More than 240 new laptops are scheduled to be launched Tuesday using Intel’s Centrino 2 platform the faster, lower power laptop platform that includes MIMO for both WiFi and WiMAX. 802.11n Wi-Fi will come standard, with three MIMO antennas in the lid, which can also be used for the WiMAX option.
The Intel WiMAXWiFi Link 5350 silicon will be available for Centrino 2 laptops “in the second half of 2008,” according to Intel.
At yesterday’s launch, Intel brought out Barry West, chief technology officer of Sprint Nextel who said WiMax will launch in Baltimore, Maryland in September with “150 plus sites.”
Intel vice president Sriram Viswanathan, who runs Intel’ WiMax business, told TG Daily that Intel considers the availability and success of WiMax as a “critical” component of its product and business strategy. “Broadband wireless is an integral part of mobile devices today,” he said. “There will be no alternative to WiMax within the next three years.”
Sidecut Reports says Clearwire is already beta testing its Mobile WiMax network in Portland, Ore., and is pointing to “an early Q4″ commercial launch. “We’ve already started loading customers on the network in Portland,” said [CEO Ben] Wolff, who hopes to have a commercial launch by “early fourth quarter.” Clearwire will then take its learning experiences from Portland to its next scheduled launches, in Atlanta, Las Vegas and Grand Rapids, Michigan.
“Even as the mobile WiMAX chipset market has barely gotten its feet wet, chipset prices are declining rapidly due to heavy competition and greater integration in designs,” says ABI Research principal analyst Philip Solis. “Prices for the baseband and RF components of the chipset have come down from the $35 range a few years ago to below $25, and will drop below $10 in 2011. These falling WiMAX chipset prices are critical for inclusion of the technology in smaller mobile devices.”
There are now solid 2-chip designs consisting of a single-chip baseband IC and a single-chip RF IC that are bringing power consumption down. Beceem, GCT Semiconductor, and Sequans have single-chip designs that include both the baseband and RF. Most importantly, WiMAX chipset ASPs are dropping rapidly.
Even when global subscriber numbers reach the high tens of millions, ABI Research expects chipset shipments to be well into the hundreds of millions.
That’s because devices will include WiMAX capabilities well before users subscribe to service plans, and some consumers may never utilize the WiMAX capabilities included in their equipment. In addition, some WiMAX subscribers will have multiple WiMAX-enabled devices on one subscription plan.
“WiMAX will look a bit like Wi-Fi in terms of rapid average selling price declines and moves towards 100% penetration in laptops,” said Solis.
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