India is absolutely critical to the fortunes of WiMAX, and the level of uptake in the huge nation will help decide how prominent a position 802.16e takes in the overall wireless landscape in the next decade. There are many reasons for WiMAX supporters to be hopeful, but every time it appears that the technology may a major green light this year, the political disputes with which the Indian telecoms market is plagued throw another roadblock in the way. So last week, regulator TRAI clashed once again with the Department of Telecom (DoT), threatening the plan to auction mobile broadband licenses in 2.3-2.7GHz this year alongside 3G rights - a dual-layer plan that could help underpin a wireless revolution for India, with operators able to roll out 3G and 4G services according to need, and with WiMAX likely to play a major role.

Despite the frustration of delays - which, if prolonged, threaten to allow LTE into the market - India remains WiMAX' biggest single hope for revenue and global influence. Most of the major operators and many small ones are already building out 802.16e in 3.3GHz for wireless DSL,enterprise and nomadic data services, with Tata, BSNL and Bharti among the players. The leading cellcos are likely to snap up the 3G licenses and some of the mobile broadband franchises, but these will be fully technology neutral and Tata, Bharti and Reliance have all expressed interest in using WiMAX as their primary '4G' system. Research by Rethink into operator spending intentions for mobile broadband indicate that, after 2010 (assuming the auctions go ahead by the end of this year), India will show the highest annual growth in WiMAX investment of any country in 2010 and 2011, and at that point will be the leading nation in terms of WiMAX roll-out. On the subscriber side, another report, this one from Springboard Research, estimates that India will be the largest market in the Asia-Pacific region by 2012, accounting for over 35% of service revenues across the area, and boasting 15.8m subscribers.

Whether or not Clearwire turns into a major commercial success in the US, it has helped define the shape of the mobile internet, and shown the way for alternative operators to challenge the incumbents by offering open broadband services, not just directly but - more importantly to profitability - through wholesale and joint venture partners. Now the question is whether Clearwire can translate its founder Craig McCaw's disruptive vision beyond the US markets that he and his team understand so well. The operator owns spectrum, directly or via partnerships, in many parts of Europe and has alliances in Canada, parts of Latin America and Asia. It insists that these assets were not just acquired as investments and that the aim is to build out networks rather than sell on the licenses.

But this will require partnerships, since Clearwire lacks the spectrum coverage or the financing to do more, single-handed, than being a local provider in spot territories. While this is a reasonable business model for many small broadband wireless providers in underserved areas of Europe and elsewhere, it will not deliver the scalability and margins that will please the shareholders in the new Clearwire, which will result around year end from its merger with Sprint Xohm, with financing from Intel, Google and three US cablecos. So it is hardly surprising that Clearwire is already on the look-out for partners in Europe that could maximize the return on its investment in spectrum, accelerate roll-out and support a range of commercial mobile internet models and routes to market - just as the cablecos are doing for Clearwire in the US.