Pause to 802.20 standard may help WiMax

Development of the Qualcomm-backed 802.20 wireless broadband spec has halted for now

The decision by the IEEE standards bodies to suspend development of the 802.20 broadband wireless protocol could give a lift to WiMax, the 802.16 technology that is widely seen as its competitor.

The IEEE recently said it would pause the 802.20 working group that has the backing of Qualcomm, the US cellular communications giant that acquired 802.20 developer Flarion Technologies in January. This followed questions of whether panel participants had disclosed their affiliations in a proper manner.

That pause could aid WiMax, which Intel plans to use in future laptop chipsets to support speeds and distances beyond Wi-Fi.

Carlton O'Neal, vice-president of marketing at WiMax vendor Alvarion, said 80.20 is “a private Qualcomm/Flarion party which they didn't want to invite anybody else to”.

O’Neal added, “For sure the complaints from other vendors are competitively motivated but I don't think there's any kind of conspiracy to knock Qualcomm out of the market."

Graham Currier, business development director of Pipex Wireless, which is building a UK WiMax network, said, “I think this is just housekeeping by the IEEE. WiMax is the standard for wireless broadband.”