Mobile WiMax to Nudge its Way through LTE?

Although mobile WiMax a.k.a. WiBro in Korea has achieved disappointing results in the nation, the service recently was brought to spotlight after Sprint, a U.S mobile operator, launched an official mobile WiMax service.
 
If the Sprint service becomes successful, mobile WiMax might strengthen its position as one of the strongest candidates for 4G standard. Whether Sprint will succeed or not would have a determinative impact on the final decisions of several countries which had considered adopting the standard.
 
Currently, major mobile operators in Europe, the U.S., China and Japan expressed their support for LTE and are working on related technologies. The biggest problem is that the service is expected to be available in 2010 at the earliest and in 2012 in Europe. 
 
NTT DoCoMo is now at the forefront of developing commercial LTE service. It recently succeeded in demonstrating the most alike LTE service. DoCoMo set a goal to complete technology development by the next year and launch an official service in 2010. Verizon of the U.S. also plans the service in 2010. Against this backdrop, mobile WiMax still has two years to predominate the market. In addition, it might be especially attractive to countries with less communication infrastructure.
 
Still, it is unlikely that mobile WiMax would win over LTE which has support from the U.S., China, Japan, and Korea. Mobile WiMax can only depend on niche market. But the question is that the niche can be wider than expected and how wider it will be.