wimax

Asus has announced the products it plans to display at this week's WiMax Expo Taipei, and the list includes few surprises. After all, GCT Semiconductor already shared details of a WiMax-equipped Eee PC 901. But for those of us who don't necessarily feel compelled to invest in a new laptop just to get wireless broadband connectivity, Asus is also showing off the WUSB25E2V2 (catchy!), a mirror-finish WiMax USB dongle.

The other products on display are plug-and-play base stations, also known as customer premises equipment. More details on these products, with such memorable model names as WMNV25E2+, are available … Read more

WiMax is in the cards for the Eee PC. Asus will demonstrate notebooks Monday that integrate WiMax chips from San Jose, Calif.-based GCT Semiconductor.

Despite recent statements that the Eee PC 901 will not get WiMax, GCT Semiconductor announced--along with Asus--Sunday that Asus has integrated GCT's GDM7205 WiMAX single-chip silicon into the F8 notebook series and Eee PC.

GCT says the F8 series and Eee PC will be demonstrated with WiMax at the WiMax Expo Taipei that begins on June 2nd.

The widely-reported specifications for the Eee PC 901 are a 1.6GHz Atom processor, an 8.9-inch … Read more

As a Computex preview, Intel is showing off its "delayed" Centrino 2 platform via an Asus notebook.

A chunk of the Centrino 2 roll-out has been delayed until August 5--and WiMax even beyond that. Intel, however, is slated to do a Centrino 2 processor refresh on July 14.

"Today I've got my privileged hands on a brand spanking new Asus Centrino 2 ("Montevina" for us nerds) system," according to a pre-Computex Intel blog.

Intel, not surprisingly, is trying to build enthusiasm for Centrino 2 and WiMax. But, with chipset and WiMax … Read more

WiMax supporters insist the technology is set to take off this year. If it does, it will have to do so without the help of the Asus Eee PC 901. After giving it some thought, Asus has decided not to integrate the long-range wireless technology in its next mini-laptop, citing a lack of maturity in the U.S. market, according to a report from DigiTimes.

Given the popularity of the Eee PC and Eee PC 900, Asus' current low-cost little laptops, a WiMax-enabled Eee PC 901 might have given the fledging wireless technology a boost later this year. Instead, WiMax'… Read more

It's mobile or bust for cable operators that seem to be trying anything and everything to get into the wireless market.

One of the biggest shifts over the next decade in the cable market is likely to be a move toward wireless services. As cable operators face stiff competition from phone companies, cable operators large and small are looking for ways to take their services mobile.

Brian Roberts, CEO of Comcast, the largest cable operator in the U.S., talked up his company's investment in a new joint venture to blanket the country with 4G, or fourth-generation, wireless … Read more

Alltel, the largest rural cell phone provider in the U.S., plans to use the same technology to build its 4G network that AT&T and Verizon Wireless have chosen, a move that should provide better coverage for next generation wireless users.

But don't expect a major 4G upgrade from Alltel overnight. The company said during its quarterly conference call on Thursday that it would likely take three to five years to deploy the new network.

Still, the fact that yet another wireless operator has committed to using Long Term Evolution or LTE, is a big deal. Since … Read more

Update 9:52 AM ET: A typo has been fixed in paragraph 6, changing a reference of megabits per second to kilobits per second.

An AT&T executive said Wednesday that the cell phone company will offer 20Mbps downloads over its wireless network as soon as next year. But don't get too excited; the real speed will likely be a lot slower.

Still, AT&T's network upgrade plan is expected to boost speeds significantly, which means that users of the hotly anticipated 3G iPhone, which is expected this summer, will be surfing the Web at lightning … Read more

Sprint Nextel's plan to spin off its WiMax network and form a $14.5 billion joint venture with Clearwire may have hit a speed bump.

On Monday iPCS, Sprint Nextel's largest affiliate, said it will try to block the deal that was announced last week. iPCS, which serves 640,600 subscribers in seven states, said three of its subsidiaries have filed suit in Cook County Circuit Court in Illinois against Sprint for violating an exclusivity contract.

Sprint Nextel is spinning off its 2.5 GHz assets to form a joint venture with Clearwire. The new company, called Clearwire, … Read more

At first blush, it sounds as if Intel's throwing good money after bad. After all, why pay $1 billion to join a consortium which has "squabble-fest" written all over it?

4G has been a slow train coming and the latest attempt by Sprint and Clearwire to speed the transition could easily fall hostage to all the big egos with seats on the board. Lest we forget, Sprint and Clearwire went their separate ways last November, only months after announcing plans for a Wi-Fi partnership. (My colleague Maggie Reardon has a great take on the challenges facing the reconstituted Clearwire … Read more