Wimax firms team up on 4G

A NUMBER OF VENDORS have clubbed together to boost interoperability with Wimax 2, which is based on IEEE standard 802.16m.

Together they hope to make it easier for firms offering Wimax services to keep up demand for feature-rich multimedia applications on high speed networks. Wimax 2, they said, meets the ITU requirements for 4G services and allows for peak rates of more than 300 Mbps.

Wimax vendors including Alvarion, Beceem, GCT Semiconductor, Intel, Motorola, Samsung, Sequans, XRONet and ZTE today launched the Wimax 2 Collaboration Initiative (WCI), and as a group will work with the Wimax forum to accelerate adoption and implementation of Wimax 2 kit.

"Intel is pleased to see strong ecosystem support emerging to accelerate Wimax 2 capabilities," said Pouya Taaghol, chief technology officer at Intel's Mobile Wireless Group. "Intel has been a leader in driving the IEEE 802.16m standard and will work closely with this group and the Wimax Forum to ensure Wimax 2 meets the needs of operators facing explosive demand for mobile data and services."

The WCI will work to increase collaboration and performance benchmarking, testing of 4G applications, interoperability testing, and services to help developers prepare for Wimax forum certification.