Intel sends its soldiers into the field: These advisers are advisers in the same sense that military advisers offer advice. They may not go into battle themselves, but they provide critical strategic advice to win the war. Intel plans to make another fortune from fixed and especially mobile WiMax, and they need to wrest the future of broadband wireless from the hands of cellular carriers into their own.
When I interviewed a senior Intel executive about Centrino back at its introduction in April 2003, he spoke about a near-term--certainly less than two year--development in which Centrino's Wi-Fi component would develop into a hybrid cellular data and Wi-Fi contraption that would allow seamless, ubiquitous roaming.
We now have domestic 3G networks that are approach big-city ubiquity--by the end of this year, or in early 2006, most cities will have one to three choices for high-speed mobile cellular data. Where's the cell card in Intel laptops? Obviously the cellular companies decided they wanted to own their own future, so Intel is taking it from them. If they can't put cell modems into laptops, they'll insert mobile WiMax, and, in the same sweep, produce revenue from base stations and customer equipment.
Mobile WiMax moves customers and dollars from expensive cellular networks to less expensive but more diverse and widespread--and possibly overlapping and competitive--networks operated by large and small firms alike. The diversity and extend of the deployment to come puts Intel into the supplier catbird seat. They are trying to become the dominant force in mobile WiMax.
Intel WiFi Centrino and WiMAX Mobile.
OH MY GOD! What are these Intel and WiMAX folks to do with the installed base of 802.11a/b/g Customer Access Devices(CAD)and soon to be 802.11n products being delivered to the market by non Intel vendors??
These 802.11series systems (LapTops and PDA) are just now reaching or flexing their bandwidth potential and will soon have most issues with QoS/TOC/ and Security solved.Plus, even more scary, Metro Area based Mesh Networks will re-energize/explode demand for these Unlicensed, Low Cost ubiquitous CAD's and will allow true Broadband Links (2-20Mbps) both in the Node and the CAD side. Business Case is going to be hard to beat when the prospect already has their CAD devices and can operate under the Canopies (trees) many major cities have. Can WiMAX deliver through a tree???
Intel wants to deliver (some time in late 2006/early 2007) proprietary, Licensed, high cost Mobile WiMAX based Chips to a market that does not need them today and will have limited needs in 2007.
For the Metro WLAN market to be competitive for the Service Provider, who must deliver connectivity (via Gateways)to the WAN and MAN,they will need to depend on a Low Cost CAD that can handle Data/VoiceIP and eventually VideoIP. All this will be done by 802.11series of products.
Wait until FCC makes 700MHz available in an unlicensed spectrum using the same approach they proposed for Licensed Shared usage 3650MHz spectrums. WiMAX will be relegated to backhaul (802.16 2004) for Cell carriers.
Be Good
Jacomo
[Editor's note: It's very clear that mobile WiMax-equipped laptops won't be on the market until 2007, possibly 2008, and that Wi-Fi adapters aren't going to be excluded. In fact, if all goes well, it will be a single radio with many standards supported.--gf]