Intel goes big on wireless broadband

The first wireless broadband services will be rolled out in 2005, bringing access speeds fast enough for streaming video, according to Intel.

Speaking at the Intel Developer Forum in San Francisco Sean Maloney, executive vice president and general manager for the Intel Communications Group, outlined the roadmap for wireless broadband development over the coming years and why his company supports it so strongly.

The WiMax, or 802.16, standard should be ratified this year, allowing broadband services to be broadcast for up to 30 miles using the radio spectrum.

"The first rush to get on the internet was a huge wave which drove demand for semiconductors," said Maloney.

"Intel is going foot-to-the-floor on WiMax. Without the fibre and copper runs going into houses [to drive broadband adoption] the semiconductor industry will be choked.

"WiMax has the potential to reach millions who are too remote for DSL services."

The specification allows a theoretical maximum 28Mbps, but Maloney suggested that most companies were expected to fix at around 10Mbps.

He expected WiMax services to start in the first half of 2005, accessed by an antenna on the outside of a building.

By the second half of the year, equipment would be available to allow consumers to get WiMax with internal aerials, and mobile users would be able to access services by 2006.

Most existing DSL providers would offer WiMax as an option, according to Maloney, since the margins are high as the cost of installation is a fraction of that of laying copper or fibre.

Once equipment was available he predicted that growth rates would match that of Wi-Fi since 1999.