UKIntel and the government of Taiwan have signed an agreement aimed at speeding up the development of Wimax in Taiwan and ensuring better Wimax compatibility among gear developers.
According to a Computerworld HongKong report, the agreement will see the creation of a new company in Taiwan that will ensure interoperable Wimax gear from manufacturers.
Interoperability has been a major question for Wimax due to concerns that equipment vendors are creating products that may not work together.
Taiwan is already one of the world's largest makers of Wimax networking equipment, including base stations and PC cards.
Companies on the island shipped US$159 million worth of Wimax gear last year, up from just $22.6 million in 2006, according to the Market Intelligence Center, a publicly-funded researcher in Taiwan.
Much of the equipment went to vendors such as Motorola and Alcatel through contract manufacturing agreements, but some of it also came from Taiwanese companies.
Intel will also use its Wimax testing experience to help Taiwanese companies develop products that work with global Wimax networks.
Wimax wireless network equipment includes base stations, add-on Wimax-cards for laptop PCs and other products people need to access broadband wireless Internet signals. 'This cooperation shows the commitment between Intel and Taiwan to develop Wimax,' said Shih Yen-shiang, vice minister of economic affairs in Taiwan.
The company and government offices have not yet determined the size of the investment amount, the investment target nor the business model or operations of the business entity they plan to set up to boost Wimax.
These details are expected to be finalized by the end of this year, according to a joint statement.