WiMAX equipment and device revenue saw a moderate decline worldwide in the first quarter of 2010, down 2% to $303 million, according to Infonetics Research report.

WiMAX equipment and device revenue saw a moderate decline worldwide in the first quarter of 2010, down 2% to $303 million, according to Infonetics Research report.

However Infonetics Research says that the decline is attributed to a seasonally slower first quarter.

“The recent defection from WiMAX to LTE by Russian operator Yota is undoubtedly a blow, but this is currently just one WiMAX operator out of nearly six hundred, so it is not yet certain whether this is the thin end of a wedge for WiMAX,” says Richard Webb, Infonetics Research’s principal directing analyst for WiMAX.

The US, EMEA, and Asia Pacific are the hotbeds of WiMAX activity, and Russia, the Middle East, Africa, Japan, Pakistan, and India are the engines of growth in their respective regions, highlights report.

Further Motorola increased its revenue share lead in the combined worldwide WiMAX equipment and device market in 1Q10.

Report does indicate that major mobile operators with WiMAX likely will still migrate to LTE as their 4G solution, even though having an “offload” network based on either WiMAX or WiFi is becoming an increasingly valuable auxiliary component of long-term mobile broadband offerings.

US WiMAX provider Sprint & Clearwire already have shown interest in LTE as next migration path.