According to Government Technology, Pakistan has leapt ahead of the United States and Europe in launching WiMax, a wireless technology targeted at both cell-phone and Wi-Fi users. Motorola announced it would be providing Pakistan's Wateen Telecom with the new technology, as 1 million subscribers are expected at the initial stage of deployment, with many more to follow when the technology gets rolled out across the country.
Motorola is also planning to invest $100 million to team up with the Indian government to build a factory in Chennai to manufacture WiMax products. The events in Pakistan now come as vindication for the supporters of WiMax, who feel that the technology's time has come, not least in the mobile version. In reports from CNET, industry analysts noted that the big players -- including Motorola and Siemens -- had focused on mobile WiMax in a way that they hadn't for the fixed version.
The technology looks to provide a double-whammy for Pakistani consumers, simultaneously serving both cell phone and Wi-Fi users in a complementary way. While cellular networks have been upgraded by telecoms companies to the tune of billions of dollars, they still only have a limited data transmission capacity.
Although WiMax can't hope to compete with them on the distance it can transmit over, the potential 75 megabit-per-second broadband delivery soars ahead of what current 3G networks have on offer. Operators hope that the rapid delivery will encourage use of Web tools via cell phones for meaningful consumer applications.
Motorola is also planning to invest $100 million to team up with the Indian government to build a factory in Chennai to manufacture WiMax products. The events in Pakistan now come as vindication for the supporters of WiMax, who feel that the technology's time has come, not least in the mobile version. In reports from CNET, industry analysts noted that the big players -- including Motorola and Siemens -- had focused on mobile WiMax in a way that they hadn't for the fixed version.
The technology looks to provide a double-whammy for Pakistani consumers, simultaneously serving both cell phone and Wi-Fi users in a complementary way. While cellular networks have been upgraded by telecoms companies to the tune of billions of dollars, they still only have a limited data transmission capacity.
Although WiMax can't hope to compete with them on the distance it can transmit over, the potential 75 megabit-per-second broadband delivery soars ahead of what current 3G networks have on offer. Operators hope that the rapid delivery will encourage use of Web tools via cell phones for meaningful consumer applications.