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China has been widely regarded as a closed door to Mobile WiMAX, given the country's deep investment into LTE, but the technology is to find a role supporting television and video services. After months of speculation, the Chinese agency SARFT (State Administration of Radio, Film and Television) is working with the Ministry of Industry and IT to build a number of trial networks in August.

According to Chinese news agency Interfax, this will be the prelude to an RMB100bn ($14.5bn) build-out of WiMAX networks in 30 cities. These will be run in parallel to the three large cellcos' expansion of 3G and, after 2010, LTE systems to support mobile internet. The main focus of the urban WiMAX systems will be twofold - affordable internet access for densely populated urban areas, supplementing 3G and wireline capacity; and creation of triple play services over wireless links, combining fixed and hotspot access with VoIP, TV and video-on-demand.

There is confusion about which spectrum will be used, with some reports expecting SARFT to set aside the 700MHz band, as in other parts of the world, for urban wireless - though this is better suited for large cells and rural services than for densely populated regions. If 700MHz is the chosen band, there could be an opportunity for those WiMAX vendors that have specialized in running 802.16 in this frequency (not an official WiMAX Forum profile), such as SOMA Networks, though local suppliers Huawei and ZTE might be expected to b the lead vendors.

Three operators within China's tangled web of local carriers, most of them affiliated to the big three, are working on the initial trials, with unspecified equipment suppliers. The regional providers are Xiamen Mobile, working with China Mobile, plus local carriers in Najing and Hangzhou.

Earlier this year, Barry West, who heads up Clearwire's international interests, argued that China was not closed to WiMAX. "They are pragmatists. When they see what is coming out of Taiwan and that it is available now, they will want a piece of that," he said. Clearwire itself is making progress on its home turf, with two of its three cableco investors, plus Sprint Nextel, launching the mobile broadband services that they will run on the Clear network. Time Warner Cable plans to go live with WiMAX in four markets this year, starting in the fall with Dallas and Charlotte, North Carolina. And Comcast is now offering wireless/cable bundles in Atlanta and is likely to extend these to all the markets within its footprint where Clearwire turns networks on this year.

Also in WiMAX, Alvarion reported better than expected second quarter results as a recent spate of large WiMAX deals starts to impact performance, while 802.16, its main growth area, takes a larger proportion of the business. However, the Israeli firm now faces a period of uncertainty following the resignation of its CEO Tzvika Friedman.

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