Nortel & Toshiba team for WiMAX

Stuart Corner
Sunday, 20 May 2007 14:37

Business IT - Technology

They plan to exploit Nortel's wireless expertise and Toshiba's miniaturisation skills to jointly develop small, power efficient and low cost mobile WiMAX (IEEE802.16e) base stations for Japanese and global markets.

The base stations will be based on Nortel's broadband wireless technology and the radio module will be developed by Toshiba, "drawing on its strengths in miniaturisation and high-efficiency amplifier technologies." Nortel will develop the digital module for the base stations. The two companies claim that their respective strengths will enable them to develop "an innovative range of small, power efficient and cost effective WiMAX base stations."

Japan's Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications is working to standardise ultra-broadband wireless technologies for the domestic market and Nortel and Toshiba have already jointly participated in the government's next-generation wireless trial using WiMAX solutions and claim to have successfully completed a trial service provision in the Tohoku region of northern Japan between December 2006 and March 2007.

According to Shunichi Kimura, corporate vice president, and president and CEO of Toshiba's Social Infrastructure Systems Company, the division driving the initiative, "In addition to Japan, there are many countries around the world that would benefit from the implementation of WiMAX technology and this cooperative effort will make a significant contribution to bringing WiMAX solutions to these markets quickly and cost effectively."