In Europe, the investment in 3G spectrum was enourmous. The investment in infrastructure has been huge. WiMAX might be more technically attuned to what mobile data users want, but will the incumbent carriers abandon nearly 10 years of work just because fixed/mobile microwave access has suddenly decided to ratify a standard(s) with the IEEE? 802.16-2004 and 802.16e are merely a standardisation of microwave access technologies which have been about for many years, they don’t IMHO represent s msjor threat to the holders of the spectrum licenses – i.e France Telecom, Vodafone, T-Mobile and the other major mobile operators in Europe. I believe Nokia and FT also managed to successfully block plans for an EU wide harmonisation of WiMAX spectrum (which would have made life much easier for prospective WiMAX operators). I am hedging my bets on 3G and its cellular successors. WiMAX was all about hype and cheap chips, with little thought for who would deploy it in a world dominated by cellular vested interests.