Taiwan's CNA (Central News Agency) reported on
July 20 that Intel is expected to remain committed to the cause of WiMAX,
quoting Hsieh Ching-tarng, head of the WiMAX Forum Taiwan Office. The CNA
reported that Hsieh met with senior Intel executives during his recent visit to
Intel's US headquarters in Santa Clara and took this opportunity to address the
communication issues between Intel and Taiwan's WiMAX sector. News regarding
the closure of Intel's WiMAX Program Office in Taiwan emerged in late June,
causing the Taiwanese WiMAX supporters to speculate that Intel might be seeking
way out of the joint effort between the two sides on WiMAX development.
Both the Taiwanese government and WiMAX carriers
projected that Intel's decision to close the WiMAX Program Office will only
have limited impact on the continuous development of WiMAX, as Intel only
accounts for a relatively minor share in the global WiMAX chip market. Intel, meanwhile,
defended its decision in early July by stating that the WiMAX Program Office
only served a temporary purpose and had fulfilled the duty of launching WiMAX
into the market, according to the CNA report.