The production of Intel's second-generation WiMAX chips, Rosedale 2 and its WiFi/WiMAX dual mode chip (Ofer-R), will start by the end of this year.
Intel has begun delivering samples of the Rosedale 2, which supports the 802.16e-2005 mobile WiMAX standard, to clients, the sources said, noting that the Rosedale 2 will initially be for use in notebooks and mini computers before being shifted to other consumer goods such as handheld devices in 2008.
However, due to an insufficient WiMAX infrastructure and the high cost of WiMAX devices, a WiMAX capability will remain only an option for Intel's next-generation integrated wireless platform, Santa Rosa, which is expected to arrive in March 2007, the sources noted. An earlier report indicated that Santa Rosa will support the 802.11n multi-input multi-output (MIMO) WiFi standard.
