WiMAX World: Nokia names Intel WiMAX chipset vendor

CHICAGO — Nokia Siemens Networks, Nokia and Intel today said they have entered into a three-way pact wherein Intel’s WiMAX mobility chips will eventually be embedded into Nokia devices to jointly ensure interoperability across the NSN’s infrastructure, Nokia handsets and Intel-powered devices.

Nokia will use Intel’s Baxter Peak mobility chipset in its N Series Internet Tablets, the ultra-portable computer line Nokia currently powers with Wi-Fi and the first WiMAX handheld Nokia plans to ship in 2008. Baxter is the second of Intel’s mobile WiMAX chipset line designed for the WiMAX Forum Wave 2 specifications required by Sprint for launch over its network. The other, Echo Peak, is a dual-mode Wi-Fi/WiMAX chip that Intel is targeting toward laptops. It has already secured deals for the chip from many of the major PC makers, but like Baxter Peak, the design won’t be shipped in volumes until 2008.

Intel’s WiMAX strategy has been multitiered, selling its chipsets into every generation of WiMAX device from fixed wireless gateway routers based on the older IEEE 802.16d standard to laptops and wireless devices. The fixed wireless chips, named Rosedale have been the only chips Intel has released though, while reams of other vendors have brought their Wave 2 chips to market. That’s led to some deals seemingly bypassing Intel.

Motorola’s first mobile WiMAX home router uses the Intel Rosdedale chip, but the next generation customer premises equipment it showcased at WiMAX World is embedded with Beceem Communications’ new Wave 2 silicon. Samsung hasn’t revealed its chipset vendors, but it has made a strategic investment in Beceem, which worked with it on its wireless broadband deployment for Korea telecom. Meanwhile, Sequans has landed deal after deal with the consumer electronics makers building the first PC data cards and USB dongles for the Sprint network.

John Jackson, an analyst for Yankee Group, doubts Intel is worried, though. Not only are the large-scale deployments of WiMAX devices still a year away, giving Intel plenty of time to catch up, but if Intel does find its market share threatened by a start-up chipmaker, it has the resources to buy them, Jackson said.

“All of the bug guys have the resources to fast follow or simply acquire any of the smaller guys,” Jackson said. “The same thing happened in the 3G market.”

Nokia, however, has traditionally designed most of its handset silicon, farming out the manufacturing to chip-makers like TI. Nokia has shifted its strategy lately, selling off its wireless chip operations to ST Microelectronics and broadening its ASIC pool to several other chip-makers. The deal with Intel is likely an extension of that strategy, Jackson said.

“Nokia is in the process of a fairly radical transformation to an Internet and services business model as a compliment to its handsets,” Jackson said. “Control of the core tech is less important to them.”