A group of WiMAX supporters, including Intel,
Alvarion, Beceem, GCT Semiconductor, Motorola, Samsung, Sequans, XRONet, and
ZTE, have announced their commitment to the development of WiMAX 2 technology,
the next-generation version of the current WiMAX technology, according to an
April 12 PC World report. Said companies have formed a new group named WiMAX 2
Collaboration Initiative, which will cooperate with the WiMAX Forum and will be
dedicated to accelerating the development of WiMAX 2 standards and devices.
WiMAX 2, based on the IEEE (Institute of
Electrical and Electronics Engineers) 802.16m standard, is projected to feature
300Mb throughput as well as less latency and more bandwidth for applications
such as VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) calls. The WiMAX 2 Collaboration
Initiative expects to release a detailed development timetable in three to six
months. Certification of the first commercial products is slated for mid-2011.