Techno-economic study for a mobile WiMAX solution in an emerging market: A case study for Luanda

In recent years WiMAX has been presented by its promoters as a complete solution for the broadband access market. Since it is a wireless technology, it can easily serve the most remote and difficult areas. Even more important, the mobile version of WiMAX added the potential of sustainable growth and later adaptation of all its services to compete at the fixed and mobile markets. This paper attempts to analyze the relevance of WIMAX for emerging markets where the demand for broadband services is growing at a very fast pace, and wireline infrastructures either do not exist or are not in an appropriate state of conservation. To support the study, a techno-economic analysis was performed for the region of Luanda, Angola, taking into consideration geographic and demographic conditions, different service packages, tariffs, roll-out strategies, and sensitivity to adoption rates. The results show that WiMAX can be a feasible and profitable solution specially suited for emerging markets.