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Maravedis WiMAX Forecast Ranks the Russian Federation Among the Top Five Wireless Broadband Opportunities in the World

Leading research firm Maravedis releases new market study entitled “Russian Federation Broadband and WiMAX Market Analysis and Forecasts 2006-2010” to provide an in-depth review of current regulatory and overall wireless market trends in the Russian Federation.

MONTREAL, Canada, and MOSCOW, Russian Federation, May 23, 2006 – Maravedis Research, a leading wireless broadband access research firm, announced a new research report entitled “Russian Federation Broadband and WiMAX Market Analysis and Forecasts 2006-2010,” which details the opportunities now present within the Russian Federation for BWA and WiMAX wireless products and services.

This 100-page report, the second of a series that includes reports on Brazil and India, provides an in-depth review of the broadband wireless and WiMAX markets and regulatory activity taking place in Russia.

The Russian economy is flourishing and demand is quickly outpacing the supply of telecommunications services provided by the legacy wired telecommunication infrastructure built during the communist era.  More than 70% of Russian households do not have access to fixed wired telephone services.  Instead, customers have flocked to cellular phone carriers, which have built a tremendous infrastructure to provide service to more than 130 million customers, or 90% of the Russian population.

The same trend is predicted for broadband wireless Internet access services such as WiMAX that will provide high-speed data services over a wireless data infrastructure.  Small- to medium-sized businesses understand the potential of websites and doing business online via the Internet in order to reach the worldwide economy.  Since 75% of Russian households cannot get basic dial-up Internet access, wireless Internet service providers (WISPs) are expected to tap into this latent demand for broadband Internet connections.

“There is huge potential for broadband wireless Internet and voice-over-IP services in Russia because there are still more than 40,000-50,000 towns and villages with no basic communications services,” explained Maravedis’ Russian and Ukraine Senior Analyst, Artur Mironenko. “And, as the economy keeps improving, not only do customers want high-speed connections, but in many areas they now have the household budgets to pay for high-speed Internet access.”

“Several wireless Internet service providers, such as Art Com, Enforta and Tascom, have already launched service in Russia and are enjoying early successes and heavy demand from consumers and businesses,” said Adlane Fellah, senior analyst with Maravedis Research. “Our forecast for Russian broadband wireless access shows the vast potential for this marketplace and provides an analysis of existing wireless operators.”

Maravedis predicts a consolidation among the current 200 BWA service providers active in the country. In fact, the authors interviewed and profiled the Top 10 service providers in Russia and concluded that the most active players will be cash-rich companies hat belong to one of three major holdings in Russia, namely Alfa, Sistema and Telekom Invest, which control both fixed and mobile service providers. Others such as Enforta also benefit from a sound investment capacity. Vendors and financiers need to be aware of “noise makers” who put press releases with ambitious plans but after analysis appear as just “smoke and mirrors.”

“The most promising regions (oblasts) for the development of BWA/WiMAX networks are Moscow city, St. Petersburg, Samara oblast, Sverdlovsk oblast, Rostov oblast, Tatarstan republic, Krasnodar krai, Tyumen  oblast, Chelyabinsk oblast and Bashkortostan republic. The Central region will concentrate one-third of total subscribers,” added Mironenko.

“However, shortage of spectrum and very stringent regulation for equipment and licensing are serious obstacles for massive adoption of broadband wireless and WiMAX in Russia. For WiMAX to prosper in Russia, frequency bands in the 2 GHz range (2.3-2.4 and/or 2.5-2.7 GHz) must be made available to commercial operators. That will require current analog broadcasters to digitize their networks, which will take a long time,” Mironenko continued.

Maravedis’ latest research also reveals that Russia remains a price sensitive market. Demand for broadband services is exploding, but both service providers and residential end-users demand low cost CPE (in the $100 range) before they will fully adopt WiMAX. So far, the demand for broadband wireless services has been mainly driven by high-end corporate and residential as well as government users.

Russian Federation Broadband and WiMAX Market Analysis and Forecasts 2006-2010 is a must read for companies wanting to enter the Russian marketplace and provides a good roadmap that will help various players maneuver around obstacles and find the real opportunities to make money in this region.  A free copy of the table of contents can be downloaded at:   www.maravedis-bwa.com

Maravedis BWA/WiMAX Research Reports and License Database Updates:
Maravedis produces a wide variety of broadband wireless research reports.  The company also maintains a worldwide database of license holders, government regulations and spectrum band plans. For information on how to purchase reports or subscribe to the ClearSpectrum License Database, please visit:  http://www.maravedis-bwa.com/how-to-order.asp

TAB
Research Report/Databases Country Release Date

ClearSpectrum List of BWA/WiMAX License Holders

Worldwidea

January 2005

BWA/WiMAX Worldwide Market Analysis & Forecast 

Worldwide

March 2005

North America 700 MHz Regulatory & Market Analysis

USA, Canada

October 2005

BRS, EBS and WCS Regulatory & Licensing Analysis

USA

December 2005

BWA/WiMAX Brazil Market Analysis & Forecast

Brazil

April 2006

BWA/WiMAX Russia Market Analysis & Forecast

Russian Federation

May 2006

BWA/WiMAX Worldwide Market Analysis & Forecast

Kenya

June 2006

BWA/WiMAX India Market Analysis & Forecast

India

July 2006

BWA/WiMAX China Market Analysis & Forecast

China 

TBD

                                       

ABOUT MARAVEDIS

Maravedis is a leading research and analysis firm focusing on Broadband Wireless technologies including WiMAX, 802.20, TD-CDMA and Wireless Local Loop Systems. Maravedis has established itself over the years as the most credible and reliable resource for market intelligence in the broadband wireless industry. Maravedis works with equipment vendors, service providers, regulators and the investment community to produce a sound market analysis based on hard primary data and an in-depth understanding of technology, market and regulation trends.

For more information, please visit www.maravedis-bwa.com.

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Contact:

Adlane Fellah, Senior Analyst
Direct line: +1 (786) 347-5580
Cell: +1 (514) 823-4096
Email: afellah@maravedis-bwa.com

 

Robert Hoskins, Media Contact
Front Page PR for Maravedis
Office: (480) 218-4441
Email: rhoskins@frontpagepr.com
Web: www.frontpagepr.com













 
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