RFSTUF

WiMAX Advocates Becoming More Public In 700 MHz Interest

WiMAX proponents are becoming more public in the potential for using the technology in spectrum to be auctioned off in the 700 MHz bands.  EE Times reported increased interest in the band, quoting Sriram Viswanathan, a vice president of Intel Capital who runs Intel’s overall WiMAX program and helped lobby the FCC about its 700 MHz ruling last week.  In the end, carriers who win the spectrum will choose a technology based on the lowest dollar per bit per Hertz.   “WiMAX is built on a fairly broadly held patent portfolio,” Viswanathan said.  WiMAX does not have a defined profile for 700 MHz yet, but Intel and others said that work will get done.  The article continued:  “All the current WiMAX chip providers will be in the [700 MHz] market, and those who don't have the luxury of their own RF transceivers will like join with companies that do have the RF, like Freescale, TI and Maxim,” said Will Strauss, principal of market watcher Forward Concepts.