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Representatives for Intel plan to disclose that the company will ship its next-generation “Rosedale 2” WiMax chip within the next 6 to 9 months, a company spokesperson confirmed on June 26.
In a keynote speech to be made June 28 at the Wireless Communications Expo forum in Washington, D.C., Scott Richardson, general manager of Intels Service Provider Business Group, will disclose that Rosedale 2 will support both the current fixed and mobile version of the 802.16 WiMax specification, spokesperson Amy Martin said.
Intels current Rosedale chip supports only the fixed version of WiMax, informally known as the 802.16d specification. In 2004, the 802.16-2004 update wrapped up the 802.16d, 802.16a, and base 802.16 standard into an updated specification.
According to Martin, the Rosedale 2 chip will feature mobile capabilities, a key distinction. Early WiMax deployments have been of the fixed variety, with CPE (customer premise equipment) designed to be fixed to large installations. Equipment vendors have quickly slid forward into producing so-called “nomadic” or “portable CPE,” roughly equivalent to a home router, which can be picked up and carried from location to location. Intels Rosedale 2 will still be designed for CPE, however, not individual devices, Martin said.