Zander Gets WiMaxcited
09.06.06
NEW YORK -- Ed Zander, the sparky CEO of Motorola Inc. (NYSE: MOT - message board), just can't get excited enough about WiMax -- or intellectual property, for that matter.
Speaking here at the Citigroup technology conference, the Moto boss -- invigorated by many recent trips abroad during which, he said, he witnessed an "explosion" of mobile devices in the emerging markets -- said his company is gearing up for an all-out blitz on broadband access technology that includes infrastructure, intellectual property, and devices.
He sees the WiMax standard as one of the biggest opportunities in years: "It reminds me of 1993 when we were talking about the Internet."
Motorola is a significant investor in WiMax, with its largest project being a partnership with Intel Corp. (Nasdaq: INTC - message board) and Sprint Wireless (NYSE: PCS - message board) to roll out a nationwide WiMax network in the U.S., for which Motorola will be developing handset products. It also has the "MotoWi4" portfolio of WiMax technologies that includes the Canopy wireless technology for unlicensed spectrum. (See WiMax Ramps Up.)
Zander said the open-standards approach of WiMax will make it a natural success for mobile broadband access, whereas 3G technologies have become too expensive. The 3G market has been fragmented by battles between the GSM and CDMA camps, with CDMA still dominated by Qualcomm Inc. (Nasdaq: QCOM - message board) and its patents on the technology.
That it's an Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc. (IEEE) standard is "the best thing about WiMax," Zander said. "There are multiple chip implementations based on open standards. The role of innovation -- that's what open systems do for you."
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