[CWN-Summit] wimax digital divide champ?

[Stelios Valavanis]

WiMax (Worldwide Interoperability of Microwave Access), a standards-based
technology enabling the delivery of last mile wireless broadband access
over long distances, will be the best solution for bridging the digital
divide in India, said Patrick P Gelsinger, senior VP and chief technology
officer, Intel, in Bangalore on Tuesday.

Delivering the keynote address at the sixth Intel Developer Forum in India,
Gelsinger said: \u201cThe appeal to emerging markets is striking to say
the least. Imagine being able to put up an antenna and provide high-speed
Internet to thousands of customers who have little access to the Internet
or even wired phones today. That has great promise in countries like India
where the cost of wiring the countries would make broadband Internet
access far too expensive.\u201d

Today, last mile connections are made through cable, DSL (digital
subscriber line), fibre optic connections and even standard phone lines.
The ability to provide these connections wirelessly, without laying wire
or cable in the ground, greatly lowers the cost of these services and
WiMAX offers this specific solution.

Intel is working with the wireless industry to drive the deployment of
WiMAX networks and has also announced the first integrated
system-on-a-chip optimised for cost-effective customer premise equipment
design.

Said Gelsinger: \u201cWe had a series of meetings with government
officials in India for allocation of bandwidth for these services and the
response has been encouraging.\u201d

Intel sees WiMAX deploying in three phases: the first phase will provide
fixed wireless connections via outdoor antennas in the first half of 2005.
Outdoor fixed wireless can be used for high-throughput enterprise
connections, hotspot cellular network backhaul, and premium residential
services.

In the second half of 2005, WiMAX will be available for indoor
installation, with smaller antennas similar to a Wi-Fi access point today.

In this model, WiMAX will be available in consumer residential broadband
deployments, as these devices become \u201cuser installable.\u201d By
2006, the technology will be integrated into mobile computers to support
roaming between WiMAX service area.

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