According to Broadband Wireless Exchange, research firm Maravedis today announced a new report entitled Russian Federation Broadband Wireless and WiMAX Market Analysis and Forecast 2006-2010.

"There is huge potential for broadband wireless internet and voice over IP services in Russia because there are still more than 40,000-50,000 towns and villages with no basic communications services," says Artur Mironenko, Maravedis' Russian and Ukraine Senior Analyst. "And, as the economy keeps improving, not only do customers want high-speed connections, but in many areas they now have the household budgets to pay for high-speed Internet access."

Still, there are some obstacles. "Shortage of spectrum and very stringent regulation for equipment and licensing are serious obstacles for massive adoption of broadband wireless and WiMAX in Russia," Mironenko says. "For WiMAX to prosper in Russia, frequency bands in the 2 GHz range (2.3-2.4 and/or 2.5-2.7 GHz) must be made available to commercial operators. That will require current analog broadcasters to digitalize their networks, which will take a long time."