Impressions from WiMAX World

I was at WiMAX World in Chicago last week, where I spent almost as much time talking as listening. At the 4G Executive Summit, a developing theme was whether LTE would predominate or the LTE and WiMAX standards would eventually merge. This theme ultimately took a backseat to the even bigger news at WiMAX World surrounding the launch of Sprint Nextel's Xohm WiMAX network in Baltimore. No matter where the 4G ecosystem goes in the years to come, WiMAX is here now, and according to most reports, is working very well. I'm going to have a chance to see the network on Wednesday at the official launch party, and I hope to have a report here soon. That is not to say we won't see significant LTE deployments too. I stand by what I said at the 4G Executive Summit: "each one can play an important role." The WiMAX party is just starting a little earlier.