While USA and European residents are sitting tight, waiting patiently (or not) for providers like Sprint/Clearwire to roll out their WiMAX services in our regions, other countries are already enjoying the benefits of the latest high-speed developments. India and Pakistan have been the "test markets" for quite some time now, but with the help of companies like Motorola WiMAX coverage is beginning to spread throughout Asia - and Australia!

The residents of South Australia's Yorke Peninsula have until now only had access to dial-up and a limited broadband network, but ISP Internode has created a WiMAX network in the region and is even offering the service for FREE to "eligible users" - not sure what qualifies a person/business as "eligbile," but being able to access a high-speed network free of charge is an amazing contribution to the peninsula by Internode.

Similar progress is being made in Asia, albeit not free of charge. Along with provider NEC, a small network of a Thailand hospital and two nearby clinics has been hooked up with WiMAX service. This is a huge boon to the medical industry, as it will allow the hospitals and their associated clinics to communicate wirelessly, participate in video teleconferences, and share important test results via high-speed broadband. Such a networking solution could really change the way their medical care is delivered and the efficiency with which patients can be treated.

Over in China, ZTE Corp, a telecom equipment and cell phone provider, has reached a deal with Columbia's Emcali service to begin building out a WiMAX network, and REDTone (a service provider) is hard at work in eastern Malaysia creating a WiMAX network using Motorola systems. The Malaysia contract marks Motorola's 21st contract in 17 countries, giving them a huge chunk of the market share. I'd expect to see a lot more of them, from installations to modems when the time comes.