Intel WiMAX chip brings the multi-wireless laptop one step closer

Stuart Corner
Friday, 08 December 2006 18:08

Business IT - Technology

Intel has completed its first mobile WiMAX baseband chip, and combined it with the previously announced single-chip, multi-band WiMAX/WiFi radio to create the Intel WiMAX Connection 2300 chipset.

The Connection 2300 was demonstrated by Intel executive vice president and chief sales and marketing officer, Sean Maloney, at the 3G World Congress and Mobility Marketplace in Hong Kong. Maloney showed an Intel Centrino Duo laptop equipped with mobile WiMAX (IEEE 802.16e-2005), WiFi (IEEE 802.11n), and high-speed downlink packet access (HSDPA) accessing the Internet at, unspecified, broadband speeds over a mobile WiMAX network.

For the first time, Intel has incorporated multiple input/multiple output (MIMO) functionality into the baseband chip to enhance signal quality and throughput. The baseband chip also employs the same software for WiMAX and Wi-Fi "to help ensure unified management for connectivity."

Over-the-air provisioning supports easy configuration and enables consumer activation of services, shifting the traditional hands-on service provider business model to a direct activation one based purely on consumer purchases of mobile devices. The baseband chip also has low power requirements for increased battery life and lower thermals to support smaller and thinner designs.

"The completed design of the Intel WiMAX Connection 2300 brings Intel a step closer to an integrated wireless system-on-chip that will help drive WiMAX adoption by maximising useable space in mobile devices," the company said. "As laptops become smaller they will have limited space for new technologies. Integration also helps enable ubiquitous connectivity on ultra mobile PCs, consumer electronics and handheld devices that have significant size constraints for the number of cards or components."

With the initial Connection 2300 chipset design now complete, Intel says it will now focus on validating and testing the product. It plans to have samples of both card and module forms available in late 2007.