A report from ABI Research concludes that proprietary broadband wireless equipment will grow as the market waits for mass produced WiMax gear: The report forecasts that the proprietary systems should grow by 50 percent from 2003 to 2004. Apparently such gear is priced the same or at times cheaper than what the WiMax folks say their gear will cost.
The analyst who wrote the report made a very levelheaded comment when he says that the threat from WiMax isn't to 3G or Wi-Fi but to landline providers. He's probably right. All of the wireless technologies will have a sweet spot but at the end of the day WiMax may compete head to head with DSL or cable modem service.