WebProNews

The chipmaker and the telecom company want to offer hardware and services for the proposed wireless broadband standard.

Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access, or WiMAX, is a proposed interoperability standard for wireless broadband communication, and has not yet become an official standard.

That status has made no impression on Intel or on Sprint, who seem to be betting WiMAX will emerge the winner when a standard has been chosen.

The promise of WiMAX comes from its speed, 15 mbps per channel for mobile usage.

Sprint already enjoys the best per-customer revenue in the cellular industry, thanks to its data services. Incorporation of WiMAX into their network and built into future products can be another way to reduce customer churn and entice customers away from rivals.

For Intel, which already enjoys wireless success with its Centrino technology, WiMAX offers another growth opportunity. Chips made to operate with the WiMAX standard could find their way into modern hardware very quickly.

Intel has the ability to develop and build the chips, and get them into a large number of computer manufacturers and their products. Doing so would turn WiMAX into a de facto standard for wireless broadband.

David Utter is a staff writer for WebProNews covering technology and business. Email him here.