I still have a Samsung modem lying around in my drawer, which I was able to use only for 1 year, and then the providers of all owners of such modems simply threw ...

I was a proponent of WiMAX because ironically, it did 'cellular' far better than LTE did. Because it was based on WiFi, the nodes were inexpensive and could be meshed, so you could stick one on lampposts to extend the range or increase the bandwidth.

The irony is that to get bandwidth up and handle deadspots, most cellcos are building a network of WiFi access points and introducing WiFi Calling... which is WiMAX.

Interesting

Wimax had far less royalties and more open, but much of LTE patents were owned by the carriers so they enforced LTE so they can get money from all the manufacturers. This is why when a device has LTE its price spikes compared to the wifi version