Dr. Paul E. Jacobs the chief executive officer of Qualcomm has taken a massive swipe at WiMAX claiming that the technology is not efficient, does not handle VoIP well and that there are several better alternatives.

Speaking at a Telstra investor briefing in Sydney Australia the comments do note bode well for Unwired or the Seven Network which recently invested in Unwired whose technology is based on WiMAX.

Dr Jacobs said ” WiMAX does not deliver for mobile devices and over the next few years we will see both phone manufacturers and networks move away from WiMAX technology”.

He added “WiMAX does not stack up as a platform and a lot of hype is being bantered around about by companies like Intel who have a vested interest in promoting WiMAX as a technology platform. With WiMAX there is a long list of tradeoffs such as connectivity to other networks, poor VoIP performance. The technology is not set up or structured for mobility. For carriers the technology is expensive to operate and when 4G is rolled out WiMAX problems will be further exacerbated even with the introduction of 16M technology”.

The WiMAX standard delivers broadband Internet access over a wireless connection. It’s a “last mile” solution for delivering broadband to the home, and for creating wireless “hot spots” in places like airports, college campuses, and small communities. Telstra which does not deliver a WiMAX network claims its new G Network is faster and more efficient.

Based on the IEEE 802.16 Air Interface Standard, WiMAX delivers a point-to-multipoint architecture; the technology is being used by Unwired to deliver broadband to locations where wired connections would be difficult or costly. However the problem for Unwired is that its WiMAX technology is limited to only a small footprint in New South Wales.