Intel, Nokia and Nokia Siemens Networks have announced that they are testing interoperability across Intel's forthcoming WiMax silicon for laptops and mobile Internet devices, Nokia WiMax devices and Nokia Siemens Networks WiMax infrastructure equipment. The move brings together the major players in the microchip and communications realms,

The collaboration builds on the momentum Intel pushed last week at the Intel Developer Forum in San Francisco, when it proclaimed that its efforts to further the worldwide development of next-generation broadband standard would help make 2008 "the year of WiMax." Intel claims that there are currently hundreds of trial deployments of WiMax that are ongoing worldwide.

Any financial details of the cooperation between Intel and Nokia have not been disclosed.

Baxter Peak

As part of the collaboration, Nokia also said it will use Intel's WiMax silicon product, which is codenamed Baxter Peak and designed specifically for mobile Internet and consumer electronic devices, in its forthcoming Nokia Nseries Internet Tablets.

The companies said that Nokia's Internet tablets will be among the first WiMax-enabled open Internet devices, which Intel has dubbed mobile Internet devices (MID) and ultra mobile PCs (UMPC), that are expected to ship in 2008.

The Nokia Nseries Internet tablets will be powered by Mozilla based browser and include e-mail functions and support for many applications including Skype, although they are not yet said to be enabled for use on current mobile phone voice networks like those operated by AT&T.

Intel, Nokia and Nokia Siemens Networks said they have already started testing their equipment and devices with dozens of other equipment vendors' products for interoperability and conformance with industry standards in Sprint's testing labs in Herndon, Virginia.

See also: Electronics Weekly's roundup of content related to WiMAX and wireless networking.

By Colleen Taylor, Contributing Editor - Electronic News