14 DAY TRIAL // Santa Clara, California-based leading chip maker Intel has invested US$43 million in a Tokyo-based WiMAX operator that plans to launch the world's fastest WiMAX service on July 1. The investment further proves Intel's commitment to an accelerated adoption of this next-generation wireless technology, providing the industry with support for the development of faster solutions. The Japanese WiMAX carrier plans to use the investment to further expand its network coverage, providing more users with faster access to the Internet.
“Intel Capital’s investment in UQ Communications is one of our most significant commitments in developing the WiMAX ecosystem around the globe,” said Arvind Sodhani, president of Intel Capital and Intel executive vice president. “UQ’s WiMAX deployment in Japan is a spectacular example of technology innovation being put to work.”
UQ Communications is expected to further expand its network, currently undergoing testing in Tokyo. According to available details, the upcoming service will provide computer users with download speeds of up to 40Mbps, while the upload speeds are expected to reach up to 10Mbps. The service will be formerly introduced next month, on July 1st.
“UQ Communications values Intel Capital’s investment to help expand our WiMAX service in Japan,” said Takashi Tanaka, CEO of UQ Communications. “We look forward to further collaboration with Intel and Intel Capital.”
The investment made by Intel's venture capital arm comes as another statement of the company's involvement in the development and adoption of WiMAX technology across the world. The world's leading chip maker has invested heavily in the growing market, providing system builders with their own WiMAX/Wi-Fi Link 5150 embedded module, a solution designed to enable support for both wireless LAN and WiMAX.
To present day, nearly 460 WiMAX networks have been established in 135 countries, proof of the growing success of the technology.