Another WiMAX Operator Bites the Dust

Worldmax will cease WiMAX operations in Amsterdam by the end of July. It’s the second WiMAX operator to end services after Freedom4 sold its license to Broadband UK last week.
Worldmax blames the Dutch military. The company couldn’t expand its WiMAX offerings because of the interference in the 3.5GHz band. The signal conflicts with the military ground station for an intelligence satellite. Another report blames the inability to secure a 2.6GHz spectrum license. Poor indoor reception and lack of roaming ability also hurt the deployment.

“This restriction imposed by the Ministry of Defense makes us feel like landowners being expropriated on the basis of National and European security. The disillusion amongst us and our shareholders was huge when we saw investments made becoming immediately worthless,” Keimpe B. Algra, CEO Worldmax said, “While I am relieved that we could settle the issue after months of negotiation and uncertainty, it does hurt me badly to conclude that this is the end of a well established mobile broadband venture. This is bad news for our customers and a depletion of the already impoverished telecoms market in the Netherlands”.

Worldmax paid nearly $5 million in the spectrum. Greenfield Capital Partners, an owner of an investment company will lose around $15 million. It costs about$37 million to install the network. This isn’t a good sign for future WiMAX deployments. Two operators, along with Yota’s decision to launch LTE networks might be warning signs that signal the end of major WiMAX deployments.