Intel demos its first mobile WiMAX baseband chip

Intel Corp. unveiled and demonstrated its first mobile WiMAX baseband chip at the 3G World Congress and Mobility Marketplace held last week in Hong Kong.

Combined with the company's previously announced single-chip, multi-band WiMAX/Wi-Fi radio, the pair creates a complete chipset—the Intel WiMAX Connection 2300.

"Intel continues to drive innovation in mobile broadband access by eliminating the seams that prevent ubiquitous wireless connectivity," said Executive Vice President and Chief Sales and Marketing Officer Sean Maloney. "The Intel WiMAX Connection 2300 will help speed the deployment of mobile WiMAX, and accelerate the availability of a new wave of 'personal broadband' laptops and mobile devices that deliver the real Internet."

The chipset was demonstrated during Maloney's keynote at the conference. Maloney showed an Intel Centrino Duo mobile technology-based laptop with mobile WiMAX, Wi-Fi and HSDPA 3G capabilities accessing the Internet at broadband speeds over a mobile WiMAX network. The demo illustrated the capability of WiMAX to handle content-rich applications and to respond without interference from other wireless technologies residing on the same system.

The completed design is said to bring Intel a step closer to an integrated wireless SoC that will help drive WiMAX adoption by maximizing space in mobile devices that are continuously becoming smaller.

For the first time, Intel incorporated MIMO functionality into the baseband chip to enhance the signal quality and throughput of wireless bandwidth. The baseband chip also has low power requirements for increased battery life and lower thermals to support smaller and thinner designs.

Intel plans to focus on validating and testing the product, with plans to sample both card and module forms beginning in late 2007.