- The Industrial Development Bureau under Taiwan's Ministry of Economic Affairs announced the first batch of data communications equipment providers having passed the certification for WiMAX network interconnectivity and interoperability, Economic Daily News of Taiwan reported on January 16. A total of six providers, including D-Link, Tecom, APAQ Technology, Quanta Microsystems, NEC, and Alcatel-Lucent, were certified as eligible equipment providers for the M-Taiwan program. Since companies subsidized by the M-Taiwan program are required to make 20% of their overall equipment procurement from the eligible providers, related business opportunities are projected to amount to roughly NT$2.0 billion (US$59.90 million; US$1=NT$33.39). Results of the second-round certification are slated for announcement after February.

- In related Taiwan WiMAX news, the CMB (Consortium of Mobile Broadband) and other WiMAX licensees established a joint WiMAX billing center on January 12, according to reports by Radio Taiwan International and Nownews. With the exception of Far EasTone Communications, the five other WiMAX licensees of Taiwan - including Global Mobile, Vee Telecom Multimedia, Tatung InfoComm, Vmax Telecom, and Fitel - have participated in the initiative. It is projected that the establishment of this billing center will not only facilitate the allotment of payments among the carriers but also accelerate the commercial operations of WiMAX services in Taiwan.

- Leveraging Fujitsu Reference Design Flow 3.0 and US Cadence Design Systems' CPF (Common Power Format)-supportive IC design EDA (Electronic Design Automation) tools, Tokyo-headquartered Fujitsu Microelectronics has taped out the design of a 65nm WiMAX chip for use in mobile devices, according to Nikkei reports. By means of said technologies, Fujitsu's 65nm WiMAX chip design is reportedly able to reduce the leakage power by 88% and the overall power consumption by 36%.

- China's ZTE has developed a WiMAX mobile video surveillance device, codenamed Mi100, Nikkei reported on January 13. By means of 802.16e mobile WiMAX chipset, the Mi100 boasts automatic access to the WiMAX network and mobile remote surveillance at a maximum speed of 100km per hour. Moreover, the Mi100 comes in a compact footprint of 115x62x50mm and facilitates easy installation.

- Japan's NEC and California-based ArrayComm recently announced collaboration on a range of new WiMAX products leveraging A-MAS (ArrayComm Multi-Antenna Signal Processing Software), according to a January 16 Cellular-News report. A-MAS incorporates MIMO (Multiple Input Multiple Output) and adaptive interference cancellation, which is believed to boost the range, capacity, and throughput performance of WiMAX. PHY (Physical Layer) software with integrated A-MAS will feature significantly in the two companies' jointly developed base stations, slated for shipment starting from mid-2009.