WiMAX to be competitive with broadband internet solutions

Intel's CEO Crag Barrett said the wireless WiMAX technology will become competitive with other broadband internet solutions such as DSL and cable. WiMAX will allow wireless data transfer of 50 megabits to 100 megabits per second, significantly more than most solutions offered by phone and cable companies nowadays.

Intel, the world's largest chip maker, is pushing WiMAX, which would provide high speed data over areas as large as a small city, as a way to spread cheap yet ubiquitous wireless broadband access. Intel is hoping to replicate the success it had in popularizing the short-range wireless WiFi standard popular in airports and coffee shops.

The first commercial WiMAX trials should come early next year, with different variations of the technology for mobile users available for trails by early 2007. More details about WiMAX at Reuters