All this matters, in part, because chip and device manufacturers need some assurance that people want to use WiMax before they put it in their products -- while, in turn, being able to buy WiMax-capable portable devices at major electronics stores should drive up demand for the networks.

But the game is far from over, according to Fellah. The votes on WiMax versus LTE aren't in yet from many cellular operators in developing countries, which could make up a big part of the global market, he said. Carriers considering LTE are worried about technological delays, interoperability among vendors and spectrum availability, the survey showed.

And as 3G data traffic in richer countries explodes, even over the next few months, carriers may need an alternative way to carry users' data traffic while the 3G networks continue to carry voice and bits, Fellah said. There are much larger spectrum bands available for WiMax than for 3G in most countries, and spectrum for LTE won't even be allocated until 2011 in some areas, such as Europe, he said.