WiMAX or LTE: Which Technology to Adopt? A Comprehensive Comparative Study

The industry landscape in telecommunications is changing rapidly at the moment. Services are increasingly shifting from voice to data and from circuit-switched to packet-switched ones. LTE and WiMAX are the two technologies poised to dominate next generation mobile networks. Battle between LTE & WiMAX technologies is already heating up with WiMAX being ahead due to availability of standards through IEEE 802.16 and is up and running but lacks in substantial roll out plans due to cost. On the contrary, LTE upgrades from 3G networks are rumored to be as simple as slotting in a new card in the rack. Researchers and business community is divided over the choice of LTE and WiMAX. Few researchers feel that 3G LTE can bring substantial technologies and economical benefits to operators deploying mobile networks beyond 3G. This paper presents a comprehensive comparative study to help arrive at the choice between LTE and WiMAX.