Intel completes design of 802.16e baseband chip

More WiMAX news from Intel, as the company said it had completed the design of the Intel WiMAX Connection 2300, its first mobile WiMAX baseband chip. The chip was shown at the 3G World Congress in Hong Kong, to coincide with presentation by Intel's Sean Maloney. Maloney showed how an Intel Centrino Duo mobile technology-based laptop with 802.16e-2005, WiFi and HSDPA 3G capabilities could successfully access the Internet over a mobile WiMAX network.

The Intel WiMAX Connection 2300 moves the company closer to realizing its vision of integrating wireless SoC to help drive WiMAX adoption. Intel, for the first time, also incorporated MIMO functionality into the baseband chip. What is more, the baseband chip uses the same software for Intel's WiMAX and WiFi solutions, thus allowing for unified management for connectivity.

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

For more on the Intel WiMAX Connection 2300:
- see this Technology News Daily report