CHIPMAKER DANCES AROUND MOBILE WIMAX

Fujitsu Microelectronics America made a big impression on the WiMAX community in April 2005, when it hosted a press conference at Broadband Wireless World in Las Vegas that gathered together three major customers for official launch of the company's Fixed WiMAX chip. One year later at the same event, attendees may have felt a sense of deja vu as Fujitsu pulled together another lengthy lunch press conference — but came up short of adding a new angle to its story.

Attendees went into the event wondering if Fujitsu might be ready to announce its solution based on the 802.16e standard, which is the basis for Mobile WiMAX, or at least discuss plans for a second-generation Fixed WiMAX chip, but the vendor danced around both subjects. “We will go after the Mobile WiMAX market,” said Keith Horn, senior vice president of marketing and sales for Fujitsu. “Right now, the Fixed WiMAX market is here, but not yet in full force. These things take a while to develop.”

Makato Awaga, general manager of the mobility solutions business division at parent company Fujitsu Ltd., added, “We have already started our development of a mobility solution. We want to have a full solution, and compliance testing will not take place until Wave 2 [of the WiMAX Forum's Mobile WiMAX certification program, likely to occur in the second half of 2007].”

Awaga instead used his time at the press conference to showcase how current Fixed WiMAX capabilities could be more fully exploited in multimedia applications.

Fujitsu's stance may have exemplified how many companies in the broadband wireless industry are pushing out their expectations for Mobile WiMAX availability and trying to get the industry refocused on the full potential of Fixed WiMAX.