An analysis of interdependencies in mobile communications technology: The case of WiMAX and the development of a market assessment model

This study explores how the consequences of interdependency in the mobile communications ecosystem affect the deployment of a technology. Eight perspectives are proposed to represent key stakeholders in the mobile communications ecosystem, including industry standards, ecosystem leaders, market demand, product and service substitutes, the business and operations model, government policy and regulation, investors, and “complementors”. This assessment model was applied to mobile Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX), one of the prospective 4G technologies. The results show that the critical weakness of the WiMAX ecosystem is the lack of legacy operators’ support which significantly affects all the stakeholders.

► The proposed model assesses WiMAX, one of 4G wireless technologies.
► The model has eight perspectives to represent key stakeholders in mobile communications ecosystem.
► The critical weakness of WiMAX ecosystem is the lack of legacy operators’ support.
► Results indicate its future applications will be limited because of popularity of LTE.
► Legacy operators are particularly important in technology innovation among various stakeholders.