400,000 BWA/WiMAX Subscribers Added in Q1 2009, Reaching 3.5 Million Worldwide

Maravedis releases latest market statistics on WiMAX and 4G
MONTREAL--(Business Wire)--
Approximately 400,000 BWA/WiMAX subscribers and 50 million new active 3G
subscribers were added in Q1 2009, according to the latest quarterly report
published by Maravedis as part of its leading 4GCounts subscription service.

"2008 was a difficult year for WiMAX and during Q1 2009, the slowdown continued
as operators watched their wallets closely in order to survive the downturn,"
noted Cintia Garza, co-author of the report.

"There is some room for optimism: despite the economic slowing, BWA/WiMAX has
proven that it is a viable alternative for access in underserved markets and as
a broadband overlay. WiMAX suppliers say that they offer a low cost way to
deliver network service most needed now: that waiting for LTE is lost
opportunity and overkill of network complexity and cost. An emerging message
from operators is the choice of network technology is less important so long as
it serves their purpose." Robert Syputa commented.

The quarterly report also explores the motivations for 3G operators to invest in
LTE and what challenges they will face when adopting this technology. "Our
research reveals that 37% of operators consider LTE as their best option
available today to address the need for higher bandwidth services and capacity,
while 15% believe LTE will give them added flexibility to use different spectrum
bands," said report co-author Basharat Ashai.

THIS QUARTER`S SUMMARY FINDINGS

* 28% of operators pointed to technological delays as the main challenge for
adopting LTE; 24% revealed that interoperability between the LTE vendors is a
concern; 10% pointed to the lack of spectrum/delayed auctions as a challenge.
* Q1 2009 recorded WiMAX ARPU was US$42.43 and US$116.82 for residential and
business segments respectively, compared to US$42.33 and US$122.64 for the same
segments in Q4 2008.
* Out of all CPEs deployed as of Q1 2009, 4GCounts showed 26% were 802.16-2004,
20% were 802.16e-2005, and 54% were vendor proprietary.

4GCounts is a unique web-based service that tracks operator deployments and
provides detailed information on the worldwide 4G ecosystem. 4GCounts currently
profiles over 200 operators across 92 countries.

Maravedis Inc.
Emma Hancox, +1-514-992-3662
Marketing Director
emma@maravedis-bwa.com

Copyright Business Wire 2009