WiMax industry hoping for economic stimulus boost

* WiMax industry looks for a share of stimulus money

* $1 bln from US stimulus seen spending on WiMax -Alvarion

* Many still expect technology to be niche player

By Harro ten Wolde

AMSTERDAM, June 3 (Reuters) - Companies working on Wimax high-speed mobile data technology are hoping government stimulus packages inject billions of dollars into wireless broadband, boosting take-up of the new technology.

WiMax has been competing for the status of next generation mobile technology, but has largely lost the battle to Long Term Evolution (LTE), which has become mobile operators' favoured solution as it can be bolted on to existing systems.

Many analysts say WiMax is destined to be a niche player in a market expected to total $45 billion in 2009, according to research group Gartner.

However Wimax companies hope government stimulus packages could revive appetite for the technology.

"One of the biggest things people are doing because of the crisis is stimulus packages for rural broadband -- in the U.S. alone (the spend is) $7.2 billion," said Tzvika Friedman, chief executive at Alvarion (ALVR.O), a leading WiMax equipment maker.

"That's one of the big advantages of WiMax now, as much as we suffer from the economic crisis, we also enjoy it," Friedman told Reuters on the sidelines of a WiMax conference in Amsterdam, estimating over $1 billion could be spent on WiMax.

Ron Resnick, president and chairman of the WiMax Forum, the main industry group, said governments recognised investing in broadband is important for economic recovery.

"The most appropriate way of doing it (investing) quickly is probably wireless," said Andy McKinnon, who works for Motorola's (MOT.N) 4G unit.

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WiMax stands to benefit from the fact that governments want to spend on stimulus measures now, with few other wireless broadband technologies available for quick deployment. "Other technologies are not there yet and they cannot fix the problem," Motorola's McKinnon added, referring to LTE, which is expected to be available as early as next year.