MUMBAI: Last year was a good one for the development of WiMax in the Asia/Pacific region, as a solid foundation was laid by the joint efforts of market regulators, operators and eager equipment vendors, reports In-Stat .

From a lean base of 0.27 million in 2006, total WiMax subscribers in 16 Asia/Pacific countries are expected to reach 31.43 million by 2012, the high-tech market research firm says.

In-Stat analyst Victor Liu says, "In emerging countries where current household broadband penetration rates are extremely low, governments have quickly built a pro-WiMax regulatory framework. One temporary setback, though, was WiMax subscriber growth developing more slowly than expected in South Korea due to limited network coverage and lack of user devices."

Recent research by In-Stat found the following:

-- The Asia/Pacific WiMax market will grow to US$8 billion in 2012.

-- The South Korean version of mobile WiMax, Wibro services, was commercialized in June.

-- Carrier spending of WiMax and WiMax-backhauled WiFi network equipment will escalate from $394.9 million in 2006 to $2908.9 million in 2012.

The research WiMax in Asia/Pacific: A Well Laid Foundation for Prominent Future Growth covers the market for WiMax in Asia/Pacific nations. It provides subscriber, revenue and equipment forecasts for 16 countries in the region, including India, Australia, Bangladesh and China.