There was an interesting InfoWorld article posted earlier this week about how Texas Instruments (NYSE:TXN) is skeptical about the prospects for a wider adoption of WiMAX.  The TI executive (Joseph Crupi, VP of TI's Broadband Communications Group, and the ex-CEO of Telogy, which was bought by TI) argues that the WiMAX could be an unfulfilled promise, just as the initiatives previously put forth by the Broadband Wireless Internet Forum (BWIF), an industry group that advocated for the adoption of proprietary specs for wireless broadband access a few years ago.  Crupi also mentions that operators for the most part still have not embraced WiMAX as a viable alternative to DSL and delivering broadband to the home.  The article mentions how China Telecom (the largest Chinese ISP) plans to rely on DSL to deliver broadband access to its subscribers, with WiMAX not being mentioned as part of the strategy.

But just because some service providers are slow in picking up new technology or the previous BWIF initiatives failed, is it fair to say that WiMAX is doomed to failure?  One has to wonder if underneath all of this skepticism, perhaps there could also be an effort to slow down Intel's (Nasdaq:INTC) quest to prominently figure in another segment of the wireless market.

That sentiment was echoed by Nancy Gohring in an article in her blog, WiFi Networking News.  She correctly notes that in the US only a few spectrum holders own the licenses suitable for WiMAX, and their interest in the technology has not yet been ascertained.  For instance, Nextel Communications (Nasdaq:NXTL) owns the spectrum, but hinted at using other proprietary schemes in that frequency range.  However, other major operators remained sidelined due to concerns of deploying in unlicensed frequencies. 

Besides spectrum, another obstacle for WiMAX is the development of the IEEE 802.16e specification for mobile wireless broadband.  This spec (part of the larger WiMAX 802.16 standard) is not expected to be ratified until the end of 2005.  Other restraints include base station interoperability and higher costs until that issue is solved and economies of scale can be achieved.

Note: Thus far, the few operators that are rolling out broadband wireless services are mostly relying on other technologies using licensed spectrum (e.g. the JV between Allstream, Microcell and NR Communications, which operates in the 2.5 GHz band, providing services in Canadian locations such as Cumberland, Ont. and Richmond, B.C.). That said, in June, Intel announced a WiMax trial to provide Internet services in two Chinese cities, Dalian and Chengdu.