LAS VEGAS--Have reports of the death of Fixed WiMAX been greatly exaggerated? Visiting the Broadband Wireless World conference here this week would lead one to believe that's the case.

Beginning almost a year ago and continuing through such events as the ratification of the IEEE 802.16e standard (the basis for Mobile WiMAX), the delayed and quietly received announcement of the first-wave certification of Fixed WiMAX products and other broadband wireless sector gatherings earlier this year that seemed to focus largely on Mobile WiMAX, the undercurrent of the resurgent sector has been that the 802.16d standard for Fixed WiMAX is nice, but 802.16e is far better and worth waiting for if you haven't yet invested in Fixed WiMAX.

But, either that attitude changed overnight, or Fixed WiMAX's proponents decided that enough was enough. "One of our bets is that whatever happens, Fixed WiMAX will remain a big part of the overall broadband wireless equation," said Robert Fitzgerald, CEO of Proxim Wireless, in his keynote speech at the Broadband Wireless World conference. Fitzgerald pointed to backhaul as a huge Fixed WiMAX market opportunity that will continue to grow, regardless of what kind of broadband access methods dominate.

That tune also was sung by service providers such as Covad Communications, and vendors like Aperto Networks and TeleCIS Wireless. "We've maintained that the Fixed WiMAX market is a huge market," said Manish Gupta, vice president of marketing and alliances at Aperto, which already has landed several Fixed WiMAX contracts around the world. Regarding the market for Mobile WiMAX with full mobility, Gupta said, "3G is already here. Mobile WiMAX will offer high-speed data and mobility, but what applications will require 5 mb/s downstream while traveling at 70 miles per hour? What is the killer app for that? I don't think anyone knows yet."

Gupta said Aperto will eventually produce a Mobile WiMAX system because the link budget and other benefits of Mobile WiMAX are hard to dispute. However, for companies like Aperto and TeleCIS, there's more viability in an interim "fixed/portable" market--essentially Fixed WiMAX products that take advantage of the portable-scale chips, CPE and capabilities.

"From a global perspective, we think the fixed-portable approach makes a lot of sense," Gupta said.

TeleCIS just announced a fixed-portable chip about the size of a dime that will easily make the connectivity budget of laptop manufacturers. "There was this belief that you needed something based on 802.16e for WiMAX to get into laptops," said Dave Sumi, vice president of marketing at TeleCIS. "That's just not true."