WiMax Ready for Global Rollout

WiMax, a technology that promises to deliver true broadband speeds to wireless devices, has been approved as a global third-generation communications standard, according to officials at the UN telecom agency.

This decision means that companies holding so-called '3G' licenses for mobile telecommunications can choose to use their franchise to provide WiMax services to customers in place of slower technologies such as UMTS or EDGE.

The agreement was reached in a meeting of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) late Thursday, after the negotiators overcame objections from a number of countries – such as China – regarding the inclusion of WiMax in the IMT-2000 standard for advanced mobile technologies.

US officials had argued in favor of adopting WiMax as an official IMT-2000 standard alongside other high-speed mobile network technologies.

"We strongly believe in an approach that includes as many technologies as possible, within the appropriate technical parameters, because diversity will lead to greater competition, lower prices, and more benefits to consumers," said Richard M. Russell, who led the US delegation at the meeting.

WiMax – short for Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access – is capable of delivering wireless broadband connections at speeds of 70 Mbps or more across an area of up to 40 miles. This is higher than many fixed-line broadband connections today, which typically offer speeds of around 2 Mbps.

Analysts say the decision to adopt WiMax as a global standard for 3G communications is likely to spur development of the technology, attract investors and eventually drive down hardware costs.

Rural communities where laying fixed-line broadband connections is regarded as too costly will be among those that benefit most from the high-speed Internet access offered by WiMax.

Read more at the WiMax Forum.