VoIP could be key to WiMax

WiMax won't be ready for prime time for a couple of years, but when it does get there, internet phone services could be the cash cow for providers, according to a study.

WiMax, a technology standard that will provide broadband internet access over many miles of coverage, is expected to make a big splash when certified commercial services emerge in 2006 or 2007.

While high-speed data access is considered a driving force behind WiMax' consumer appeal, service providers must bundle features such as VoIP - voice-over-IP services - to make enough money for survival, according to a study conducted by market researcher In-Stat/MDR.

Keith Nissen, an analyst at In-Stat/MDR, said: "The industry is focused on WiMax from a data standpoint, but the reality of the industry today is that you need to have voice to be financially viable."

WiMax' promise lies in its ability to deliver broadband to large areas without wires stretched into homes. Proponents of the technology add that WiMax will bring broadband to rural areas that telcos do not currently reach.

While there are currently many "fixed" wireless providers dotting the globe, WiMax efforts have resulted in a standard, known as 802.16-2004, that allows equipment makers to operate in a common language. New versions of WiMax in the works are expected to allow mobility, letting users travel freely between locations and service providers.

WiMax is not expected to enter the mainstream until 2007, since testing among equipment makers is still six months off. But by 2009, WiMax services will have amassed 8.5 million subscribers, or three per cent of the total broadband market, and more than half of them will subscribe to VoIP services bundled into their WiMax plans, according to In-Stat/MDR.

"When you get full mobility under WiMax, you will be able to drive around town and do VoIP the same as you would over a mobile phone," said In-Stat MDR's Nissen.

Jim Hu writes for CNET News.com.