Going WiMAX

BusinessWeek has released an excellent article chronicling the history of WiMAX and the corporate forces that have pushed the technology to the position it is in today. According to the article, Intel’s Executive-VP, Sean Maloney, was looking for an alternative to installing fiber optic cabaling. Cumbersome and expensive, installing fiber optic cabaling would mean ripping up sidewalks and repaving roads; a task Maloney was desperate to avoid. Then came the call for a cheaper, faster and ultimately savvier wireless alternative: WiMAX.

After intense negotiations and a lot of research (Mahoney looked especially hard at a failed technology attempted by AT&T that was rather similar to WiMAX called Project Angel ), everything started to come together. Business-wise the timing was just right. As the article brings out:

Intel was looking for something that would prompt consumers to buy new computers running its chips. Sprint needed an edge to set it apart from larger rivals Verizon and AT&T. Mobile handset maker Nokia wanted to expand into providing communications services. And Samsung Group wanted to get into the networking equipment business.

The way everything seems to have fallen together for WiMAX deployment is exciting both from a business perspective and from a technological perspective. What remains to be seen is whether these corporation’s aligning visions will in fact translate over into a technological reality.

Technorati Tags: WiMAX, Intel, Sean Maloney, WiMAX history, Business and Technology

Ari Zoldan
Launch 3 Communications