Intel Capital Invests $43 Million In Japanese WiMax

Intel's capital investment arm on Monday said it will inject $43 million into UQ Communications, a Japanese company working on WiMax mobile services.

UQ estimates its service will be available to more than 90% of the Japanese population by the end of 2012.

UQ Communications recently launched trial service of its UQ WiMax in Tokyo's 23 wards, Yokohama and Kawasaki, and Tokyo International Airport. UQ Communications said it will formally launch UQ WiMax service on July 1.

"Intel Capital's investment in UQ Communications is one of our most significant commitments in developing the WiMax ecosystem around the globe," said Arvind Sodhani, president of Intel Capital and Intel executive VP. "UQ's WiMax deployment in Japan is a spectacular example of technology innovation being put to work."

In addition to the funding, Intel said it will work with UQ on expanding their collaboration to work with PC vendors and mobile virtual network operators. The goal is to deliver a range of initiatives and promotional activities driving the adoption of WiMax technology and creating greater awareness for the global WiMax ecosystem.

Intel has played a large role in the expansion of the WiMax global standard. The company has worked closely with computing and communications manufacturers to embed WiMax-enabled chipsets in devices, and has made significant capital investments worldwide to help service providers build and deploy networks as well as address spectrum and regulatory needs. To date, nearly 460 WiMax networks have been deployed in 135 countries.

Can WiMax go the distance against other next-generation wireless standards like LTE? InformationWeek has published an independent analysis of this topic. Download the report here (registration required).