Hi Thread, Good article: INTEL'S WIDESPREAD WIRELESS VISION
By Jon Fortt
Mercury News
If we could get high-speed Internet access everywhere -- not just at home and at Starbucks -- would we use a lot more computers?
...
Maloney has said Intel will begin delivering WiMax-friendly chips -- to be built into the expensive equipment used by telecommunications companies and upstart community groups -- before the end of the year. Competitors Fujitsu Microelectronics and Wavesat also are working on WiMax-compatible chips.
...
often with a range as far as 30 miles. Download speeds can be very fast -- as fast as the T1 and T3 lines popular among businesses.
A growing number of technology companies in Silicon Valley, led by Intel, are hoping the WiMax standard will enjoy the same popularity as WiFi, the wireless technology available at Starbucks locations that has been popularized by brands such as Netgear and Linksys.
..
Eventually -- maybe three to five years down the line, say some WiMax experts -- there might be cards for laptops and other devices to pick up the signal directly.
...
And then there are places farther afield, such as China, where many people don't have telephone lines and fixed wireless is bringing voice communication for the first time.
``It's particularly interesting in the developing nations where people don't even have dial tone,'' said Kevin Duffy, vice president of product management at Proxim, a Sunnyvale company that makes fixed-wireless equipment and is committed to WiMax. Along with Intel and others, Proxim is a member of the WiMax Forum, a group of about 70 companies that are working to shape the technology standard.
...
He said Alvarion looks forward to the coming months, when it will begin using Intel WiMax chips in its gear instead of its own design. ``The hope is, and the plan is, instead of a $300 million market it's a $3 billion market.''
mercurynews.com
----------
Regards,
Amy J |
