Dismissive Intel
One company which won't be thrilled at Nokia Siemens' news is Intel. The chip firm, which has invested heavily in rival WIMAX technology, has a lot to lose if LTE wins out. A few months ago, the threat of LTE seemed relatively remote, with many believing it was really still a good three to five years out, but the reality seems to prove otherwise.
On the one hand, WIMAX is already up and running, but LTE has certainly done much to leapfrog its way forward. Many believe WIMAX will simply have to learn to co-exist with LTE whether Intel likes the situation or not.
In a worst case scenario for WIMAX proponents, LTE will eventually become the main wireless technology for mobiles, whilst Wimax would probably fizzle out in the nomadic space and return to its fixed roots.
A more optimistic view would be that the two technologies may eventually end up converging, but that would certainly be a long way down the road.
"I don't really know what to say," an Intel spokesperson told HEXUS, "Nokia made one phone call and WiMAX is enabling millions of people around the world to access next-gen 4G wireless broadband today."
True enough and, what's more, whichever technology does end up winning out, it's worth noting that even the fastest of speeds could be greatly limited by the operator's implementation of the technology and greatly limited by backhaul.
