UN agency approves WiMAX as wireless standard

The agreement was reached in a meeting of the International Telecommunication Union on 19 October, after the negotiators overcame the objections of a number of countries to the inclusion of WiMax in the IMT-2000 standard for advanced mobile technologies.

China had been one of those opposing the move, lobbying instead for its own wireless broadband standard to be adopted globally. The country is seen as a key player in the emerging technology sector because of its vast consumer potential and growing economic power.

WiMax - Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access - is capable of delivering wireless broadband connections at speeds of 70 megabits a second across an area of up to 65 kilometres. Current fixed-line broadband connections have speeds of around two megabits a second.

The UN endorsement opens the way for many International Telecommunication Union member countries to devote a part of the public radio spectrum to WiMax, and receivers for it could be built into laptop computers, phones, music players and other portable devices.

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

The decision means that companies holding 3G licences for mobile telecommunications will be able to choose to use their franchise to provide WiMax services to customers in place of slower technologies such as UMTS or EDGE.

It is thought that early promoters of WiMax, including Intel, Samsung, Motorola, and Nokia, stand to gain the most from the decision.