Intel, co creator of WiMAX, and the biggest supporter of the technology, needs to wake up and smell the coffee. No one wants their technology, and networks are going with LTE for their mobile broadband needs. Does Intel know this, and are they giving up on the technology? According to Digitimes the chip giant is closing their WiMAX office. Their main role was to promote WiMAX, the standard, and WiMAX devices.
When asked about the closure Intel replied:
“Intel continues to be one of the biggest supporters of WiMAX. WiMAX is our preferred 4G technology for delivering high-speed wireless broadband for data devices, and this organizational change in no way impacts our commitment to WiMAX. We are excited for the growth ahead with WiMAX in 2010 and 2011 where millions of WiMAX devices will make their way into the hands of end users.”
Which is a highly polished public relations statement, and we know that those don’t really mean much since a company can decide to change their mind without giving any notice.
I’ve long been kicking sand in the face of WiMAX, and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future, so this news actually kind of makes me happy.