4G race is more complex than many realize

Though a Nokia executive recently hinted that WiMAX is bound for the scrap-heap of history, the reality is much more complicated, according to Maravedis analyst Robert Syputa. What is done with the network, he contends, "is becoming more important to the end customer than the technology that runs it," meaning that "a shift in openness is needed, and will increasingly be demanded." Syputa contends that WiMAX has acted as a "Trojan horse" for the wireless industry by opening up a market that has traditionally hidden behind a walled garden of exclusivity.