Operators Incumbents Vendors/ Manufacturers SDO’s/SSO’s Government End Users—Business End Users—Public 

“Real world” effects restrict WiMAX potential 

(range, bandwidth, QoS) √ √ √ √ √ √

Business models not tested; revenue, profit may 

not meet projections √ √ √ 

ARPU may not be sufficient for good ROI √ √ 

Chipset power consumption difficult to solve √ √ √ √ √

Competition threatens operators of legacy systems √ √ √ √ 

Available spectra may be limited or costly √ √ √ 

Private (industry) Benefits 

WiMAX has been gaining traction in the marketplace because the establishment 

of the 802.16 standard enabled both service providers and technology vendors to make 

commercial commitments to the technology, thereby forming the foundation of a 

WiMAX industry ecosystem. This technology is becoming a major component of the 

broadband wireless industry. The standard has created opportunities to expand the size of 

the market. Although three years have passed since the adoption of 802.16-2004, 

significant market impact is only in the beginning phases. The initial results, in terms of 

market success achieved by specific industry actors, are not readily available, hence the 

ability to conduct a quantitative analysis on revenues (or cost savings) attributable to the 

standard is limited. 

It is expected that WiMAX will increase revenues for the companies participating 

in the new ecosystem. Projected revenue estimates were not provided by our survey 

respondents except for one firm, and the answer it gave was very general. However, six 

of the respondents stated that the 802.16 standards effort has hastened adoption of 

WiMAX technology, and therefore have accelerated revenues or cost savings for the 

company. Four stated an acceleration of 1 to 2 years, while two suggested an 

acceleration of 3 or more years, pointing out that there might have been very little 

adoption at all without a consensus standard. Only one stated that there was no 

acceleration, while the others did not know or did not answer. Figure 4 displays the 

results. 
22

Acceleration of Benefits

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

no accel < 1 year 1-2 year 3+ years don't know

perent of respondents

Figure 4 Estimate of the Acceleration of Benefits Due to the 802.16 Standard 

According to our survey respondents, market access/creation was the largest 

single benefit of adopting the 802.16 standard for their companies, as identified by 8 of 

the 10 respondents. The second and third most common benefits related to supply chain 

flexibility and to mix-and-match interoperability (see Figure 5). 

Benefits of Adopting 802.16 Standard

0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1

Market access

Testing guidance

Price pressure

Supply chain

Interoperability

Network effects

Other

Percent of Respondents

Figure 5 Survey Results of the Benefits of Adopting the 802.16 Standard 

Some of the reasons given by respondents stating market access as being most 

important include: 

• Wireless broadband has had some false starts and there needs to be a success; 
23

• The market controls the rest of the variables; 

• Because the uniqueness of 802.16 vis-à-vis other mobile wireless standards is that 

it was developed as part of the same larger body IEEE 802 that made 802.3 and 

802.11 and also had the most OFDM expertise to date in terms of products 

• Without a market others factors won't matter much 

Another key benefit of the standard is increased efficiencies. These can manifest 

themselves in a number of ways. Within the WiMAX industry, some of these include 

reduction of barriers to new entrants, evident from the large number of firms that 

participated in the IEEE 802.16 process as well as the very large membership of the 

WiMAX Forum, which includes many small companies. 

From a business case perspective, the throughput and sectoral efficiency 

advantages of mobile WiMAX results in fewer base stations to achieve a desired data 

density. Fewer base stations will reduce the network capital costs for a given network 

capacity, and with lower equipment maintenance costs, lead to lower operating expenses. 

xlv

Pre-WiMAX technology has been around for a few years as a fixed wireless 

access medium, but was never widely adopted because it was provided by different 

vendors using their proprietary technologies. This made switching between 

vendors/companies difficult as the networking gear of one vendor could not seamlessly 

talk to another. The WiMAX standard has allowed for interoperability between products 

from different vendors, which also drives down cost. 

Survey respondents who stated that interoperability was the most important 

benefit of the 802.16 standard commented that it: 

• Leads to most other items, such as price pressure, market creation, etc. 

• Provides us with reassurance that equipment will perform to known capability 

without the need to undertake full interoperability testing 

Social/Public Benefits 

The societal benefits of WiMAX accrue to government or other institutions, to 

individuals, or both. Early evidence suggests significant government savings due to 

WiMAX systems. Allegany County, MD, which installed a pre-WiMAX system (a 

bridging technology) to provide high-speed Internet access to the county’s government 

buildings, schools and libraries, is saving $560,000 in operational and 

telecommunications costs.xlvi One of the biggest potential benefits to individual 

consumers is the availability of bundled high-speed internet voice and data service, 

accessible with multiple devices, at a set price. Currently, broadband data service via 

DSL or cable costs approximately $40 per month, while unlimited 3G access to the 

Internet via an EV-DO network costs about $60 to $80 per month.xlvii 
24

In a recent survey commissioned by Motorola, the top four anticipated internet 

uses for mobile WiMAX are: reading or responding to email (49 %); reading and 

watching “live” online news (31 %); watching and listening to mobile entertainment such 

as mobile TV (28 %); and downloading and listening to music (28 %).xlviii If a bundled 

WiMAX single-fee service can be delivered at a pricing point within the range of existing 

data services, then price is not predicted to be a major factor for many potential 

customers.xlix 

Full adoption of such services by significant numbers of consumers requires a 

wide selection of devices that can connect to the service. The WiMAX industry is now 

promoting new mobile devices with advanced functionality to support high-speed 

handoffs, roaming, and multiple antenna technologies. Initial mobile WiMAX equipment 

will include notebook-based subscriber units (mini PCMCIA cards, PCI Express, USB 

modules, etc.) and desktop units. 

Reseeding the market with new devices takes about 18 to 24 months, which will 

have an impact on adoption.l

 The introduction of mobile devices with embedded 

WiMAX connectivity, such as notebooks, the Ultra Mobile PC (UMPC), PDA’s, smart 

phones and other wireless devices, is expected to emerge in 2008. In addition to VoiceOver IP (VoIP), other real-time applications like mobile video and audio streaming, 

videoconferencing, and gaming will greatly benefit from the QoS and low latency offered 

by WiMAX. 

Large-scale consumer adoption benefits government and enterprise users as well, 

since vertical applications, such as surveillance, public safety, connectivity to remote 

devices, inventory fleet tracking, fleet management and educational services, are also 

supported by mobile WiMAX network with little or no incremental cost to network 

operators. 

IX. Digital Divide 

WiMAX, along with Wi-Fi and VoIP, have been identified as enabling 

technologies that allow access to ICT to be expanded to rural areas, with improvements 

in the speed and quality of service in unserved and underserved areas at an acceptable 

price-point. These deployments do not require significant capital investment, are 

environmentally green, and have low operating costs. Early experience, gained through 

several demonstration networks in developing countries, indicate that a reasonably-sized 

community can be provisioned for a capital investment on the order of $25,000 to 

$40,000.li

 

An unserved area can be defined as one where residents and businesses are unable 

to obtain broadband connectivity at prices, level of service and quality of service levels 

comparable to served areas. There are approximately 1.5 billion people in 800,000 

villages without connection to Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs). 

According to a recent United Nations Conference on Trade and Development 
25

(UNCTAD) report, the Digital Divide is narrowing when it comes to basic access to the 

Internet and mobile phones but it taking on new forms in terms of the differences in the 

speed and quality of access to ICTs. The information and content gap is still growing.lii 

Standards can be an important tool for bridging the divide and spurring economic 

development. If firms in poor and developing countries can opt for these technical 

advances represented in that technology, the standards can then provide an important 

means for the technological catch-up process in such countries.liii 

An example of an initiative in the developing world, U.S. Agency for 

International Development (USAID) and Intel in 2005 launched a Last Mile Initiative 

(LMI) in Vietnam. This is part of an ongoing USAID Last Mile Initiative established in 

2004 aimed at expanding telecommunications into rural areas of developing countries. 

During 2006 and 2007, together with a local partner, Vietnam Data Communications 

(VDC), WiMAX technology was installed in Lao Cai, a city in the rural northern 

Vietnam where telecommunications services are limited, as well as in a second, more 

rural site (Ta Van Commune) to provide high-speed broadband and telephone service. 

One of the primary goals of the project is to provide a robust economic relationship with 

neighboring trading partners through the use of the new telecommunications 

infrastructure. There is also an educational focus since, in the deployment in Lao Cai, 

five high schools and secondary schools are targeted to receive local-language ICTrelated curriculum.liv An impact assessment was launched for the LMI initiative 

beginning in October 2006. Baseline data has been collected from the two project sites. 

Data gathering and analysis for outcomes was not yet completed at the time of this report. 

What has been demonstrated to date is that this is a successful model of a public-private 

partnership between industry (Intel), government (USAID), and a local partner (VDC). 

Many other examples of the use of WiMAX as well as other broadband wireless 

technologies to bring telecommunications services and broadband internet to rural 

agricultural centers have been termed a “rural revolution”.lv 

The digital divide is not just an issue for developing nations. Pockets and large 

sparsely-occupied areas of developed countries also have this issue. WiMAX will be a 

key component of a national broadband network to be developed by the Government of 

Australia, called Australia Connected, to provide 12 Megabytes per second broadband 

services to rural and regional communities with the goal of ensuring that 99 percent of 

the population has access to fast affordable broadband by June 2009.lvi Of Australia’s 

20.8 million people, 3.1 million live in rural areas. 

In the United States., a widely reported figure from the Pew Internet Project states 

that 47 % of American adults have broadband at home, up from 42 percent a year earlier, 

but still behind many other developed countries.lvii In rural areas, the broadband adoption 

rate is reported to be only 31 %, lagging adoption rates of 52 % and 49 %, respectively, 

in urban and suburban communities. Presumably, WiMAX, with its long range and high 

quality of service, would be a good candidate technology for adding fixed broadband 

service to last-mile customers. lviii 
26

There are many examples of WiMAX commercial services being announced to 

fill the void where broadband is difficult to get. The U.S. Department of Agriculture rural 

broadband program has made over 70 loans totaling $1.2 billion in 40 different states for 

communities with populations less than 20,000. It now also considers WiMAX 

technologies for funding.lix Many operators are planning to use WiMAX to reach the 

unserved and underserved markets. One company, DigitalBridge, was founded recently 

specifically to deliver broadband service to such communities using WiMAX technology. 

It has targeted seven states with large rural areas for its first phase of operations. 

X. Projected U.S. Municipal Wireless Market 

This analysis of the U.S. market prospects for WiMAX focuses on municipal 

wireless broadband applications. 

The degree of penetration of broadband services in the United States which is 

very high does not indicate the number of connected citizens since only approximately 47 

% of U.S. adults have broadband service in their residence.lx Such a lag in utilization of 

broadband cannot be accounted for by only physical disconnectedness; presumably, price 

and quality of service, coupled with socio-economic factors, deter full subscription to 

available service in otherwise highly connected regions, specifically relatively high 

density suburban and rural areas. 

Many municipalities in the United States are exploring policies to develop 

competitive, high-speed wireless broadband services as a means of increasing 

connectedness, facilitating government services, and improving attractiveness to 

business. For these reasons the municipal wireless broadband market in the United States 

represents an early stage, large potential and rapidly growing market. Wi-FiWi-Fi has 

been widely used since about 2002 for wireless broadband in local government and 

public networks, but the much greater range and higher data-transfer speeds of WiMAX 

will drive its emergence as a wide-area broadband infrastructure solution for local 

authorities. 

The MuniWireless State of the Market Report, 2006, based on a survey of market 

participants in municipal wireless networks, describes the U.S. municipal wireless market 

and gives the basis for a market forecast for the period 2007-2010.lxi That report centers 

on four segments—large, medium, and small cities, and counties. Combining the 

resulting projections with actual market data yields the expenditure and growth figures in 

Table 4. These cost numbers reflect hardware and software, training, maintenance and 

support, and other direct costs, but do not include internal staff costs for the 

municipalities. According to MuniWireless, 44 % of these total expenditures go to actual 

system hardware, software, and devices. 
27

Table 4 Actual and projected market for US Municipal Wireless [MuniWireless, 2006] 

2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 

Total 

Spending 

($M) 

47.4 116.9 235.5 459.6 941.0 1757.5 

System 

Spending 

($M) 

20.9 51.4 103.6 202.2 414.0 773.3 

Annual 

Growth (%) -- 147 102 95 105 87 

Estimating WiMAX share 

It is of course difficult to predict the share of the projected U.S. municipal 

wireless broadband market that WiMAX is likely to acquire over the short term. 

Nevertheless, the perceived advantages of WiMAX over Wi-Fi—increased range, 

improved QoS, broader spectrum, and others— are expected to drive rapid 

implementation of WiMAX. Coupled with the trend of wireless broadband efforts 

toward larger cities and county regions, where the range of WiMAX networks gains 

advantage over mesh Wi-Fi networks, the user-equipment market creates even more 

impetus for a shift towards WiMAX wireless broadband in U.S. cities. (By 2009, 79% of 

the spending for municipal wireless in the United States will be centered in large cities 

and counties, according to MuniWireless projections). 

Analysts estimate the WiMAX share of these markets by looking at what 

happened with satellite television in the United States, where the new technology grabbed 

over 12 % of the market for paid TV within five years of commercialization in the 

1990’s.lxii 

Using this historic achievement, one way to forecast the market for WiMAX in 

U.S. municipal wireless broadband is to apply a 10% share of the system expenditures 

forecast by the MuniWireless analysis shown in Table 4. However, recent trends suggest 

that this estimate may be too conservative. 

Many cities have recently initiated or announced plans for WiMAX-based 

broadband systems. Many counties - and even states - are now rolling out broadband 

wireless initiatives that include WiMAX. For example, Oakland County in Michigan is 

implementing a hybrid broadband network that will include WiMAX, and the state of 

Rhode Island is rolling out a statewide Wi-Fi and WiMAX network. In addition to 

providing broadband wireless access to its citizens, many of these new systems are 

supporting municipal services. Examples of municipal applications include: 
28

• public safety 

• education 

• employee connectivity 

• economic development 

• health care 

According to a survey by muniwireless.com, public safety is the top municipal 

application, with 65% of respondents stating that they have, or will have, a public safety 

application on their wireless broadband network.lxiii Note that many of these applications 

are also feasible with alternative wireless networks, such as Wi-Fi. However, it is the 

authors’ view that WiMAX will improve the capability of municipal and other 

governments to deliver such services due to the higher bandwidth and the ability for 

mobile applications. 

Of particular interest, Grand Rapids, MI, is providing both municipal services as 

well as retail broadband services to its citizens, and is the first true 802.16e municipal 

wireless system in the country. This is described in detail in Appendix 2. 

Also, from our survey, 40 percent of the respondents stated that they currently 

plan to support deployment of WiMAX for municipal services. Stated examples of 

services include as a backbone for Wi-Fi systems; as a complete municipal broadband 

system, and in specific niches such as public safety, homeland security, video 

surveillance, telematics, and remote utilities. 

Finally, some major U.S. cities are rethinking or canceling their Wi-Fi plans and 

instead awaiting the availability of WiMAX wide-area networks. Chicago has canceled 

its planned city-wide Wi-Fi network,lxiv while San Francisco and Houston have struggled 

to maintain agreements with vendors for planned Wi-Fi systems, primarily due to factors 

such as cost structuring, ROI goals, and anticipated technology improvements offered by 

WiMAX.lxv Wi-Fi and WiMAX can, however, coexist within hybrid systems in which 

Wi-Fi delivers wireless local area network coverage from data delivered via 

WiMAX,lxvilxvii

Given these trends, it seems reasonable to project that WiMAX technologies 

might account for 20 % of the predicted U.S., municipal broadband market, or close to 

$150 million by 2009. This assumption yields the revenue forecasts as shown in Table 5. 

Table 5 Projected WiMAX system expenditures in US municipal wireless broadband 

2006 2007 2008 2009 

Forecast 

System 

Spending 

($M) 

103.6 202.2 414.0 773.3 

Projected 

WiMAX 

Share ($M) 

20.8 40.4 82.8 144.6 
29

International government projects are also appearing. For example the Republic 

of Georgia is launching a WiMAX network intended to be used for providing 

government officials with VoIP services, internet access, and teleconferencing.lxviii In 

France, the city of Rouen recently made an announcement regarding deploying a citywide WiMAX network which, in addition to its regular household and commercial 

customers, will provide the city with capabilities for remote management of municipal 

services, including emergency services and video surveillance.lxix 

XI. Impact on Innovation and Competitiveness 

The relationship between standards and innovation is complex. Standardization 

may be supportive of innovation and an integral part of the process of innovation, while 

at other times standards may hinder or impede innovation. Standardization can sometime 

be the principal innovation. This is the case today in ICT, where standardization supports 

and coordinates innovations and helps to realize economies of scale. lxx 

In some cases, a standard precedes innovation by establishing a baseline for 

design and performance that will satisfy user requirements. That standard should provide 

enough flexibility that suppliers or manufacturers can modify features, function or price 

to establish a niche that positions them with a marketplace advantage. In other cases, 

innovation comes first, and the standard becomes the physical documentation of an 

agreed-upon solution that has already been tested and proven. Each industry and 

stakeholder group has unique needs, and in order to satisfy these needs, the approach 

must be fluid.lxxi Timing is an important issue. Too early, and a standard may effectively 

shut out promising and possibly superior technology, while if too late, the costs of 

transition to the standard may be too high, thus deterring diffusion. lxxii Blind has 

proposed that there is a dynamic dimension to standards because they play a crucial role 

in research and innovation, with various feedback loops along the research and 

development cycle from pure basic research through the diffusion of new products. 

Standards have different functions in the innovation process and may affect several 

economic aspects.lxxiii

In our survey, eight of ten survey respondents stated that the 802.16 standard 

promoted innovation (while two did not answer). This is not surprising because the 

development of the WiMAX standard fits the descriptions that most practitioners and 

academics have identified as characteristics of standards development that support 

innovation. Some of the reasons cited in our survey were: 

• Certain optional features provide value added performance and promote 

innovation 

• As with any new standard, it provides the framework, but implementation is what 

companies will work on to provide differentiation (i.e., field deployment metrics) 
30

• (Innovation) as such is inherently driven when a global industry ecosystem is 

created. Further, adoption of standards requires innovation if differentiation that 

creates value - as viewed by purchasers - is to be earned. 

• (Innovation is promoted) by multiple technical experts from the fixed and mobile 

broadband wireless industry participating, and state of the art techniques being 

adopted into the standard (e.g.,. OFDMA, MIMO, etc) 

• Companies are always competing to get their methods into the standard - the best 

usually win. The group works as a team to improve the standard based on market 

pressures. 

• Through the development of the WiMAX environment. 

• Standards like 802.16 do not necessarily provide innovation, but do promote 

competitiveness because everyone has access to similar capabilities within the 

ecosystem. 

It is interesting that the creation and existence of a WiMAX environment or 

ecosystem were noted as being important for the role of innovation. 

WiMAX is in the process of being rolled out in many countries in the developing 

world. One of the primary reasons for this is that they have little copper-wire 

infrastructure and cannot afford to begin to lay fiber connections. WiMAX will in 

essence be a leap-frog technology for much of the developing world. This allows these 

countries to compete on equal footing with the developing world in telecommunications 

platforms, to invite investment, and to promote economic growth in the country. The 

overall competitiveness of developing countries will be enhanced in the realm of 

globalization.

lxxiv 

XII. Other Trends and Indicators of Impact 

A listing of other indicators of impact that are not easily categorized elsewhere 

includes: 

1. Popular Mechanics listed IEEE 802.16 as one of “The top 50 inventions of the past 50 

years”. 

2. The WiMAX Forum has initiated a training certification program. Students will be 

certified in the WiMAX Professional Certification Program. The program has three 

certification tracks: network designer, network association, and network operator. 

The certification courses offer tutorials and practical hands-on training covering the 

IEEE 802.16 standard. 

3. China Mobile confirmed that it will set up a WiMAX network for the 2008 Beijing 

Olympics. 

4. Estonia is poised to become the first country completely covered by WiMAX. Four 

WiMAX licenses were auctioned off and one of the firms is set to have a nationwide 

roll-out completed by 2007 covering over 60% of the country. 
31

5. Singapore is establishing a WiMAX network (WISEPORT) to serve inbound ships by 

providing remote access to transhipment functions such as submitting documentation 

and filing requests for services.lxxv

6. As a disruptive technology, analysts predict that WiMAX may negatively impact 

broadcast and satellite radio as new automobiles are equipped with WiMAX 

broadband connectivity, giving drivers better options for access to music and other 

content traditionally delivered by radio.lxxvi

XIII. Challenges 

Two major criticisms of WiMAX have been that it does not apply to enough 

ubiquitous spectrum to be mass deployable, and that it has not been tested yet in realworld situations with large numbers of users. Key issues include how much spectrum 

remains available in any given country, how the spectrum is allocated, and how much 

spectrum is controlled by incumbent carriers. In the United States, only one or two 

companies currently have adequate spectrum to be able to build a truly national network. 

The Sprint-Nextel and Clearwire partnership which aimed to create a joint national 

network in the United States was recently terminated. It is not yet known if the final 

pricing point of bundled services will be competitive with conventional broadband 

service plans. The commercial roll-out of WiBro in South Korea, which is a version of 

WiMAX, has gotten off to a slow start despite the active participation of South Korean 

firms in the development of WiMAX.lxxvii The time and investment required to fully 

deploy the technology is large and companies have to be willing to make the 

commitment. 

As a disruptive standard, WiMAX adoption will be challenged by pushback from 

supporters of competing technologies such as Wi-Fi. However, both standards will 

benefit from integrated WiMAX/Wi-Fi devices that are targeted for low-power, wide 

frequency range applications.lxxviii 

Other existing and evolutionary technologies may limit WiMAX adoption. A 

rival technology with the potential to work well in high velocity mobile applications is 

being developed as the IEEE 802.20 standard,lxxix while a chip set recently announced for 

laptops will provide data connections globally without locking users to a particular 

telecommunications carrier.lxxx

 

XIV. Conclusions 

The eventual impact of IEEE Std 802.16 is expected to be broad and global, 

benefiting private industry participants in terms of new markets and decreased costs and 

end-users in terms of greater functionality at comparable price points to existing 

broadband technology. The WiMAX standard has spawned a new ecosystem of 

manufacturers and service providers investing in the technology, with more than 700 
32

companies having been represented to the IEEE 802.16 Working Group, and forming 

large industry groups including the WiMAX Forum and the WiMAX Spectrum Owners 

Alliance. The creation and existence of a WiMAX ecosystem were noted as being 

important for innovation by the majority of our survey respondents. 

The standard will clearly make an impact on the digital divide both in the 

developing world, where there is little or no copper or fiber infrastructure, as well as rural 

areas of the developed world. The standard is having significant market impact in the US 

municipal wireless sector and in the mobile data and voice market. Internationally, the 

standard is a strong competitor and has gained ITU acceptance into the family of mobile 

standards as a sixth IMT-2000 radio interface. The business model, which will allow 

WiMAX to be present in many types of consumer devices in addition to laptops and 

cellphones, and its time-to-market lead are other advantages which WiMAX has over 

other competing wireless broadband technologies. In the next three- to-five years, tens of 

millions are expected to be users of this technology around the world and the technology 

should become broadly diffused. 

For its part, NIST served as a catalyst in helping to get the standards programs 

launched following the model used for data communications. It provided the staff person 

to perform the duty of chair of the 802.16 Working Group and provided all of the support 

work involved with this function. This leadership role provided the chair the ability to 

act as a neutral arbitrator on a committee made up almost entirely of industry 

representatives and was seen as a key benefit of NIST’s involvement. The Chair was 

elected four times while a staff member at NIST. The net result of NIST's effort is that it 

may have accelerated adoption of the WiMAX standard and resulting benefits of the 

standard by as much as 1.5 years. It is not easy to separate the role that NIST played v. 

the individual effort and commitment of the Chair, but the survey of industry participants 

indicated that the overall NIST role was both positively received and beneficial to the 

development effort. 

The estimated cost to develop the standard, $206 million dollars, needs to be 

assessed against quantified benefits in a future economic impact study. Based on 

qualitative information and forecasts contained in this report, this should yield a positive 

return on investment. It remains for a further more detailed study to determine the actual 

economic impact of the IEEE 802.16 standard. It can be argued that NIST delivered 

value to the standard development process disproportionate to its approximately one 

percent share of the overall development cost. 

Challenges remain for WiMAX to reach its potential. WiMAX has yet to be 

demonstrated as a large, highly-utilized fixed or mobile system where service quality can 

be assessed over time, distance, and number/type of end user. There may be significant 

technical issues to be addressed, such as mobile device power requirements and battery 

performance. Business models must evolve and return-on-investment performance must 

justify sunk costs. 
33

This study is a building block in the effort to develop a methodology for 

conducting evaluations of documentary standards efforts. The ultimate goal is to develop 

a standard methodology that quantifies benefits and costs to arrive at a measure of net 

economic benefit. Based on the background and data compiled in this study, a complete 

economic analysis effort can be undertaken once WiMAX has been fully commercialized 

with measurable benefits in the next 3-5 years. 
34

Appendix 1. IEEE 802.16 Published Standards and 

Drafts (as of 12/2007)lxxxi

 IEEE Standard for Local and Metropolitan Area Networks - Part 16: Air Interface 

for Fixed Broadband Wireless Access Systems

Active Standards 

• IEEE Std 802.16-2004, as amended by 

o IEEE Std 802.16g-2007 (amendment to IEEE 802.16) Management Plane 

Procedures and Services

o IEEE Std 802.16f-2005 (amendment to IEEE 802.16) Management 

Information Base

o IEEE Std 802.16e-2005 (amendment to IEEE 802.16) Physical and 

Medium Access Control Layers for Combined Fixed and Mobile 

Operation in Licensed Bands

o IEEE Std 802.16-2004/Cor1-2005 (corridendum to IEEE 802.16, 

published along with IEEE 802.16e-2005) 

• IEEE Std 802.16k-2007 Standard for Local and Metropolitan Area Networks: 

Media Access Control (MAC) Bridges - Bridging of 802.16

Drafts Under Development 

• IEEE Draft P802.16h Improved Coexistence Mechanisms for License-Exempt 

Operation

• IEEE Draft P802.16i Management Plane Procedures and Services

• IEEE Draft P802.16j Multihop Relay Specification

• IEEE Draft P802.16m Advanced Air Interface

• IEEE Draft P802.16Rev2 This work will result in the second revision of IEEE Std 

802.16, following IEEE Std 802.16-2001 and IEEE Std 802.16-2004. It will 

consolidate IEEE Standards 802.16-2004, 802.16e-2005, 802.16-2004/Cor1-2005, 

802.16f-2005, and 802.16g-2007. 
35

Appendix 2. Case study: Grand Rapids Michiganlxxxii

On December 1, 2006, the Grand Rapids City Council voted to award a citywide 

wireless contract to Clearwire LLC. The build-out of the system is taking place in 2007. 

This network is unique for a number of reasons: 1)It is the first 802.16e (not preWiMAX) municipal wireless network to be implemented in the United States. 2) The 

network will contain WiMAX/Wi-Fi hybrid hotspots. The network will cover 45 square 

miles and a population of approximately 200,000, with 18 to 20 towers throughout the 

city. Coverage will extend throughout the city limits. In addition to outdoor coverage, at 

least 90% of interior rooms in residential, municipal and commercial building will be 

covered, including areas above the second floor. The service will be suitable for VoIP 

telephone service. Public safety vehicles will be able to access the network, including 

real-time video streaming and photo transfer at speeds up to 70 miles per hour. Clearwire 

will sell the service at retail rates and will also provide wholesale Internet access to other 

service providers. Clearwire has agreed to provide discounted service to qualifying low 

income residents for up to five percent of total household count in Grand Rapids. Cost of 

discounted service will be $9.95 per month for Internet access with downlink speed up to 

512 kbit/s and uplink speed to 256 kbit/s. 

The city has partnered with a local non-profit organization, the Community Media 

Center (CMC), for low income account processing. Free public presentations and signup sessions will be available in various locations throughout the city. The city and CMC 

are working together to draft appropriate guidelines and procedures. The goal is to keep 

the process simple while ensuring that all citizens receiving the discounted service are 

qualified, low income residents. Free Wi-Fi hot spots will also be provided for visitors 

and occasional users. 

The decision to use WiMAX for the Grand Rapids municipal network offers 

many benefits and innovative new uses for municipal employees and citizens of Grand 

Rapids. The following is a list of how Grand Rapids intends to utilize the network from a 

capacity and application perspective: 

Primary Municipal Applications

• The city expects to use the network first as a public safety network for police and fire 

and then as a method to assist city workers in making them more productive in their 

work. The applications that are anticipated to be used by Public Safety are: 

o Intranet access to local, state and federal databases 

o Internet access to certain databases 

o Field reporting 

o Email connectivity 

o Digital photos pushed to all users 

o Limited video surveillance 

• For all other anticipated city employee segments, it is anticipated that records 

updating and work order management will be the primary use of the system. We also 
36

anticipate that these workers will require Internet connectivity along with email 

access. 

Potential Applications for Education

• Student access to current school information, homework assignments, and help via a 

school Web site and remote teaching 

• Improved communication between school administration, teachers, parents, and 

students with use of email 

• College and university access to campus network for off-campus students and distant 

learning 

• Video surveillance for campus police use 

Potential Economic Development Applications

• Wireless internet service provider (ISP) partnerships 

• "Smart zone" growth opportunities 

• Low-cost, high-speed Internet access for homes and small businesses 

• Create an inviting atmosphere for conventioneers, tourists, and visitors 

• Attract new businesses, entrepreneurs and young professionals creating a "cool" city 

Potential Heath Care Applications

• Remote monitoring of patients with chronic illnesses 

• First responder access to vital patient information and medical assistance 

• Broadband access to patient data while patients are in route to a hospital 
37

End Notes 

 

i

 Pareek, D. “The business of WiMAX”, John Wiley & Sons, LTD, West Sussex, England, 2006 

ii Selected Impacts of Documentary Standards Supported by NIST (NISTIR 7398), National Institute of 

Standards & Technology, March 2007 

iii Methods for Assessing the Economic Impacts of Government R&D (Planning Report 03-1), NIST, 

September 2003 

iv DTI (2005), DIN (2000), Blind (2004) and others 

v

 Hesser, et. al. “Standardization in Companies and Markets” September 2006, p. 79 

vi Toth, et. al., “The Economics of Standardization”, 1984, p.17 

vii Hesser, Ibid., p. 133 

viii DIN 2000, p.4 ix DIN 2000, p. 82-83 

xR. B.Marks, “Broadband Wireless Access for the First Mile,” National Science Foundation “Last Mile Panel,” April 8, 1999 

<http://nwest.nist.gov/first_mile.pdf>.

xiR. B.Marks, “Standards Make Wireless Work,” Applied Microwave & Wireless Magazine, pp. 101-102, February 1999 

<http://nwest.nist.gov/editorial_amw.html>. 

xii R. B.Marks, “Cooperative International Wireless Standardization,” European Institute Roundtable: Spanning the Spectrum of 

Communications Policy, May 6, 1999 <http://www.standardsresearch.org/standards-discuss/0006.html>.

xiii R. B.Marks, “IEEE Standardization for the Wireless Engineer,” IEEE Microwave Magazine, pp. 16-26, June 2001 

<http://WirelessMAN.org/docs/01/80216c-01_09.pdf>.

xivR. B.Marks, Ian C. Gifford, and Bob O’Hara, “Standards from IEEE 802 Unleash the Wireless Internet,” IEEE Microwave 

Magazine, pp. 46-46, June 2001 <http://WirelessMAN.org/docs/01/80216c-01_10.pdf>.

xv R. B.Marks, “Advances in Wireless Networking Standards,” Pacific Telecommunication Review, pp. 30-

37, 4th Quarter 2002 <http://WirelessMAN.org/docs/03/C80216-03_03.pdf>

. xvi <http://WirelessMAN.org>

xviiIEEE Standard 802.16-2001 (“IEEE Standard for Local and metropolitan area networks—Part 16: Air 

Interface for Fixed Broadband Wireless Access Systems”) <http://ieee802.org/16/published.html>. 

xviii Carl Eklund, R. B.Marks, Kenneth L. Stanwood, and Stanley Wang, “IEEE Standard 802.16: A 

Technical Overview of the WirelessMAN Air Interface for Broadband Wireless Access,” IEEE 

Communications Magazine , pp. 98-107, June 2002 <http://ieee802.org/16/docs/02/C80216-02_05.pdf>. xix R. B.Marks, “IEEE Standard 802.16 for Global Broadband Wireless Access,” ITU Telecom World 2003 

Geneva, October 12-18, 2003 <http://ieee802.org/16/docs/03/C80216-03_14.pdf>. xx Data from NIST, EEEL, Electromagnetics Division, Boulder Colorado xxi Source: IEEE 802.16 Working Group website xxii This figure represents instances where the country of origin was identified. In 99 cases it was not. 

xxiii Figure estimated based on the number of participants times $27,200 which is the average loaded cost 

for each Working Group participant as calculated by data from the survey respondents and 802.16 Working 

Group statistics

xxiv Maravedis, “WiMAX and Broadband Wireless Worldwide Market Analysis and Trends 2006-2012”, 

p.138 

xxv WiMAX is a technology segment within the overall broadband wireless access market. 

xxvi Ibid. 

xxvii Infonetics Research, press release, March 15, 2007 

xxviii Maravedis, WiMAX Counts Facts & Figures, Webinar July 10, 2007 xxix The number of individual WiMAX implementations xxx Source: WiMAX Forum September 2007 xxxi WiMAX Trends 1/25/2007 xxxii Maravedis, WiMAX Counts Facts & Figures, Webinar July 10, 2007 xxxiii Presentation by FCC Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein “National Priorities for Broadband Wireless” 

at WCA 2007, June 13, 2007 

xxxiv Incumbent local exchange carriers which include “Baby Bells” from the 1984 break-up of AT&T 
38

 xxxv Presentation at WCA 2007, “Rural Broadband”, June 13, 2007 

xxxvi NSR, Technological Leapfrogging via WiMAX, p. 7, February 2007 

xxxvii WiMAX outlook in the US market: implications for service providers”, Diamond Management and 

Technology Consultants, 2007 

xxxviii Maravedis, “WiMAX and Broadband Wireless Worldwide Market Analysis and Trends 2006-2012”, 

Exhibit 189 

xxxix NSR, Technological Leapfrogging via WiMAX, p. 8, February 2007 xl Maravedis, “WiMAX and Broadband Wireless Worldwide Market Analysis and Trends 2006-2012”, 

Exhibit 187 

xli One exception to this was in a study by Arthur D. Little which estimates that WiMAX will capture 

perhaps 10 percent of the mobile broadband wireless subscribers by 2011-2012 

xlii Maravedis 9/2006, Infonetics Research 3/2007 (est.), NSR 2/2007 xliii Our approach is modeled after that used by Robert Chapman in his study of benefits and costs 

associated with construction system, “Benefits and costs of research: a case study of construction systems 

integration and automation technologies in commercial buildings”, NIST Building and Fire Research 

Library, December, 2001 

xliv Patrick, D. et al. “Commonwealth of Massachusetts FY2008-2012 five-year capital investment plan”, 

August, 2007

xlv One estimate of the cost efficiencies due to cellular network architecture states that WI-FIWI-FI Mesh 

Captal Expense (CAPEX) of $100,000 - $150,000 per square mile versus a WiMAX CAPEX of $14,000 - 

$24,000 per square mile (Edwards K. “WiMAX to the Max” Excelsio Communications, 2007 ) 

xlvi Statetechmag.com, July/August 2007, p. 39 

xlvii Voxilla ‘Broadband Gets Personal’ 4/19/07 

xlviii Motorola press release, June 20, 2007 “American Consumers to Use WiMAX Wireless Broadband for 

On-The-Go Email, Web Surfing, Mobile TV, Music Survey Shows 

xlix WiMax Counts Quarterly Newsletter June 2007 l

 Reuters 4/8/2007 

li Owens D., “Expanding Rural Access: Working Papers”, p.9 February 26, 2007 

lii World Information Society Report 2007, UNCTAD liii Standardisation in Companies and Markets, Hesser, et al. September, 2006, p. 76 

liv Vietnam LMI: Associated Working Papers, December 20, 2006 

lv Business Week, “WiMAX Helping Asia’s Farmers”, September 4, 2007 

lvi Media Release 80/07, 18 June 2007, by Senator the Hon Helen Coonan, Minister for Communications, 

Information Technology and the Arts, “Australia Connected: Fast affordable broadband for all Australians 

lvii Horrigan, John, “Why it Will be Hard to Close the Broadband Divide”, Per Internet & American Life 

Project, 8/1/2007 

lviii Flamm, K. “Diagnosing the disconnected: where and why is broadband access unavailable in the 

U.S.?”, working paper revised September 2006, presented at the Telecommunications Policy Research 

Conference, Fairfax, VA, September 30, 2006 

lix Presentation at WCA 2007, “GovMax: Government Initiatives and Applications, Kenneth Kuchno, 

USDA, June 13, 2007 

lx Flamm, ibid. 

lxi Muniwireless.com, 2006 

lxii Sekino, H. et al. “WiMAX outlook in the US market: implications for service providers”, Diamond 

Management and Technology Consultants, 2007 

lxiii State of the Market Report, Muniwireless.com, October 2006 

lxiv www.telecomweb.com, Earthlink crumbles as Second City ditches Wi-F-, August 30, 2007 

lxv www.redherring.com, The business of technology; Muni Wi-FiWi-Fi collapse a boon for WiMAX, 

September 9, 2007. 

lxvi www.informationweek.com, A wireless dream? Pace Micro shows WiMAX combo to the home, 

September 7, 2007. 

lxvii http://pr-gb.com, Is Sprint the champion of mobil WiMAX growth? August 20, 2007 

lxviii WiMAX Day, July 7, 2007 lxix WiMAX Day, July 16, 2007 
39

 lxx D. Foray, Standardview Vol 6, No. 2, p.83 June 1998 lxxi Bhatia p.2 Stimulating v. Stifling: Standardization’s Role in Innovation, Standards Edge Conference, 

Washington, DC 3/22/07 

lxxii DTI Economics Paper No. 12, p. 37, June 2005 lxxiii Blind, ISO Focus, Vol 4, No. 6, June 2007, pp. 43-44 

lxxiv NSR, Technological Leapfrogging via WiMAX, p.2, February 2007 

lxxv www.channelnewsasia.com. “Singapore’s seaport to be world’s first WiMAX enabled by 2008”, 

September 26, 2008 

lxxvi http://www.rwonline.com, “Radio listening will drop once Wi-Fi, WiMAX entrenched in car”, 

September 14, 2007 

lxxvii Recent reports have the number of WiBro subscribers surpassing 100,000 17 months after launch 

(Koreatimes, December 2, 2007) 

lxxviii Wi-FiWi-Fi Planet, “NextWave mixes technologies”, www.wifiplanet.com/news/article.php/3684771, June 21, 2007 lxxix Techworld, “WiMax rival lives again at IEEE”, www.techworld.com, July 20, 2007 lxxx Computerworld Mobile & Wireless, “New Gobi chip set: A Xohm killer?, October 25, 2007 lxxxi The IEEE 802.16 Working Group on Broadband Wireless Access Standards (website) lxxxii Information compiled from Grand Rapids website (http://www.grand-rapids.mi.us/) and other 

information provided by employees