The increased take-up of portable and mobile WiMAX services will mean that, starting in 2009, growth in revenues from non-fixed WiMAX services will outstrip growth in revenues from fixed WiMAX services, according to a new report from Informa Telecoms & Media.

The report-’WiMAX Broadband Convergence: Emerging Fixed, Portable & Mobile Revenue Opportunities’-also says that non-fixed-service revenues will account for almost 80% of total WiMAX service revenues by 2012.

As the first portable WiMAX devices arrive, in the form of PC cards and notebook computers, portable revenues will start to increase strongly and will provide almost half of total revenues by 2012, the report says.

Mobile devices will follow, according to the report, with revenues from mobile users growing even faster, albeit from a small base, to reach 30% of total revenues by 2012, showing the value that will be placed on the ease of use and flexibility provided by a variety of device form factors.

The largest element of WiMAX revenues worldwide will be access charges, growing to US$17 billion in 2012, Informa’s report says. Value-added services for both the consumer and business sectors are forecast to grow significantly faster, reaching about 30% of total revenues in 2012, while advertising is expected to start later but show the fastest growth of the three revenue streams, reaching just under 13% of the total by the end of the forecast period.

WiMAX revenues by service type, 2007-2012 (US$bn)

Source: Informa Telecoms&Media “The assumption is that WiMAX operators will continue to charge flat-rate fees, similar to wired broadband fees, albeit with usage limits,” says Mike Roberts, a principal analyst at Informa. “This is in contrast to the per-megabyte fees charged by some mobile operators.”

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