WiMAX appears poised to battle DSL and cable for broadband supremacy, according to a new study released by analyst firm In-Stat.

In a report titled “Voice over WiMAX: The Key to Wireless Broadband Profitability?” In-Stat analyst Keith Nissen says that low network investment costs and non-line-of-sight operation across both licensed and non-licensed radio spectrum make the wireless broadband technology appealing to service providers. In-Stat projects that by 2009, about 3% of the world’s broadband consumers--roughly 8.5 million users in all--will subscribe to WiMAX-based broadband services; among them, 4.5 million will additionally use voice over WiMAX services. But Nissen warns that expectations must remain realistic.

“Consumer broadband markets cannot support an unlimited number of broadband wireless access service providers,” Nissen said. “Increased broadband competition, price compression and high subscriber acquisition costs threaten to drive margins ever lower.”

Supporting point to multi-point (PMP) broadband wireless access rates up to 2+ Mb/s and delivering coverage over areas of at least three to five miles, WiMAX will be especially attractive in emerging markets hampered by outdated technology and limited network capacity. Conversely, In-Stat anticipates that WiMAX market share in metropolitan areas will max out at about 15%.