Motorola, Intel Jointly Promote WiMAX

Efforts to move the WiMAX wide area wireless technology forward received a shot in the arm Thursday when Intel and Motorola announced they will collaborate to promote the spread of the emerging technology.

The technology industry titans said their joint effort will be based on the proposed IEEE 802.11e standard, which addresses both the fixed and wireless broadband applications.

“We believe 802.16e is going to be the way to go for both fixed and nomadic applications,” said Dan Coombes, chief technology officer of Motorola Networks, in a statement. “With its robust specifications and ability to support high-value services like voice over IP and mobility, 802.11e is an ideal choice for many applications.”

The two firms said they will work within the WiMAX Forum on network and device interoperability. Widespread deployment of WiMAX technology has been slow so far, although numerous pre-WiMAX applications are being rolled out.