Who are these elusive 'people in the wild?' I'm pretty sure they're nowhere near me, very likely nobody that I really know very well either. I know many people with other devices and services despite living in Springfield, MA. Springfield. blah A technical success isn't much of a success at all if it never gets rolled out enough to be used by enough customers to maintain a business and support that technical success (beta vs VHS, for example).
Many companies are closely examining WiMAX for last mile connectivity. The resulting competition may bring lower pricing for both home and business customers or bring broadband access to places where it has been economically unavailable. WiMAX access was used to assist with communications in Aceh, Indonesia, after the tsunami in December 2004. All communication infrastructure in the area, other than amateur radio, was destroyed, making the survivors unable to communicate with people outside the disaster area and vice versa. WiMAX provided broadband access that helped regenerate communication to and from Aceh. In addition, WiMAX was used by Intel Corporation to assist the FCC and FEMA in their communications efforts in the areas affected by Hurricane Katrina.[3]