(Associated Press via NewsEdge) WiMAX has been added to a global standard for mobile devices, boosting its chances of becoming the preferred system for the next generation of high-speed wireless Internet access.
The decision by the UN telecommunications agency means that airwaves designated for other technologies in the standard known as IMT-2000 can now be used for networks based on WiMAX.
That's likely to spur development of the wireless technology, attract new investors and eventually drive down hardware costs, analysts said.
Early promoters of WiMAX, including Intel, Samsung, Motorola, and Nokia, stand to gain the most from the decision, said Dean Bubley of Disruptive Analysis, a British technology advisory firm.
Intel's investment arm poured more than $1 billion last year into building WiMAX networks around the world and other WiMAX-related investments.
Intel is rolling out chips next year for laptops, cell phones and mobile Internet devices that feature both WiMAX and Wi-Fi capabilities on the same piece of silicon. Integrating the two technologies extends the range and bandwidth available to those devices.
The standards agreement was reached in a meeting of the International Telecommunication Union, after the negotiators overcame the objections of a number of countries.
China, for one, opposed the move because it wants its own wireless broadband standard to be adopted globally. US officials had argued in favor of adopting WiMAX as an official IMT-2000 standard along with other high-speed mobile network technologies.
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